2008 Realm The Falstaff
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Tasting notes
(77% cabernet franc, 20% petit verdot and 3% merlot): Good bright ruby. Aromas of bitter chocolate and oak char lifted by violet and a leafy note. Then juicy, spicy and a bit youthfully imploded in the mouth, but showing more verve than the Tempest. A rocky quality contributes precision to the dark berry flavors. This became creamier with aeration without losing its energy. Smooth but not at all overly sweet, finishing with a saline nuance and very good length.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2008 The Falstaff (77% Cabernet Franc, 20% Petit Verdot, and the rest Merlot) could easily be Realm’s version of a St.-Emilion. This wine has an opaque purple color and subtle hints of tobacco leaf, licorice, black raspberry, and blueberry. Made in an elegant, medium to full-bodied, very flowery style that clearly highlights the large Cabernet Franc component, there is an ethereal richness to this wine, and as it sits in the glass, notes of black raspberry and crushed rock also appear. These beautiful, lovingly made, hand-crafted wines are all bottled unfined and unfiltered. Tel. (707) 967-0226; fax (707) 967-0227
(77% cabernet franc, 20% petit verdot and 3% merlot) Good dark red-ruby. Candied dark berries, licorice and violet on the sexy nose. Sweet, dense and juicy but quite primary today, with firm acids and serious tannins giving the wine a youthful toughness. Shows plenty of 2008 spice character, and the building tannins are ultimately fine. Winemaker Mike Hirby vinified with a bit less contact with the grape skins and seeds in 2008.