Realm offering live

Surprised there hasn’t been anything on the board.

One of my favorite wineries.

Offer quite a bit smaller than years past.

From Realm:

These are quite possibly the best wines we’ve produced yet. Sadly, the production volume is down measurably due to poor springtime weather, an uneven crop set, and the ongoing drought. We harvested 30% less fruit in some vineyards compared to a normal year.

Taking my allocation of Dr. Crane and wish listing some Farella. Still thinking about some of the other single vineyards.

Tom

I was very pleased to be notified that I’ll be getting my first allocation this fall. Can’t wait!

Took To-kalon and Dr Crane. Left the rest. Hitting a wall though at $250 per with tax and shipping

Going to grab a case of the Fidelio and a single To Kalon. Waffling on the Dr Crane. As Joe said, the cost isn’t exactly low…

In for one bottle each of the Houyi, Dr. Crane and the BTK. This hit the same day as Blankiet - ouch!

Agree. It’s a lot for a bottle of wine, but in the world of high end CA cabs, I think Dr. Crane is still a relative “bargain.” Shafer HSS was $285 last year and I think Dr. Crane is comparable in quality.

BTW: I’ve been buying Shafer HSS for many years, but I do see a tipping point soon, maybe sooner than later.

Realm does have some lower priced wines I still like quite a bit for their price point, namely Farella and Tempest.

Don’t get me wrong, I totally agree with Realm being one of the top in Napa. Right up there with Maybach and MACDONALD for me. I’m sure I’ll end up caving and getting the Crane :slight_smile:

I tasted at Realm last year and continue to be delighted at the consistent excellence of the wines. Mostly I buy the blends but may snag a few Cabs in this offering. I especially appreciate the one week guaranteed allocation!

Has anyone tried the Moonracer? Is it worth the premium over the other single vineyard cabs? Dr. Crane and To Kalon seem to be their most heralded wines so it’s interesting they charge more for the Moonracer. I guess you’re paying a premium since it’s their estate vineyard.

2013 dr crane was my woty last year!

Dr. Crane has been my favorite vineyard for Cab for years. Pricing, as with all Beckstoffer vineyards, has done nothing but climb, climb, climb. Realm’s offering is at least $50 cheaper than some others I could name so I’ll stick with them for a while longer. I just wish production was higher or I was higher on the list as I got 1 Dr. Crane and 1 TK with no wish listings for more.

Allocations were way way down. Finally got Crane, but lower allocations than past years on most everything else. A lot of wishing going on here. Prices are up but these are really great wines.

I ended up ordering a Dr. Crane, To Kalon and Farella. We’re visiting them at the end of February so may add some, if I can. While visiting Denver, found a little wine shop that had three 2014 Bard’s and couldn’t resist picking one up.

If I recall, the Farella is $150. Farella’s Estate Vineyard Cab is $65. If one were to taste these two wine blind, or double blind, what would the experience be like?

Took 1 Farella, 1 Houyi and 2 Moonracer, My total allocation less the whites. I will be visiting in March and hope to try the Fidelio and make a decision then.First Cab allocation.

Is anyone biting on the To Kalon Cab Franc mag?

yes to realm, no to cab franc

I’m grabbing the Cab Franc. I think it’s a clever riff on To-Kalon magnum only bottlings like Schrader Old Sparky and Carter GTO. Instead of just picking “best barrels” like they already do with Absurd (from all their vineyards) it uses what seems to be a pretty rare planting of Cab Franc from T-K.

Are there any other producers that make a “super wine” from a varietal that’s not their “trademark” varietal? The only other one I can think of is SQN’s “The Writing on the Wall” which is Petite Sirah.

No offense but the only clever thing about it is that they’re actually able to convince people to spend $900 for a bottle of napa cab franc. Seriously it isn’t that rare. You can pick up some Detert Cab Franc for under $100 and experience To Kalon vine goodness. More rare is the Detert East Block Cab bottling but that is still far less expensive than what Realm is proposing.

I’ll save you a glass if you go use that same argument in a Burgundy thread and manage to live through the experience [cheers.gif]