Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Realm's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Houyi Vineyard is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. From a terrific vintage, it offers up seductive notes of black cherries that hint at surmaturité, plus hints of dark chocolate and coffee. Full-bodied and velvety on the palate, with a long, supple finish, this is pretty lush, sexy stuff.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Houyi Vineyard comes from a great vineyard (which is now owned by Realm) on Pritchard Hill. Lots of gravelly earth and mineral as well as blue fruit, chocolate, leather, and violet notes emerge on the nose, and it's full-bodied on the palate, with beautiful tannins and flawless balance. It's incredibly complex and brings plenty of mountain structure and concentration on the palate while holding onto a beautiful sense of finesse and elegance.
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James Suckling
A solid pure cabernet sauvignon with form and muscle tone that shows typical Pritchard Hill character. It’s full-bodied with chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Lots of crushed stone. This needs some time to soften and open.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.