Hi everyone, we are ramping up for our 2021 fall release so thought I would open the floor for discussion, questions, commentary, etc. I really appreciate the dialogue and feedback on WB from past releases. As always, you’re welcome to email or call me anytime.
This year’s fall release includes 2019 The Tempest, Falstaff, The Bard, and Moonracer. A few comments on each:
The Tempest. 80 Merlot / 20 Cab Sauv. Merlot coming from our estate in SLD, Farella in Coombsville, and Orchard in Oak Knoll. The Cabernet comes from Houyi on Pritchard Hill. This is perhaps one of the more muscular versions of Tempest in recent years.
Falstaff. 50 Cab Franc / 38 Cab Sauv / 12 Merlot. Upper Range Cab Franc, Houyi Cabernet, Ecotone Merlot. This wine shows the unique character of Cab Franc - forest floor, herbal, tea notes to compliment the fruit. Lots of backbone, tension, energy here…but at this moment in bottle maybe showing a bit backward to me…so I recommend letting this one rest for a few years.
The Bard. 81 Cab Sauv / 14 Merlot / 5 PV. A little something from almost every vineyard where we source fruit – 20+ components went into this blend. 2019 The Bard seems to me more expressive immediately after bottling than, say, 2018. I’ll be curious to get feedback about how it’s showing this fall compared to impressions about 2018 last fall.
Moonracer. 98 Cab Sauv / 2 Merlot. Full spectrum of fruit. 2018 and 2019 vintages of this wine are very strong as we continue to refine farming and vinification. I love the layers to this wine.
I wrote this in the release email but I think someday it will be interesting to look back at the decade of the 2010s in Napa Valley. It was arguably the best decade yet. Even the more challenging vintages like 2011 and 2017 turned out some very good wines. I think the 2019 vintage will deserve its place among the best from this decade. Perhaps 2013 or 2016 will still eclipse this vintage in the future but time will tell. The rough start to the 2020s in Napa Valley is a reminder to be grateful for the blessings from Mother Nature that we all enjoyed during the 2010s.
The price of our first estate wine Moonracer has not changed since inception and continues to be $250 during the release. The 3 blends in this release will each see a $10 price increase – Tempest to $110, Bard to $120, Falstaff to $185. We have not increased the price for The Bard since the 2015 vintage…and I know I’ve written on this board many times about making sure that wine in particular over-delivers for the price. I still think we are doing that but as always I welcome any feedback. Consistent with the last several years, the release price is only available to members during the two-week release…afterward, the wines revert to retail pricing. We do this to align with our trade partners around the world.
The wines being offered in fall 2021 and spring 2022 will be part of the normal release cycle. After that, we are in uncharted territory with the loss of the 2020 vintage. Candidly, it has been very hard to deal with the loss of an entire vintage. It’s not just the producer or the grower who feels the loss, think about the ripple effect – no need to order barrels this year, an entire vintage worth of glass and corks not being ordered, zero wine for our trade customers whose livelihoods depend on supply. I think we are only now beginning to digest what it means to lose the entire crop (for some producers). The 2020 vintage divided the winegrowing community in a way that I haven’t seen before. But we will find our way through this…
Thankfully, we had a healthy crop at Realm in 2018 and 2019…and that will partly bridge the gap. We have held back a few unreleased wines, small amounts of library stock, and a generous mix of 3-Liters…and we plan to release those in various drops or offerings over the next 18 to 24 months. It’s an opportunity to experiment, to innovate, to once again reinvent ourselves.
The 2021 Harvest is underway and we are all hoping for clear skies and calm weather for another few weeks. Thanks to so many of you who have been part of the Realm journey. Your support is meaningful and we are thrilled to share the first part of the 2019 vintage with you next week!
