The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is another perfect wine. A blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot (400 cases produced) aged in 100% new French oak, this gravelly site produced a wine with notes of wet pebbles, Haut Brion-like scorched earth and volcanic notes, some smoke, dark chocolate, forest floor, and massive amounts of blueberry and blackberry fruit. A wine of great intensity, depth and richness, if somehow Bordeaux´s Haut Brion were injected with steroids, it might taste like this monumental effort from Napa. This is pure perfection and should drink well young as well as 30 years from now. Bravo! 

There is a brilliant team of creative people behind the wines of Realm, led by French winemaker Benoit Touquette, who was mentored by the famous Libournais Michel Rolland and then got his first job in Napa working for consultant Andy Erickson. He is now working with another top talent, Realm founder Juan Mercado. It´s worth a look at their website, www.realmcellars.com, for a list of the entire team that´s been involved and the incredible experiences they´ve had working with some of the finest wineries, vineyards and talented minds in Napa Valley. As the following tasting notes indicate, they´ve hit major home runs across the board in 2013.

Score: 100 Robert Parker (RP), The Wine Advocate (WA), December 2015

So intense and aromatic with spices, blueberries and blackberries. Incredible nose. Then turns to dried mushrooms. Full body, extremely layered and beautiful. Powerful. Turns to iodine and oyster shell. Goes on for minutes. Superb. Try this in 2020, but so irresistible already. 225 cases.

Score: 99 James Suckling (JS), JamesSuckling.com, January 2016