Wine Advisor
Realm Cellars, Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
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Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard captures so much of what makes the Realm wines so appealing. It is maybe just a bit pushed in terms of its ripeness profile, but not as heavy or unctuous as in some past years. Blueberry jam, creme de cassis, lavender, licorice, spice and gravel build as the 2019 opens in the glass. This heady, full-throttle Cabernet is sure to delight Realm fans.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard captures so much of what makes the Realm wines so appealing. It is maybe just a bit pushed in terms of its ripeness profile, but not as heavy or unctuous as in some past years. Blueberry jam, creme de cassis, lavender, licorice, spice and gravel build as the 2019 opens in the glass. This heady, full-throttle Cabernet is sure to delight Realm fans.
About the Producer
Realm Cellars produced their first vintage in 2002 (made at Sherwin Family Winery by winemaker Mike Hirby). Along with their estate vineyards in the Stags Leap District, Realm Cellars sources fruit from a number of premium vineyards located within and around the Napa Valley including Dr. Crane, Farella and To Kalon vineyards. These vineyards are well-regarded in the industry both for the pedigree of their grapes as well as in some cases, historical significance. Both Dr. Crane and To Kalon are closely tied to the vineyard history of the Napa Valley and their specific sites combine the best in terroir and grapes to produce premium vineyards and wines. Realm’s mission is to produce limited amounts of premium wines from Bordeaux red varietals (both blends and single vineyard wines). Original founding partner, Juan Mercado switched careers from hospital administration in the San Francisco Bay Area to working in the wine industry. This is a career change that we venture a guess to say Juan certainly has no regrets about. Managing partner, Scott Becker joined Juan in 2012 – today Scott is the owner of Realm Cellars. He has been involved in the wine industry for many years – first working at Cakebread Cellars – later for Global Wine Partners, (a company that focused on wine investments) and then for Bill Harlan to help develop PROMONTORY. For many years, Realm did not own vineyards, and focused their efforts on securing high quality fruit from premium vineyards entirely within the Napa Valley – a “realm” of properties if you will that spans from Calistoga to Coombsville. For any vineyards they work with not under their ownership, they don’t just buy fruit – they develop a relationship with the owner or grower and play an integral part in how each vineyard is farmed. They employ their own viticulturist who works with the property owners/farmers on a full time basis. Their focus is two-fold; creating red blends from various Napa vineyards with proprietary names as well as single vineyard, mostly single varietal wines.
