We just published James' latest Napa Valley report focusing on wines from the 2018 vintage. During his research, he spoke over Zoom with Scott Becker and Benoit Touquette, owner and winemaker at Realm Cellars, to taste a selection of their wines and to talk about the 2018s. Despite the challenges of the vintage with large crops, they still made terrific wines.
Benoit said they have a rigorous vineyard management program, which resulted in a solid harvest of excellent quality grapes in 2018. It showed in the wines. James was impressed with all the cabernet sauvignon blends as well as the merlot and cabernet franc. His favorite was the Realm Cellars Napa Valley Stags Leap District Moonracer 2018. It’s a stunning red with superb complexity on both the nose and palate.
Watch the video to hear the highlights of the conversation and see what they thought of the wines.
Read the full Napa report here: NEW NAPA VALLEY WINES HIGHLIGHT HARMONY AND REFINEMENT WITH 2018 VINTAGE (1,093 WINES RATED)
Below are the wines that were tasted during the call. Click the links to see the tasting notes and scores (subscribers only).
Realm Cellars Napa Valley Stags Leap District Moonracer 2018
Realm Cellars Napa Valley Falstaff 2018
Realm Cellars Napa Valley The Tempest 2018
Realm Cellars Napa Valley St. Helena Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard 2018
Realm Cellars Cabernet Franc Napa Valley Oakville Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard 2018
Realm Cellars Napa Valley The Bard 2018
Realm Cellars Napa Valley Oakville Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard 2018
Realm Cellars Napa Valley Beckstoffer Bourn 2018
Realm Cellars Napa Valley Stags Leap District Hartwell Grace 2018
Realm Cellars Napa Valley Houyi Vineyard 2018
Realm Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Coombsville Farella Vineyard 2018
