Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Houyi Vineyard Pritchard Hill (made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon) features beautiful incense, licorice and spice box scents with a crème de cassis core and waft of dusty earth. Full-bodied and powerfully fruited in the mouth, the decadent mincemeat and berry preserves flavors are textured by soft, velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with great persistence. This is one for the hedonists!
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Vinous
The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Houyi Vineyard is potent and explosive in the glass. The aromatics are lacking a bit of focus and the wine feels quite forward, giving the Houyi its decidedly ripe profile. Dark red fruit, cedar, tobacco and mocha show the signs of age. There's good depth, but this is fully mature. In 2015, Realm was buying fruit at Houyi, finally purchasing the vineyard in 2022. The impact of working with estate fruit in the vintages that followed has been significant.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.