Realm Rosé “La Fe”

Saw an Instagram post from Realm about a rosé launching May 3rd: “La Fe” (Faith in Spanish?) didn’t get an email. Anybody have any additional information? Given the quality of Realm, my interest is piqued.

A buddy of mine called Realm to ask about the rosé. It’s 90% Merlot 10% Cabernet. $60/bottle.

Scott, please correct me if I’m off on that!

Teeter Totter just launched a rosé at $25. Wonder if they’re from the same source, with Realm getting first pick of grapes or something like that.

Edit: nevermind, TT rosé is made from Grenache and Realm says this one is Merlot-based. Interesting.

following here and the comments there.

Wow, that will go fast, but $60 for rose, yikes!

That’s a few bucks more than what Pataille’s Marsannay Fleur de Rosé is and is one of my favorite rosés. Antica Terra Angelicall is 2x that and is my top 2 with the FdR. They’re both extended skin time Pinot based though. Not sure if that’s the style with the Realm and if so how it’ll translate to Merlot/Cab.

According to the IG post today it came about because of the fires and is NOT an extended skin contact like the Antica Terra/Sylvia Pataille style. I realize now the timing of the fires so it makes sense.
According to the post gentle pressing, cooler ferments and no wood.

$60 for a rose?!? Hard pass.

Offer email just came out. First come, first served. Order increments of 3 bottles.

Just received the email and the release is live. It is $60/bottle. I’m in for 3.

The release email provides some additional info about this wine:

"The challenges of the past year or so have left an indelible mark on all of us. Yet the resiliency of both Nature and Humanity bring a sense of renewed optimism and faith. With a new growing season well underway in Napa Valley, we find ourselves as energetic as the vines looking ahead to brighter days.

In that spirit, we are delighted to share the surprise release of our 2020 La Fe Rosé wine which is available immediately.

We are offering 2020 La Fe on a first-come, first-served basis because we simply have no other way to fairly determine which of our members will be interested in this wine. There are no guaranteed allocations and the wine is only available in increments of 3 bottles. We will ship immediately in the next few weeks with packaging materials and shipping channels specially designed to mitigate warm temperatures.

When smoke from the wildfires of August 2020 lingered in the valley, we knew from experience our red wines would likely be compromised. The fruit was several weeks away from reaching full maturity – poor timing for reds, but perfect for Rosé. So we decided to harvest some fruit early as an experiment. Rosé is much less susceptible to smoke taint because of minimal skin contact. We harvested mostly Merlot and a little Cabernet Sauvignon from our two Estate vineyards, Farella and Moonracer. Our aim was a lighter, fresher style of Rosé – gentle pressing, cooler fermentations, no wood impact. The result is a wine tailored perfectly for summer drinking.

At first, we weren’t sure we would release this wine. We didn’t want to risk the reputation we worked so hard to earn over all these years. But each time we tasted this wine, we found ourselves smiling – it was too good not to bottle it! Perhaps most of all, we are thrilled to craft a wine that sparks so much joy despite the challenges inherent in making it. Maybe that’s The Realm Way – making the most of something…never giving up. The wine is vibrant with citrus, floral and red fruit notes. There is no impact from smoke. The name, La Fe, is a reminder that winegrowing (and life) sometimes requires a little faith – in Nature, in one another, in ourselves, and maybe even in something greater."

I haven’t had a bottle from Realm I didn’t like. I’m in for 6. There’s something to be said for a quality producer that makes fantastic wines across the board, and acknowledges the importance of maintaining that reputation (in so far as they wouldn’t want to risk it).
Side note: yet another beautiful label.

1 Like

I hate posts like this . If a wine is great (yes this is a flyer) , and you will spend hundreds for other wines, why is $60 too much. Just because it is a rose ?? I just don’t get it .

I have a friend buying 6. I will take 1 or 2.

I’d take 1 if others were buying but I’m not going to do 3. The price is really high vs other CA roses (bedrock is $20, AR is $22, Myriad is $30, Salt Vine is ~$25) that I like. Even old world - Tempier Bandol is $45, etc. I’m sure it’s good, but just not worth it to me.

Hi everyone, sorry I’m late to the party. Thanks for the interest and dialogue here. Good feedback on the pricing and quantity parameters. Given the timing of release, we tried to be super careful about shipping temperatures. For California deliveries, we partnered with VinDelivery for white glove service. For the rest of the US, we opted for UPS Summer Solutions which is refrigerated until the “last mile.” We placed the restriction on bottles (3, 6, 9, 12) for this drop in order to simplify some of the logistics.

This Rosé certainly isn’t the wine we hoped to make from 2020 at the start of the season. But given what transpired last fall, I’m thrilled with how our team adapted and how this wine turned out. We wouldn’t bottle a wine nor release it if we weren’t fully confident that it belongs among our other wines in the Realm portfolio. I look forward to hearing some feedback as folks begin to taste La Fe next week…and I hope this wine is enjoyed poolside as the world starts to open up!

7 Likes

That I get 100%. It’s the blanket statements that don’t make sense to me. $60 for a Realm rose might give more pleasure than the $250 Realm Cab .

Scott , thanks as always for your posts . I realize it’s probably an unknown answer, but do you think this needs to sit for some time after delivery ? Maybe wait til next year ?

just can’t agree more

I am in 3, not a fan of Rose at all but I’d like to try Realm’s Rose. btw, the shipping cost is a little high, $30 for shipping in bay area.

1 Like

I think this wine should be ready to go! We bottled a month or so ago and I’ve been tasting it regularly to see how it’s showing. The wine still comes across as rather open to me. A little air definitely brings out the more delicate characteristics. We tasted through a lot of Rosé from California and Provence as we prepared for this drop. It was interesting for me to see some reduction on many of the Provence bottles. That made me wonder whether some producers are intentionally looking for some reduction because they know those bottles get opened and poured by the glass at various restaurants, hotels, etc. In our case, we tried to avoid reduction but at the same time capture the freshness. Will it age for a year or two? I think the answer is yes based on our experience with Fidelio…but my personal preferences lean toward enjoying this type of wine young and vibrant.

1 Like

Thanks Chris. Still experimenting with various shipping methods. Send me a note after you receive your package from VinDelivery. I think you’ll enjoy their level of service!

1 Like