When you think of royalty of wineries in California, many come to mind. We can all agree that Far Niente would be in that conversation. As befitting royalty, every project the Far Niente family takes on, they do it, first class, without regard to cost, to make it the best in its realm of operations. Let me give you some examples.

Far Niente (Italian for “without a care) was founded in 1885. It is one of Napa Valley’s original stone wineries, commissioned by architect Hamden McIntyre, who created the wineries that house the current Culinary Institute of America and Inglenook winery. The winery flourished until Prohibition in 1919, when it was abandoned and fell into disrepair.

Gil Nickel purchased the winery and vineyards in 1979, beginning a three-year effort at restoration and rehabilitation. At the time, the historical stone winery was covered in ivy. There are stories of Robert Mondavi and a group of growers helping pull ivy off the building to expose the sign and using cables hooked to their jeeps one weekend to pull off the rest. A day later, a building inspector from the city of Napa called, confused by the recently exposed exterior of the winery building. He wondered why a new building had gone up on the property “without” a building permit!

The Nickel family business was owners of Greenleaf Nursery in Oklahoma, the second-largest privately held nursery in the US, and was responsible for Far Neinte’s facelift into the most gorgeous landscaped winery in Napa. Thirteen acres of beautifully maintained gardens surround the winery. The gardens include thousands of southern azaleas that bloom each spring. Likely the most extensive single planting of azaleas on the West Coast, they can be seen from a mile away on Highway 29.

Under the Nickels’ guidance, winemaking returned to Far Niente in 1982. The winery focused on the expressions of two Napa Valley wines: estate-bottled cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay. Thanks to its history, terroir, and the quality of its wines, Far Niente Winery is recognized worldwide as one of the best winegrowing estates. Not to be sitting on their laurels, they continued to cautiously expand.

The first addition to the Far Niente family was Nickel & Nickel, founded in 1997 and built on a legacy of remarkable winemaking. The spotlight here is on single-varietal, single-vineyard wines from sites throughout Napa Valley. Nickel and Nickel produces 19 different expressions of single-vineyard cabernet sauvignon sourced from notable vineyards in renowned AVAs such as Howell Mountain, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Yountville. In 2012, Far Niente and Nickel & Nickel partners launched Bella Union Winery in Rutherford. Named for the historic Bella Union Railway, Bella Union combines Cabernet from their Rutherford Estate vineyards with classic Bordeaux varieties like malbec, cabernet franc, and petit verdot.

Far Niente family had built a regal, successful stable of wines. In an era of cult bottlings and hyper-exclusive Napa Valley releases, it would have been easy for Far Niente Wine Estates to double down on its portfolio of luxury wines as many established estates did. Instead, the family decided to introduce a wine that is approachable early and at a quarter of the price of the flagship Napa Valley wine—opening the doors to broader diverse consumers in wine-by-the-glass programs and casual purchasers by drinkers wanting to enjoy the Far Niente experience of excellence. Post & Beam was introduced in 2020 with the 2019 vintage to 90+ point rave reviews for every vintage since.

Post & Beam sources their Napa Valley fruit mainly from the 300+ acres of vineyards Far Niente owns and from partner growers. Vinified at Far Niente winery, winemaker Michael Accurso builds on the essential components of time-honored techniques to produce classic Napa Valley wines in the spirit of Far Niente and its sister wineries. The name Post & Beam, according to the winery, “Named for the simple yet elegant barns that dot the American landscape as an enduring reminder of our history, Post & Beam represents craftsmanship, tradition, legacy, and purity. There’s nothing unnecessary or overly complicated about a post and beam barn. It just works beautifully. The same can be said for our wines. They are simple, elegant, pure expressions of each grape in its finest form.” Said in another way, Post & Beam is a wine that relies on its strength and simplicity to achieve a great wine at a great value.

The 2022 growing season started off with early budbreak and a mild summer. A Labor Day heat spike accelerated ripening, and we began picking some of our Pope Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the southern parts of Napa Valley around mid-September. More mild temperatures following the heat wave allowed us to let our other Napa Valley Cabernet hang on the vines into October, developing bolder phenolics and rich dark fruit characteristics. We finished up the season in late October with the rest of our Cabernet Sauvignon from Oak Knoll and Petit Verdot.

The 2022 Post & Beam Cabernet Sauvignon displays seductive aromas of briar patch and plum sauce on the nose before leading onto a palate that is well-structured yet elegant. Round and textured on the palate, the entry is layered with cassis and blackberry. The finish exudes vanilla, mocha, and cocoa flavors alongside resolved tannins.

91% Cabernet Sauvignon 6% Merlot 2% Petit Verdot 1% Cabernet Franc

10 months in French Oak, 30% new

Post & Beam Cabernet 2022, by Far Niente Family

There was quite a group to taste the Post & Beam Cabernet 2022. After all, who doesn’t want to taste a Far Niente wine? After I poured the wine, we noticed it had a brilliant magenta-purple color. A floral nose, with black and red fruits, mulberry, and plum with a touch of vanilla. An all-encompassing, lush mouthfeel with fine all-coating tannins. Youthful flavors of freshly picked raspberries, tea, rose petal, along with truffle powder and mocha. It finishes with long, bright fruit. After being open for an hour, the fruit fattened up and took on darker attributes, like leather and sage. I will be the first to tell you this is not the same tasting profile as Far Niente Oakville Cabernet, but at a fifth of the price, it is really good wine from the house of Far Niente.

Regular Price: $57.99

*Sale Price is on 3 or more bottle purchase

Wine is packed in a 12-bottle case

*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.

We can hold wines in unpaid reserves for two weeks to allow you time to pick up your wine. If it takes you longer than that to pick up your wines, give us a call, and we can process your wine and move it to paid reserves.

Orders must be done by replying to this email. The reason is that I need to keep control of the inventory in one central spot. Emailing or calling your favorite wine geek at one of our four stores may not get your orders in on time to be counted or processed and this creates a helter-skelter for us to get you the wine. For the same reason, ordering on our online Web Store is linked to our regular price, and this sale price is only offered on the email platform. It is also why it takes me some time to respond due to the deluge of orders that I sometimes get. We haven't reached the efficiency or volume of Amazon yet. Thank you in advance for your patience.

Let me know your preferred store for pickup: Attleboro, Norwood, Sturbridge, or Swansea. If you don't state the store, I will assume you are picking up in Sturbridge.

Place your order now while you've got everything in front of you. Reply to this email along with your name and which store you want to pick it up.

I will confirm your order via email when it is ready for pickup. Please give us at least 48 hours to respond.

Cheers!

—John Hannum, Fine & Rare Wine Specialist

Attleboro

628 Washington St.

Norwood

942 Providence Hgwy.

Sturbridge

376 Main Street.

Swansea

207 Swansea Mall Dr.

Monday-Saturday

9AM to 9PM