2021 Realm Cellars The Bard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

In the summer of 2007, we sat down for dinner at Pasadena’s famed Arroyo Chop House. We wanted a great Cabernet, but also something new, so we took a chance on a half-bottle from a producer we’d barely heard of: Realm Cellars. 

That wine just about changed our view of how rich, silky, and hedonistic a Napa Cabernet could be. 

But we're sure our Napa Cab fans don’t need much of an introduction. Crafted by multi-100-point star Benoit Touquette, Realm wines go for jaw-dropping sums: Their 2021 The Absurd is fetching over $1,000 at the moment. Their other bottles go for $300+, which makes The Bard their most accessible red by far. 

The Bard’s name is a nod to Shakespeare, from whom Realm takes its own moniker. The wine is a Cabernet-dominant red whose label simply says Napa Valley—but take a look at these these sources: Blair, Houyi, Beckstoffer To Kalon, Beckstoffer Bourn, Larkmead, Realm SLD Estate, Farella, Orchard, and Bettinelli Upper Range all go into this wine. That’s an all-star list of Napa Valley sites, which is why this bottle belongs in the top tier. It earned a big-time score of 98 points from Jeb Dunnuck and 97 points from The Wine Independent, the publication of former Wine Advocate editor-in-chief Lisa Perrotti-Brown. 

We’re thrilled to bring you this bottle. We don’t doubt it will impress you like our first Realm wine impressed us.