2022 Realm Cellars The Bard Proprietary Blend Napa Valley

Very focused, pure and well balanced, showing great poise and freshness for a full-bodied Napa red. This cabernet sauvignon-dominant blend is bold and packed with dark fruit, toasted oak and dark spices. Black cherries, dried blueberries, blackberries, black pepper and chocolate mint. Well concentrated and delicious. Drink now or hold. ~96 James Suckling

One of the valley's great, great values, the 2022 The Bard is based on 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Franc, and the rest a mix of varieties. It has a killer nose of bright red and blue fruits intermixed with spring flowers, graphite, baking spices, and incense. This carries to a beautifully balanced, full-bodied red that has a lively, elegant mouthfeel and fine tannins. It competes with wines at 2-3 times its going rate, especially in a vintage like 2022. ~95 Jeb Dunnuck

A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Petite Sirah, and 1% Charbono, sourced from top vineyard sites, including Bourn for Petite Sirah, Tofanelli for Charbono, and selections from Upper Range, Moon Racer, Blair (Calistoga), and Farella. This wine delivers Realm's rich, dark fruit signature, with excellent density and concentration, building on the full-bodied palate. Suave, well-integrated tannins frame notes of tobacco and liquid graphite, driving a long, mineral-laced finish. Crunchy dark berry fruit and wild sweet herbs add complexity, promising further refinement with age — a cellar-worthy wine in this vintage. ~95 Decanter

The 2022 The Bard is packed with dark cherry, plum, mocha, new leather and incense. Medium in body and vibrant. It shows the riper side of the year yet retains terrific balance. There's plenty of immediacy and appeal. This is the largest production wine at Realm, so it naturally includes fruit harvested before, during and after the heat. ~ 94 Vinous Media

Cedar, mixed red and black cherries, cassis and violet notes appear on the nose of Realm's 2022 The Bard. A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% each Charbono and Petite Sirah, it's full-bodied, rich and chocolaty, maybe just a touch warm but reasonably balanced given the challenges of the vintage. Long and slightly coarsely textured on the finish, it looks to be a wine to consume over the next decade. ~ 93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate