Susan Hanners

9.0

Acidic, melon on nose and palate — 8 months ago

Deborah M

8.9

Enjoyed this one with my parents. Nice Bordeaux that shows herb notes with a bit of anise. Silky smooth mouthfeel. I bet this could improve with more time in bottle. — 3 years ago

Manny Abascal

8.9

Could be amazing but had some funk on nose and palate. Also pretty high alcohol. Not flawed, just not great. I bet a good year with some age would be a knock out. — 3 years ago

Daniel M

9.0

After the Sicilian off dry white which I drank only a glass of in disappointment, I decided to open something I knew would make me happy. We are watching Dunkirk while drinking this wine and the contrast between the on-screen drama and the funky liveliness in the glass is stunning!
As usual the nose is a bit funky at fist and takes a good 20 to 30 minutes to set into place. Then it's violet, blueberry, clay, that iron thing too, which I always smell in this cuvée, no matter the vintage. The palate is big, bright and fruity. There are blueberry notes all along, some cherry too. Some width, a nice and soft mouthfeel, some tannins in the rear, and a really nice anf long finish with fruits, some pepper, and a nice tannic layer. There is a subtle savory note too, almost meaty, that makes it more complex than you would have bet at first. Of course this is, as always, a very biased review, but I mean, what's not to like there? — 10 months ago

Martin Mazner

9.0

Lovely smooth cab. Mellow, full bodied wine just made for a perfect medium rare filet. I’d bet it has a bit of merlot blended in. Would love to taste it with 5 years of aging but probably give in and drink it with my next hunk of red meat. Very enjoyable! — 3 years ago

with Jeremy

Jim McCusker

9.4

Late into our Zoom Happy Hour, we decided to open up The Bard. Since I only have older vintages of Realm (yeah, I know: poor me), I decided on the 2008. From the nose and palate I would have bet anything that this had a fair amount of cab franc in the blend, but it’s mainly cab sauvignon with about 15% petite verdot and a little malbec, I think. Anyway, this is holding up really well - and never lost a beat over several hours. I know their more recent vintages are knocking it out of the park in terms of scores, but if you have any bottles from their earlier years (first vintage of Realm was 2002), do yourself a favor and pull out one of these older bottles. They’re really good and will remind you that they were still making some pretty damn good juice before they got too cool for school. — 4 years ago

with Chris, David and 1 other

Jakub Kalinowski

9.0

Much brighter than I had in memory from prev vintages. Red fruit with crunchy cherry, some blackberry & blackcurramt emerge after some time, the wine quiets with time and starts showing more Bordeaux blend characteristics.
Nice mouthfeel, juicy, fresh, the tannins surprisingly present & vibrant. Nice earthy, leathery accent towards the finish adds complexity.
A safe bet with a steak that rarely disappoints. — a year ago

Hayden Hamilton

8.9

2016. Black cherry, roast tomatoes, oregano, tobacco, black pepper. Still tastes young and tannic. Bet it will be fantastic in 10 years. — 3 years ago

F Sanchis

9.1

A safe bet for gifts on this price range , excellent benefit cost ratio. — 3 years ago

Christian Ford

9.0

Always a good bet. Both Barthod and Les Bons Batons. — 4 years ago

with Renee