2019 Realm "Farella Vineyard" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

“Realm took over the management of Farella vineyard in 2018. Since then, winemaker Benoit Touquette explained their focus has been to open out the canopy, creating better exposure for the fruit, aiming to achieve riper tannins. A blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Farella Vineyard has a deep garnet-purple color and a powerful, expressive nose of baked plums, juicy blackberries and blackcurrant pastilles, plus touches of black olives, lavender and cinnamon stick, with a waft of fragrant earth. The full-bodied palate is seriously dense and muscular, featuring a rock-solid foundation of super ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and energy. A spectacular showing for Farella! (LPB) 98+” (09/2021)

“From 25 acres of vines shared between Realm and Farella vineyard in Coombsville, this wine lifts out of the glass with alluring blackberry, graphite, fracture slate, and dusty cedarwood. It is full-bodied and full-flavoured, with a deep, penetrating core of black and blue fruit and richness from Merlot that plumps up the mid-palate. A structured centre of supple, building tannins gains volume and intensity through a billowing finish of stark, stony minerals and high-toned baking spices. (JC)” (02/2023)

“The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Farella Vineyard is tremendous. Winemaker Benoit Touquette has captured all of the savory and mineral nuances that are such a signature of this Coombsville site balanced with ripe, radiant expression of fruit. Red plum, rose petal, cinnamon and blood orange are all laced together in a Cabernet of real distinction. This is the first vintage that incorporates a touch (8%) of Merlot, which helps soften some of the youthful angularity Farella Cabernets often show. (AG)” (01/2022)

“The first time this cuvée includes Merlot, the 2019 Farella is 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot and comes from a cooler site in the Coombsville appellation. Textbook Cabernet, with lots of dark fruits, lead pencil, violets, and cedary tobacco notes, it has firmer tannins, full-bodied richness, and a concentrated, age-worthy style. In short, it’s a classic, brilliant Coombsville Cabernet. 96+” (12/2021)

“Lots of lead-pencil and blackcurrant aromas. Apricots, too. Medium-bodied with cashmere tannins that are so fine and fresh. Layered. 92% cabernet sauvignon and 8% merlot.” (03/2022)