Realm Cellars, The Tempest, Napa Valley

No detailed notes. Lived up to my expectations. Simultaneously straddles that line of being plush while also powerful. The Cab Franc really shines adding a nice spiciness. Everything amped up to 11. I'm sure this will develop with age, but with a 2 hours decant it drank very good right now.

vivid with complexity, definitely beat expectations!

Napa Quick Trip 2026; 1/10/2026-1/14/2026 (San Francisco and Napa) : Restrained and elegant Merlot blend, this was my second favorite of the tasting. Red fruit dominant at the moment, but lots of potential for complexity as it ages. This is a ‘22 that will surprise a lot of people in five years after it integrates completely. Really glad I bought and got to see some early evolution on this one.

45 min decant. Very pretty nose. Violet, blackcurrant, plum, mocha, and inky aroma. Blackcurrant, black cherry, plum, and a touch of eucalyptus on the palte. Silky smooth mouthfeel. Tannis were not as bad as I was expecting.

Drank over 2 days. Much better day 2, yet wine seemed out of sorts. I’m chalking it up to the poor vintage. Hold

PNP to 2 hours and second day- Dark shiny juicy garnet and purple color. Nose is fragrant and creamy and has dark red fruit, black cherry, mulberries, chocolate covered crushed dried ripe red berries, orange peels, minty dried sage on the far edge of the nose. Nose transforms as palate. Palate is gorgeous medium to full bodied, full of creamy ripe dark red fruit, ripe raspberries, mulberries, creamy red dried fruit, orange peel with minty mild spices. For 2022 it’s …

Outstanding Merlot dominant blend. Fragrant on the nose but not in a floral way, powerful and juicy but yet in an elegant way. Long finish that leaves you wanting more. Another fantastic wine from Realm.

Same notes as previous

Last bottle corked, so had to try again to see if case was tainted. All good here. As tasted previously.

Nose of cooling red and juicy fruit, with a bit of chocolate. The acid and tannins were all cranked up and mouth filling, but seemed out of balance and too punchy. Tannins almost came across a bit bitter. I would say this wine was in some sort of backwards phase that was not showing well at all. Hoping this was just a particular bottle not showing well and not indicative of others. Not scored as I didn’t get a chance …

Excellent! Mid range depth. Definitely more structure than most CA merlot-based wines.

Corked.

Majority Merlot, dark spicy plums , velvety chocolate, plump and round, quite a bit of freshness as well, tannins felt velvety but still had robust structure for a 2022. I can imagine this wine showing very well in say 2021 or 2023.

Very dark, almost totally opaque. Rich body with fine tannins and good acid balance. Very full body for Merlot, quite enjoyable.