2008 Realm Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard
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Tasting notes
(96% cabernet sauvignon with 4% petit verdot): Good medium ruby. Black- and redcurrant, licorice, bitter chocolate and a musky cedary note on the nose. Juicy, intense and fruit-driven, with complicating smoke and mineral nuances. Offers subtle sweetness but comes across as a bit medicinal and bound-up today. Broadened nicely with aeration but this cabernet needs time. Today the dusty tannins are less refined than those of the To Kalon.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
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A brilliant wine (as one might expect, given the source for the raw material) is the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard, a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, with the Cabernet Sauvignon coming from the famed Clone 6. This wine (like so many wines from this parcel that is basically a gravel pit) has a very flinty/hot rocks sort of character to the cassis and blackberry fruit, a common element no matter who makes wine from this site. This wine from Realm is like Napa Valley’s version of La Mission Haut-Brion in Bordeaux. It is full-bodied, powerful, flowery, and at the same time, thick, rich and powerful. Giver it 3-4 years of cellaring and drink it over the next 25+ years. These beautiful, lovingly made, hand-crafted wines are all bottled unfined and unfiltered. Tel. (707) 967-0226; fax (707) 967-0227
(includes 4% petit verdot) Good bright ruby-red. Cassis and bitter chocolate on the nose. Lush, sweet and fruit-driven, if a bit less explosive today than the 2007 version. Perhaps a bit less structured and dense but I like this wine's mineral and floral treble notes. (I did not get a chance to see the 2008 To Kalon Vineyard wine, as it had just been racked.)
About the producer
Realm Cellars has become one of Napa Valley’s most compelling modern estates, known for site-driven Cabernet Sauvignon. Drawing from some of the valley’s most sought-after vineyards, Realm’s wines consistently earn top critical acclaim while remaining firmly rooted in place.