Yesterday, my husband and I had a chance to visit the estate. It was a spectacular experience, that I very highly recommend if you have a chance to visit. But hurry because this particular estate visit, called Art and Science, ends I believe in March 2025.
I now clearly understand why the Hartwell wines are so limited, and why this will likely be the case for quite some time. There are plans for expansion, but Napa is full of obstacles. In the meantime, the current vines are decades old, planted with a north-south direction, which leaves the west-facing sides of the vines to the intensity of the sun for an extended period during the growing season. It was explained that this means those clusters are sacrificed, even with mitigation. Add to that red blotch and this is a very low-yielding vineyard. The Moonracer vineyard is younger and at a lower elevation, with perhaps a more “modern” orientation.
But there was so much more to this tour, like how they engineered and created the ability to collect and store much needed water from all the various streams on the property, for the vineyard misters and the day to day winery operations.Two cave tours…one cave was science, which explained many innovations they have made since acquiring the property. For example, how they figured out how to limit barrel evaporation through the bunghole by utilizing rolling barrel racks, which yields more bottles of wine for you and me. The other cave was art, which was extensive bespoke murals by two amazing artists with a story to tell.
And of course the wines! We had a friend with us as well, who was thoroughly impressed with all the wines and could not stop talking about the Bard. We loved them all, from the SB to the Rose to the single-vineyard CS, however, the Bard is just a special wine. Perhaps it is the QPR!
We can’t wait to come back for the next iteration of the tour next year !
Might be worth a relook at your allocation. I had several new offerings of all ages pop up. I didn’t see the 3l of the bard I have been looking for, but a great variety of sizes and SVS.
Realm sent an email today about their new Realm X events and tastings. One of the nuggets on info in there was the announcement of a new wine called Ocean Crossing, which is a collaboration with La Conseillante from Pomerol.
Here is what they say:
“Some friendships develop gradually over time; others seem to happen instantaneously. The latter was the case when Scott met Jean-Valmy Nicolas, co-proprietor of the revered Pomerol domaine, La Conseillante. The scene was a dinner in Bordeaux arranged by a mutual friend. Scott and Jean-Valmy hit it off immediately, their enthusiasm and values around entrepreneurship and standards of excellence aligning seamlessly. As the evening progressed, the idea of collaborating on a wine naturally arose.
That was the genesis of Ocean Crossing, a wine we introduce at our new Estate Visit Series beginning in February 2025. We are incredibly honored to work with La Conseillante on this project. With roots in the 18th century, La Conseillante is undoubtedly one of France’s most esteemed wine domaines, owned for over 150 years by the Nicolas family and today overseen by 5th generation cousins, Jean-Valmy and Bertrand Nicolas.
The 2022 Ocean Crossing, a blend of 55% La Conseillante and 45% Realm Houyi Vineyard, is truly a collaboration created by both teams during intensive blending sessions held at our Houyi Estate. Scott and Jean-Valmy, together with Benoit and La Conseillante’s Managing Director and Winemaker, Marielle Cazaux (who know each other from attending the University of Bordeaux), tasted multiple lots from both producers in a days-long quest that was challenging, exciting and even a bit emotional. Both teams were prepared to walk away if we couldn’t achieve a blend that met our expectations. Fortunately, that was not the case.”
I’m curious what people think of this concept of blending wines from completely different regions (or continents in this case). I tried a Penfolds wine once that was a blend of Napa and Australia grapes. It seemed more a gimmick than anything. But I generally trust Realm to only release high quality products, so this one has me interested, especially as Conseillante is one of my favorite Bordeaux estates.
I’d love if @scott.becker chimed in with any additional info on this one.
I’m curious what people think of this concept of blending wines from completely different regions (or continents in this case).
Only other example of this I’ve heard of is from Maggie Harrison at Antica Terra. She has a wine called The Glories which is a blend of chardonnay from Oregon and roussanne from California. Have been lucky to try it twice and it’s excellent. In so many tasting visits, you get used to hearing about the sense of place and the terroir so it was really refreshing to hear someone dive into the art of blending specifically.
My question on this would be the logistics and transportation of unblended wine and the impact that might have, would it not unsettle it? Would be interested to hear @scott.becker thoughts on this.
Kinda where my head was at. Can’t be apples to apples sitting in barrels next to each other. Depending on the shipping method its going to get worked over one way or another. Granted, all wine gets worked over shipping in a bottle. Barrels are a bit different I’d wager if thinking out loud. Not averse, more curious.
Hi all, thanks for the questions. Logistics were naturally an issue to solve with this project. We transported the wine from La Conseillante to Napa in stainless steel kegs, wrapped and palletized, via temperature-controlled air freight. We took precautions for oxidation and sent samples to the lab before and after shipping to ensure continuity and cleanliness. Once blended, the wine went back to barrel and followed normal Realm protocols from there.
I’ve had some of these other blends and I was/am certainly mindful that this could come off as a gimmick. Robert, you mentioned Maggie…I have enormous respect for her and her wines, and I think she’s certainly pulled off something authentic. Valmy, Marielle, Benoit and I had some very vigorous discussions about the concept of a shared blend and we agreed we would only bottle something if we thought it was compelling. The blend had to be more than interesting - it had to be great, since both domaines have their name attached to this wine.
Clearly I am a believer in terroir. But it was somewhat liberating to work on this blend because it challenged our preconceived ideas about how the various components would fit together. Pomerol and Pritchard Hill wines are just built so differently. We expected the La Conseillante lots to bring the freshness, but how would the Realm lots integrate, especially from a vintage with a heat spike like 2022? We knew Realm lots would bring power but would they overwhelm the finesse of Merlot from Pomerol? In the end, I think we all came away from the exercise with a renewed appreciation and sense of awe for the magic of blending.
It will be fun to share this wine with the folks who visit us at Realm Houyi Estate - especially to first taste a bottle of La Conseillante and then Realm Houyi separately. My passion and respect for La Consillante has only grown through this project, and I hope we have the opportunity to do it again.
Penfolds has a Australian/Napa blend called “Quantum.” There is a four continent cab blend called “Pangaea.” They are definitely bucking the trend to making wine based on vineyards or terrior.
So the reviews from ANTONIO GALLONI came out and they weren’t so spectacular. He indicated it was a rough vintage.
It looks like maybe there worst since 2010.
Except for two bottling in the range, looked pretty good to me considering the vintage. I don’t think anyone is going to say they made their best wines in 22.