Wow! This was ABSURDLY good! Had this with dinner at my friend Dick's house about 4 months ago and I am just catching up with TN. He almost popped the 2019 Absurd but I talked him in to popping the 2016 instead. We decanted this for an hour before dinner. I tried this on pnp and it was delicious but it filled out a touch with air.
This wine is dark purple almost black in color with a beautifully expressive nose and a palate to match. Intense flavors of creme de cassis, blackberry, blueberry, chocolate, and forest floor with a finish that goes on and on. The purity and depth of the fruit is just insane. With the power of this wine I was surprised that it does not come across as overbearing at all. This was also fantastic with the slow cooked beef roast we had. We drank this next to a 2019 Vice Versa To Kalon which is the only other wine I have given a 100 pts too and the Realm was substantially better and the best wine I have ever drank.
I coached baseball for 15 years and specialized in hitting. There are two components to hitting: the mechanics and timing. You can have a picture perfect swing and if your timing is off (to early or to late) you miss the ball. I feel like wine is a bit of the same.
This wine has great mechanics as Realm takes its very best fruit from that year and concocts a magical potion overseen by a stellar line up. This night the timing was just perfect and the wine knocked it out of the park.
This was my first time drinking this wine so a big thank you to my friend Dick for sharing this wonderful wine with us!
A very good wine. Creamy and buttery taste, with a hint of chocolate and vanilla. Powerful structure and definitely full bodied. High alcohol level and high tannin. But the hype of this wine outweighted its actual performance; I have definitely drank better California cabs that are cheaper than this, for example, Bevan Sugarloaf Mt.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Napa 2023 - The Sequel; 8/23/2023-8/28/2023: PnP and this was ready from the start. Still a little youth showing but wow, what a wine. Red berry and blue fruit complimented by a chocolate note on the back end. Not overly complex, but fun to drink. Everything in harmony, no hard edges. WOTN at dinner.
Much better than the ‘14s I’ve had which were more black fruited and heavy on the plums.
Missed out on the Benjamin because I think this can get even better. Sadly, I will never know, this was my last.
Ok so been heavy on Old World and about to have an Epic Piedmont dinner next week so… let’s go big or go home and boy did this deliver the ultimate guilty pleasure.
2018 Revana block 6- their best wine hands down. More on that wine under that tasting note.
2016 Realm Absurd- I was a big fan of realm years ago and have become jaded as of late due to a number of issues from lower quality/massive sourcing which is inherent in exponential growth as well as other more mundane back office items- anywho… this wine is on point and firing on all cylinders.Tremendous concentration yet wonderful balance and oak integration. Big round opulence and pure sexy beast yet not manipulating obscurity as found in other higher end wines that over extract into oblivion. This wine rocks- from the first sip to the last and has enough gobs of cassis and blackberries to fill Goldilocks basket for ever. Big upfront fruit stays big and strong even with hours in the glass/decanter until the dark damp earth takes over and showcases its Naughty side - coffee, dark chocolate and pure forbidden(ness). Long finish to round out the greatness. Tasted on PNP. Two hours in decanter at cellar temp. Not overly structured (as expected) but is highly concentrated but in a good way. Take that info as you would like especially if only one bottle remaining :)
When we talk about a wine's quality, it's not only the current stauts but future development. Absurd 16 is going to be a wine in the history, but not now. Double decanted for 12 hours and still pretty close compared to Realm BTK 16, nose was red fruit, black fruit and a bit wood, not creamy like other realm. Tannins super refined and tough, palate was huge and not silky. The quality and potential is greater than btk 16 but btk 16 was more enjoyable at the moment. This wine will be perfect maybe a decade later.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Showing a lot better than the last time I had it. This wine just needs time. Had it next to a 2015 Vice Versa Magnificent Seven, and by comparison this was a monster that was much more unresolved, not as focused, but with immense potential. Decanted for 5 hours. The aromas are dominated by vanilla and oak, but given even more time some floral emerges next to creme de cassis, blackberries and cherries. Super full bodied and powerful on the palate, this has depth for days. Lots of amazing layers with a complex mix of fruit and earth. The oak is still a dominating presence, but amazingly it doesn't weigh the wine down at all. With super fine tannins, gorgeous fruit and superior quality, it is only a matter of time until this wine is hitting on all cylinders. I'd wait a few years to pop one. If not, give it half a day of air.
8 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Took to dinner at a restaurant. Decanted for maybe 45 minutes before we jumped in. This is great stuff - super dark and twisty. Will get your attention. Needs food right now. We loved it, and will likely be better in a few years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Double blind tasting of four Napa Cabs, all 2016 vintage. Entries were Vice Versa BTK BBS, Realm Absurd, Memento Mori LPV and Arrow & Branch Dr Crane. All wines were given approximately 3 hours of slow-ox, and all were served at cellar temperatures. There were six of us tasting.
I didn't take formal tasting notes, but figured I would post the results. The Vice Versa BTK BBS & Memento Mori LPV were in a dead heat for the #1 spot. The VV had the most #1 votes (3 to 2), but the MM was the most consistent, being ranked either #1 or #2 on every scorecard but one. Overall they produced the same number of points. For what it's worth, I had the MM slightly higher this time around. It was absolutely bursting with flavor and showed amazingly well. The VV would ideally get some more time in bottle, but showed even more potential.
Of the other two wines, the Absurd was clearly #3 and the AB was #4. If this wasn't blind, I would have expected the Absurd to show a bit better. It was a bit primary, more red fruited than other wines (and previous vintages) and didn't have as amazing a flavor profile at the top two wines here. While all the wines showed extremely well, the AB was clearly sucking wind trying to catch up. It's going to need some time in bottle and even then, while great, still may have been a bit out of its league with these heavy hitters.
Realm Cellars - Practical Dreamer Tour (Mastro’s Steakhouse - Beverly Hills): Nose of pepper, paprika, cherry and charcuterie. Great power on the palate with good acids and tannins, and cherry, plums, candies, fern, cloves, and paprika. A great example of a Napa Meritage that is ready to take the crown from Bordeaux. Give it some years to work its magic though
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
3/29/2024 - eschuldt wrote: 99 Points
Singing and great way to celebrate the new place.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/8/2023 - RayT Likes this wine: 100 Points
Wow! This was ABSURDLY good! Had this with dinner at my friend Dick's house about 4 months ago and I am just catching up with TN. He almost popped the 2019 Absurd but I talked him in to popping the 2016 instead. We decanted this for an hour before dinner. I tried this on pnp and it was delicious but it filled out a touch with air.
This wine is dark purple almost black in color with a beautifully expressive nose and a palate to match. Intense flavors of creme de cassis, blackberry, blueberry, chocolate, and forest floor with a finish that goes on and on. The purity and depth of the fruit is just insane. With the power of this wine I was surprised that it does not come across as overbearing at all. This was also fantastic with the slow cooked beef roast we had. We drank this next to a 2019 Vice Versa To Kalon which is the only other wine I have given a 100 pts too and the Realm was substantially better and the best wine I have ever drank.
I coached baseball for 15 years and specialized in hitting. There are two components to hitting: the mechanics and timing. You can have a picture perfect swing and if your timing is off (to early or to late) you miss the ball. I feel like wine is a bit of the same.
This wine has great mechanics as Realm takes its very best fruit from that year and concocts a magical potion overseen by a stellar line up. This night the timing was just perfect and the wine knocked it out of the park.
This was my first time drinking this wine so a big thank you to my friend Dick for sharing this wonderful wine with us!
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (31)
9/24/2023 - d.f.c Likes this wine: 96 Points
A very good wine. Creamy and buttery taste, with a hint of chocolate and vanilla. Powerful structure and definitely full bodied. High alcohol level and high tannin. But the hype of this wine outweighted its actual performance; I have definitely drank better California cabs that are cheaper than this, for example, Bevan Sugarloaf Mt.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/23/2023 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 99 Points
Napa 2023 - The Sequel; 8/23/2023-8/28/2023: PnP and this was ready from the start. Still a little youth showing but wow, what a wine. Red berry and blue fruit complimented by a chocolate note on the back end. Not overly complex, but fun to drink. Everything in harmony, no hard edges. WOTN at dinner.
Much better than the ‘14s I’ve had which were more black fruited and heavy on the plums.
Missed out on the Benjamin because I think this can get even better. Sadly, I will never know, this was my last.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
6/18/2023 - cpl100n wrote: 98 Points
Wow wow wow from the first sip what a wonderful fabulous wine to drink for Father’s Day
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/1/2022 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 95 Points
Ok so been heavy on Old World and about to have an Epic Piedmont dinner next week so… let’s go big or go home and boy did this deliver the ultimate guilty pleasure.
2018 Revana block 6- their best wine hands down. More on that wine under that tasting note.
2016 Realm Absurd- I was a big fan of realm years ago and have become jaded as of late due to a number of issues from lower quality/massive sourcing which is inherent in exponential growth as well as other more mundane back office items- anywho… this wine is on point and firing on all cylinders.Tremendous concentration yet wonderful balance and oak integration. Big round opulence and pure sexy beast yet not manipulating obscurity as found in other higher end wines that over extract into oblivion. This wine rocks- from the first sip to the last and has enough gobs of cassis and blackberries to fill Goldilocks basket for ever. Big upfront fruit stays big and strong even with hours in the glass/decanter until the dark damp earth takes over and showcases its Naughty side - coffee, dark chocolate and pure forbidden(ness). Long finish to round out the greatness. Tasted on PNP. Two hours in decanter at cellar temp. Not overly structured (as expected) but is highly concentrated but in a good way. Take that info as you would like especially if only one bottle remaining :)
2018 Scarlet
2012 Montez Cote Rotie
6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (26)
8/19/2022 - wineholder Likes this wine: 100 Points
Insane
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (3)
2/18/2022 - Hal40@mac.com wrote: 100 Points
The wine is velvety. It washes around the tongue and makes you smile.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (1)
8/9/2021 - Fake Drinker Likes this wine: 98 Points
When we talk about a wine's quality, it's not only the current stauts but future development. Absurd 16 is going to be a wine in the history, but not now. Double decanted for 12 hours and still pretty close compared to Realm BTK 16, nose was red fruit, black fruit and a bit wood, not creamy like other realm. Tannins super refined and tough, palate was huge and not silky. The quality and potential is greater than btk 16 but btk 16 was more enjoyable at the moment. This wine will be perfect maybe a decade later.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/21/2021 - npettit Likes this wine: 99 Points
Drank at Joe’s with DJ, alongside a 2015 Screaming Eagle. This Realm was by far the wine of the night. Incredible.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/22/2021 - eschuldt wrote: 99 Points
LLI. Lanie loves it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/6/2021 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Showing a lot better than the last time I had it. This wine just needs time. Had it next to a 2015 Vice Versa Magnificent Seven, and by comparison this was a monster that was much more unresolved, not as focused, but with immense potential. Decanted for 5 hours. The aromas are dominated by vanilla and oak, but given even more time some floral emerges next to creme de cassis, blackberries and cherries. Super full bodied and powerful on the palate, this has depth for days. Lots of amazing layers with a complex mix of fruit and earth. The oak is still a dominating presence, but amazingly it doesn't weigh the wine down at all. With super fine tannins, gorgeous fruit and superior quality, it is only a matter of time until this wine is hitting on all cylinders. I'd wait a few years to pop one. If not, give it half a day of air.
8 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/25/2020 - eschuldt wrote: 98 Points
Incredible. Decanted 3 hours.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/13/2020 - Tonythefish Likes this wine: 99 Points
Honey Bunny loves this stuff
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/19/2020 - ageverett Likes this wine: 98 Points
Took to dinner at a restaurant. Decanted for maybe 45 minutes before we jumped in. This is great stuff - super dark and twisty. Will get your attention. Needs food right now. We loved it, and will likely be better in a few years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/9/2019 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Double blind tasting of four Napa Cabs, all 2016 vintage. Entries were Vice Versa BTK BBS, Realm Absurd, Memento Mori LPV and Arrow & Branch Dr Crane. All wines were given approximately 3 hours of slow-ox, and all were served at cellar temperatures. There were six of us tasting.
I didn't take formal tasting notes, but figured I would post the results. The Vice Versa BTK BBS & Memento Mori LPV were in a dead heat for the #1 spot. The VV had the most #1 votes (3 to 2), but the MM was the most consistent, being ranked either #1 or #2 on every scorecard but one. Overall they produced the same number of points. For what it's worth, I had the MM slightly higher this time around. It was absolutely bursting with flavor and showed amazingly well. The VV would ideally get some more time in bottle, but showed even more potential.
Of the other two wines, the Absurd was clearly #3 and the AB was #4. If this wasn't blind, I would have expected the Absurd to show a bit better. It was a bit primary, more red fruited than other wines (and previous vintages) and didn't have as amazing a flavor profile at the top two wines here. While all the wines showed extremely well, the AB was clearly sucking wind trying to catch up. It's going to need some time in bottle and even then, while great, still may have been a bit out of its league with these heavy hitters.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (7)
8/8/2019 - vinhonotte Likes this wine: 96 Points
Realm Cellars - Practical Dreamer Tour (Mastro’s Steakhouse - Beverly Hills): Nose of pepper, paprika, cherry and charcuterie. Great power on the palate with good acids and tannins, and cherry, plums, candies, fern, cloves, and paprika. A great example of a Napa Meritage that is ready to take the crown from Bordeaux. Give it some years to work its magic though
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment