Realm Cellars The Absurd 2015
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
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Winemaker Notes
Blend: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Composed of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, the singular, absolutely compelling 2015 The Absurd opens with a seriously intense black currant cordial and plum preserves core, slowly revealing cedar chest, mincemeat pie, potpourri and spice box hints plus a waft of chocolate-covered cherries. The full-bodied, concentrated palate is packed with opulent black fruits and baking spice layers, featuring a rock-solid backbone of tight-grained tannins and just enough freshness to lift and tantalize on the long, seductive finish. Only 250 cases were made.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another wine where my tasting note needed censoring, the 2015 The Absurd is as good as wine gets in this critic’s opinion. Made from 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc, it offers incredible notes of blueberries, incense, and Asian spices as well as more and more graphite, smoked earth, cedar and lead pencil notes with air. Deep, layered, and super concentrated, with a voluptuous texture and building tannin, it’s a massive wine by any measure, yet this is one case where I suspect the wine might shut down after a few years in bottle. If you’re lucky enough to have more than one bottle, I’d drink one in its youth and then hide the rest for at least 6-8 years.
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James Suckling
Aromas of spices, dark berries and hazelnuts. Some oyster shell and iodine, too. Full-bodied, tight and dialed in with hints of milk chocolate. A velvety textured palate. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc.
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Realm Cellars is one of Napa Valley’s most electrifying wine brands with estate vineyards in Stags Leap District, Pritchard Hill and Coombsville. In 2012, owner Scott Becker and his partner, winemaker Benoit Touquette teamed up to revive a nearly bankrupt brand. Since then, Realm has been transformed into one of the most collected wineries in Napa Valley, with a vineyard portfolio that today exemplifies the beauty and longevity of Napa Valley. Making wine at the very highest level is at the core of Realm Cellars. Since 2012, the wines have been awarded more 100-point scores from internationally recognized wine critics than any other producer in Napa Valley.
Formerly the Hartwell Estate, Realm acquired the property in 2015 and began initial construction and development phases of an endeavor that will take decades to realize. In 2022, Realm acquired Nine Suns and Houyi Vineyard in Napa Valley’s famed area, Pritchard Hill. Realm’s portfolio of wines includes estate, single vineyard wines and proprietary blends, unified by a “style” best described as a creative tension between richness and precision, density and finesse, purity of fruit and nuance. In addition to its estate vineyard sites, Realm partners with Napa Valley’s most prestigious and iconic wine growers and vineyard sites, including Beckstoffer Dr. Crane and Beckstoffer To Kalon.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.