Realm Cellars, The Tempest Red Blend, Napa Valley, California, 2022

Overview of the Wine
'This blessed plot, this earth, this realm...' Immortal lines from William Shakespeare’s King Richard II, the source of Realm’s – and this wine’s – name. We’ve made this Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blend since 2003, our tribute to the great wines of Bordeaux’s Left Bank. We consider The Bard to be the quintessential wine of Realm: a dense, weighty and concentrated wine that year in and year out showcases the very best Cabernet Sauvignon of Napa Valley. Beckstoffer To Kalon and Dr. Crane, Blair Vineyard, Weitz Vineyard, Fortuna Vineyard and Beckstoffer Orchard have all found a place in The Bard. While the composition of the wine varies from year to year, Cabernet Sauvignon typically comprises over 70% of the blend, joined by lesser percentages of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and/or Petit Verdot.

Realm Cellars is a journey. Just eight years ago, the winery was nearly bankrupt when owner Scott Becker and winemaker Benoit Touquette teamed up to revive it. Fueled by a clear vision, an entrepreneurial spirit and relentless determination, they transformed Realm into one of the most electrifying domaines in Napa Valley today. Now with its own hillside Estate in the Stags Leap District, 50 acres of vines and access to a number of the finest vineyards in the appellation, Realm makes some of the most sought-after wines in Napa Valley.

Making wine at the very highest level is at the core of Realm Cellars. Since 2012, the wines have been awarded more 100-point scores from internationally recognized wine critics than any other producer in Napa Valley. The Realm portfolio includes both Single Vineyard wines and Proprietary Blends – collectively, the wines are equal parts an expression of the land and an articulation of the winemaking craft. The house style of Realm can best be described as a creative tension between richness and precision, density and finesse, purity of fruit and nuance.

The next chapter of Realm Cellars promises to be just as bold. The vision for what Realm can be encompasses more than creating fine wines. This passionate team is ready to push ahead in its relentless quest to secure an enduring place among the icons of the wine world. The best is yet to come.

Grape / Blend
67% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin
Napa Valley, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The 2022 The Tempest is a blend of 67% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes skipping out of the glass with bright, cheery notes of black raspberries, mulberries, and kirsch, leading to hints of lavender, wild sage, and aniseed. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers bright, crunchy fruit with firm, fine-grained tannins and great tension, finishing on a lingering peppery note. This was bottled in March 2024.

96 Points - The Wine Independent
The 2022 The Tempest is a blend of 67% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes skipping out of the glass with bright, cheery notes of black raspberries, mulberries, and kirsch, leading to hints of lavender, wild sage, and aniseed. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers bright, crunchy fruit with firm, fine-grained tannins and great tension, finishing on a lingering peppery note. This was bottled in March 2024.

Product size: 750ml