2004 Farella Vineyard Farella-Park Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
Mission Codename: A walk in the Farella Park
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Locate the best sub-$50.00 that Napa Valley has to offer
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Farella Vineyard
Wine Subject: 2004 Farella-Park Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker: Tom Farella
Backgrounder: Napa, California is highly regarded for its fine wines. Particularly for producing some of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon wines available – anywhere in the world. The problem that some Operatives have with Napa Valley Cabs? The high prices of most great Cabs! Today, Agent Red returns, triumphant, after a long and difficult sojourn through Napa Valley. Read his tasting notes and mission report below
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Deep burgundy, with a dark and almost black heart with a speedy but heavy-looking surface that settles fast after swirling, leaving behind thin legs that start slow and then streak down the glass
Smell – Richly lush layers of dark and smoky fruits, with a soft rush of blackberry, cassis and cherry with mild spice, soft cigar box and a wisp of licorice. After some swirling the wine emoted with subtle earth and fresh salad herbs and a hint sweet oak
Feel – This is round at its very first entry, then is followed by soft tannins and a deep texture that coats your mouth and feels suddenly bigger – but then something unique happens; the wine becomes bright and light again, delivering a secondary rush of flavors!
Taste – SUPER Delicious and deeply layered with initial concentrated flavors of dark mixed berries, soft plum, and cassis. As mentioned above, after first flavors hit and then tail off slightly, a second and brighter wave of flavors emerge, with strawberry, cranberry and bright cherry!
Finish – Extra long finish with modulating flavors (see Feel and Taste above) with soft tannins that dry but then leave behind a flavorful sweetness that ultimately tapers off gradually
Conclusion – This is a wonderful wine! I love sleuthing out wines that deliver a unique experience, especially when that experience comes from a wine that performs way above its price class. This price/performance ratio is often called ”QPR”, or the ”Qulaity Price Ratio”. This is a wine whose QPR of off the charts, with a super-unique mouthfeel, modulating and delicious flavors, deep layers of aromas and an intriguing finish. I recommend this wine for so many reasons, but primarily becuase it is a delicious and fun to drink wine that outperforms many other heavyweight Napa cabs!
Mission Report:
Earlier this week, I had the great pleasure to visit with Tom Farella, owner and winemaker for Farella Vineyard, at the very south-east corner of Napa Valley.
It is a busy, sometimes hectic time of year for wineries. Winemakers and vineyard managers now find themselves spending hours each day in the vineyards, checking the vines, and watching for that exact moment when the first hints of purple appear on the grapes. That starts a regimented countdown to the fall harvest. Its a somewhat nerve racking time of year – for most winemakers – and Tom is busy preparing and observing.
Tom is a lifer in the wine business. In 1979 he planted the first vineyards that bares his family name. Today, he grows grows cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and syrah. Most of the fruit is sold to such high-end Napa wine labels as Lail Vineyards, Honig, Far Niente, Pahlmeyer, Luna Vineyards, Robert Keenan Winery and Realm Cellars. Specific rows of the vineyards are held in reserve for these prestegious wineries and Tom sometimes has his hands full with winemakers as as many as a half-dozen are visiting the grapes on a busy day.
Tom Farella is no ordinary winemaker and do describe his so simply would be to ignore his roles as vineyard manager and adviser to winemakers on a broad range of subjects, from the weather (Tom is a self-described ”Weather Geek”), to harvest timing, to crush and wine-making. Tom has been making wine since he graduated from the oenology program at the University of California at Davis, where he received a degree in enology and viticulture. His career has taken him to France and he has participated in nearly every aspect of the wine trade. Local winemakers and vineyard managers look to Tom for advice. One local that I spoke with refered to Tom as the local ”Weather Guru”.
Tom’s vineyeards are situated in the far southeastern corner of Napa Valley, known locally as “Coombsville.” The unique soil composition and cooler climate of the region gives wines from here uniquley special characteristics. Tom does not aim for singlular differences in his wines. Rather, he shoots for layers of flavors and aromas. Tom also describes his wines as food wines. This is memorialized on the *”Farella with Food” T-Shirts that are available in his tasting room. The wine that we are featuring today, Tom’s superb 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, comes from a combination of Farealla’s Old Vine & Rockpile blocks which are positioned on a steep slope facing due west. For the cooler Coombsville area, this gives ideal exposure to the late afternoon sun, a key to slow development of color & tannin in this great wine.
Among many on our tasting panel, today’s wine is one of the finest Cabs tasted so far this year. And we have had the great pleasure to taste some incredible wines!
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of the Farella Vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.
