Realm Practical Dreamers Tour - No TNs, just general impressions

Went to the one in SF on Tuesday at Morton’s.

It was held downstairs in a fairly large room and a pretty large turnout.

There were tables set up along the perimeter with typically three bottles at each table and two pourers.

There was also a carved meat table and a cheese table, as well as servers walking around with lamb chops, crab cakes, etc.

Good amount of food and decent, but really was all about the wines.

All 2017s being offered were poured, as well as the 2016 Absurd and the 2017 Kata and Ghost Dog, which were nice surprises.

David Beckstoffer was pouring the Kata and Ghost Dog and was great to talk with him.

Even though there were a lot of people, it seemed like all the Realm people were available to chat with, including Juan, Scott, and Benoit.

Scott and Benoit gave a nice speech, with Benoit talking about the 2017 season (fires), which eliminated their cab franc offering for the vintage.

No tasting notes on the wines, but I enjoyed all of them and will be buying some of their 2017s.

Overall, a very nice event and something I’m glad I was able to attend.

They also give you an updated coffee table quality book at the end, but if you want to get signatures from Benoit, Scott, Juan, David, and others, get it when you check in. Would be a nice keepsake.

Thanks for sharing Tom. I’d be interested in hearing if you or others have perspectives on any of the particular wines compared to prior years.

It was hard for me to compare because there were so many Realm wines to taste and the setting made it a bit hard (for me) to focus on more analytical tasting, but rather just enjoying the wines.

The main reason was that I just don’t drink Realm wines this early in their life.

Also, there were a lot I tasted that I have never had before (Moonracer, Houyi), as my primary purchases have been Tempest, Bard, Dr. Crane, and Absurd.

That said, I thought generally the 2017s were drinking well and relatively soft (in a good way, tannic-wise) given how young they were, but again, cannot say how they were similar or different than other vintages because I never had them this young.

The 2016 Absurd was very big, and for me, not drinking all that great at this stage.

Thanks Tom. Makes sense on it being a tough setting to do a thorough tasting.

Interesting feedback on the Absurd. I’ve never had it given I haven’t been able to stomach the price.

Anyone else have any perspectives from the recent realm events?

I was at the NY event last night and my experience mirrored that of Tom. The ‘17 Bard was excellent and ready to drink with a few hours of air; the Houyi was also great. I totally agree with the comment on the Absurd (which I have purchased and tasted) - it was really tight and not showing its full potential. Overall, I am looking forward to purchasing the ‘17s.