Today’s wine is the genuine article. An authentic original. A region-defining wine. And yet there’s a good chance you haven’t heard of Farella. That’s because the Farellas, who planted the first Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the Coombsville sub-region of Napa Valley in 1977—more than 30 years before the area was recognized with an AVA designation—have focused more on viticulture than ‘brand-building,’ opting to sell much of their fruit to other labels.
Farella-grown grapes have been featured players in big-ticket wines from Realm, Pahlmeyer, Far Niente, and Keenan, but luckily, the Farellas keep a portion of their produce for themselves to craft wines such as today’s—a 100% Cabernet showstopper from 2014 at a price that is not to be believed. It’s a testament not just to the family’s long history in Coombsville but to a level of humility and authenticity that many leave behind in the chase for “cult wine” glory. ‘Authenticity’ is indeed the key word here: When it comes to value-for-dollar, this luxurious Cabernet has few (if any) peers.
First, a few more words on Coombsville—an appellation to know if you don’t know it already. Tucked up against the foothills of the Vaca Mountains, in the southeastern corner of Napa Valley, this bowl-shaped depression is well outside the mainstream. Most visitors to Napa, Velcro-ed to the welcome signs of Highway 29, don’t even know this place exists. Here, due to the proximity to the San Pablo Bay, daily temperatures can be as much as 10 degrees lower during the summer months than other appellations in Napa. As the climate warms, with its ensuing droughts and heat waves, it is a blessing to be in Coombsville, where Cabernet Sauvignon achieves its lustrous, deep fruit without becoming monolithic from the slam-dunk of heat. The 2014 is a stellar vintage for Napa Valley, and particularly Coombsville, with the wines displaying more focus than flash, more succulent fruits than jammy ones.
Farella, meanwhile, is the story of Frank and Tom Farella. As a grandson of Italian immigrants, making wine in your backyard is a birthright, so Frank harvested fruit from his family’s vines in Coombsville and made his first “test drive” vintage in 1982. Soon later, Farella-Park vineyards was born in 1985, and Frank’s son, Tom, had fittingly just completed his degree in viticulture and enology at UC Davis. Rather than settling into the family business after graduation, Tom embarked on his own wine path, working in the cellars of Flora Springs, Preston of Sonoma, Jacques Prieur of Meursault, and Ponzi and Beaux Frères of Oregon. Upon his return to the family estate in the early 1990s, Tom’s enriched perception of Bordeaux grapes as well as Burgundy wove into the patchwork of Farella. One of these patches is sustainability, and in 1991 Tom set out to make the Farella vineyard as natural as possible by reducing heavy machinery and the use of diesel and fossil fuels. In the cellar, very little sulfur is applied during the aging process, and the wines are bottled without fining or filtration. From vine to bottle, besides a sprinkling of sulfur, nothing is added. Heavy glass has been replaced by Saver Glass “EcoDesign” bottles, and packages are 100% recyclable. And the bonus? Farella uses Diam corks so you’ll never have to worry about cork taint. Amidst a glut of cosmetic and pampered Napa wines, Farella Cabernet Sauvignon speaks of a different time, when wines were made for food and for cellaring. Last year we offered the 2013 vintage of this wine, which contained 5% Merlot. I would take advantage of this rare 100% Cabernet from Farella, pure varietal wines of this pedigree (and price) are simply elite.
The three Farella vineyard blocks, “Old Vine,” “T-Bud,” and “Rockpile,” comprise the core of today’s wine. Positioned on steep, west-facing slopes in a diversity of soils (volcanic ash, rich cobbly loam, and gravel), the Cabernet vines embrace the less aggressive, afternoon sun, resulting in an unhurried, natural development of tannin, color, and complexity. Fermented in a combination of open and closed tanks, the wine spends 20 days on its skins. The oak treatment is judicious—50% new French oak barrels for a total of 22 months’ aging. Use your finest Bordeaux stems and decant this wine for an hour, keeping it right in that 60-65 degree sweet spot for service. In the glass, a deep mocha-plum core radiates into edges of brick ruby and crimson. On the nose, there is a rush of warm black fruits, blackberries, cassis, red and purple plums, wound with earthy undertones: tree bark and fall leaves, espresso and bitter dark chocolate, evergreen and wintry spice. Tannins stand firmly, and will walk this wine into the next decade with ease, but there is a bright and airy acidity which gives this wine an elegant twirl and glide. This is masterly Napa Cabernet and is spot-on right now, but if you choose to cellar it, you will be equally rewarded. Flavor-wise, this wine has so much to offer, so no need to get too messy in the kitchen. You’ll need a well-seasoned pan, some first-class butter, salt, freshly-cracked pepper and your favorite butcher’s cut of beef (the more marbling the better). Here’s a recipe for butter-basted ribeye steak that will surely make friends in Coombsville. Cheers!
