Winemaker Notes
Blend: 42% Cabernet Franc, 42% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Falstaff, which is a blend of 42% Cabernet Franc, 42% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, is pushing perfection (but that will come with three other offerings made by Realm). This wine emanates from two great vineyards that don't get as much recognition as they deserve, Fortuna and Weitz, with the Blair Vineyard offering up some grapes as well. The wine has a dense purple color to the rim, flowery opulence, beautiful blueberry and blackberry fruit, some forest floor, and even some hints of black raspberries, mocha, tobacco leaf and lavender. An incredibly velvety, in-your-face, stunningly proportioned wine, this should drink well for a decade or more, if you can resist it that long.
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.