2015 Realm Houyi

[Michael-P]

The past 11 years living in the Bay Area and spending lots of time in Napa (we had a house there during those years) pushed me to trying all kinds of “cult” cabs, as long as they were less than $300/bottle. How did I ever get to such price heights? I’m an idiot. And despite always looking for the diamond in the rough, the $35 bottle that tastes like $300, the only few of those I have found are “dinosaurs” (closed/extinct wineries). I also found I liked many wines from the Pritchard Hill area (a few there include Chappellet, Bryant, Colgin, Ovid, Brand) so I grabbed a Realm Houyi (Houyi is a vineyard in the Pritchard Hill area, I believe at the former Nine Suns property) to try, rated 97 by Jeb.

2015 Realm Houyi – Dark red with purple tints, nose of smoke and dark fruits. Very sweet and concentrated, lots of blueberry pancake syrup, hints of cherry, soft tannins and medium finish. At best interesting, but really a monolithic and simple disappointment. Makes me think I need to give up this Napa crap (reminds me of even worse the few JCB over extracted syrup bombs we tried a few years ago) and stick to Bordeaux. 90

[stefan]

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Makes me think I need to give up this Napa crap
>>

The final straw for me was the 1997 vintage. When I tried them young, they all tasted the same. When I tasted some 10+ years later, they all tasted the same. OK; that is an unjustified generalization, but given the inflated prices of Napa Cabs, I am not motivated to explore to find the exceptions. I'll stick to Bordeaux.

[JimHow]

2019 and 2020 have me convinced that Bordeaux is very much alive and well, perhaps never been better.

[barsacpinci]

Don’t give up on Napa entirely! There are still some beautiful wines made there. At a recent New World tasting we hosted, a Saxum, Shafer Hillside, Dominus, Ken Wright Pinot were delicious for me.

[Jay Winton]

2007 Robert Craig Howell Mountain cab was old school Napa in the best way recently. BWE was at their tasting facility on Howell Mountain, many moons ago.

[William P]

Don’t give up on Napa entirely! There are still some beautiful wines made there. At a recent New World tasting we hosted, a Saxum, Shafer Hillside, Dominus, Ken Wright Pinot were delicious for me.

Ken Wright is a Willamette wine. I haven't been a lover of Calif since 1982.

Bill

[stefan]

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Ken Wright is a Willamette wine. I haven't been a lover of Calif since 1982.
>>

Ken Wright PNs are better, for my taste, than any comparably priced CA PNs.

Brian, if Dominus were $50-70, I would buy it. It is one of the most Bordeaux-like of the Napa Cabs.

[barsacpinci]

Oops that’s right, Ken Wright is Oregon

So you’d only spend 50-70 on Dominus? What would you spend on a first growth Bordeaux? I find it comparable.

Granted, there are some ridiculously priced California wines (Screagle, Harlan, Scarecrow). Bordeaux has them, too (Petrus, le Pin, Lafleur, Liber Pater)

[stefan]

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What would you spend on a first growth Bordeaux?
>>

My last first growth purchase was 7 bottles of Lafite 1983 for around $400 per bottle.

I think Dominus is $300+ now for most vintages. If you place it at first growth level, it is a good buy. I would rather buy one of the Pichons at around $200 or even Leoville-Barton at around $100. If Dominus were, say, $100, I would certainly buy a few to decide if I really like Barton more. At $50-70, I would buy a lot of Dominus.