Cabernet Sauvignon

One of the best vintages yet for this wine and one of the more affordable reds in the Realm portfolio.  It is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 5% Petite Verdot.  Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is great with cassis, blueberries, chocolate, graphite, and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Cassis, blueberries, some dark cherries with spice and slight char.  Long finish.  This is young and would benefit from additional cellaring.  It should drink well for another twenty years.  Great on its own, this would be great

Obviously young, this needs some time but will be great.  Inky purple in color, shimmering bright and opaque.  The nose has cassis, roasted herbs, graphite and slight chocolate.  Full bodied.  Very firm tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is concentrated and tight.  Cassis, char and slight chocolate.  Long finish.  This needs another three to five years and then should drink well for twenty after that.  No doubt its score will improve by a few points at least.  Better on its own at his point, but it would work with a grilled steak.  

This  may be my favorite vineyard that Rivers Marie utilizes.  A Wow wine.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, graphite, dark chocolate, spice and char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Great energy.  On the palate, this is young but complex and deep.  Also delicious.  Flavors of cassis, chocolate and spice with some leather and char.  Long finish.  This should continue to develop and maybe improve.  It should drink well for another twenty years.  Great on its own, this needs big food right now, but brisket or Rib Roast should work well.  

This is their basic Washington Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is a nice value and provides good quality for the money.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, black cherries, slight bell pepper and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, cassis and black cherries with underlying char.  Good finish. This drinks great on its own and will work well with typical Cab matches.  A nice wine with a sausage Pizza.  Drink over the next ten years.  

There is an old saying that great wineries make great wine even in off vintages.  That is undoubtedly true and this is yet another example.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, graphite, slight leather, spice and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Great energy.  On the palate, this is deep, complex and delicious.  Perhaps maturing a bit quicker than better vintages.  At age 13 it is nearing peak.  Loads of cassis with some tobacco and char.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and will work well with most non-seafood dishes.  It went great with a P

This is Trefethen's top wine.  Trefethen, as a winery, dates back to 1973.  The wine is middle of the road in terms of style for a Napa Cab.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, black cherries, slightly woody, spice and slight roasted coffee.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is tasty.  Flavors of black cherries, cassis and spice.  Long finish.  This is nice on its own and very food friendly (probably not seafood).  It went well with a couple of homemade veggie pizzas.  Drink over the next ten years.

Gorgeous wine.  Tench vineyard shares a border with Screaming Eagle (a bit of name dropping).  This wine was huge on release and while still fruit forward, at age 10, it is drinking wonderfully.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is deep and complex with cassis, blueberries, sandalwood, slight soy sauce with earthiness and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Lush texture.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Flavors of cassis, blueberries, black cherries, spice and char.  Deep and complex.  Long finish.  This will drink beautifully for another twenty years.  Great on its own, t

This is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec, and 8% Petite Verdot.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, fresh herbs, cedar, leather and char.  Nice texture.  Medium tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is nice.  Good fruit.  Black cherries, cassis, with some earthiness.  Good finish. This seems about at peak but should drink well for another seven to ten years.  Nice on its own, this will work with most (non-seafood) foods.  

While not their "top" wine, this is an ultra premium Cabernet that is on par with Napa or any other Cabernets at this price level.  It is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Petit Verdot.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is open and enticing.  Cassis, black raspberries, cigar box, chocolate, spice and char.

This is their basic Cabernet.  it is a blend of 77.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15.6% Petit Verdot, 6.5% Merlot, and 0.4% Cabernet Franc.  It had been in a decanter for about 45 minutes when I tried it.  Nevertheless, it was at least partially shut down at this point.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is very tight.  With some air in the glass, it opened a bit more.  Aromas of Black cherries, sandalwood and slight char.  Medium to full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, it is a bit more open.  Black cherries with some spice and char.  Moderate finish.  This wine needs time