Community Tasting Note

• Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 points

  September 7, 2021 - My first of my '18 FM stash.....pnp to a familiar MHopper nose, and garnet color, just glorious. The wine was tight and a bit tannic with elevated acidity. Red/black fruit initially. The nose trails off...over the course of enjoying the bottle the following 2-3 hours, the wine became smoother but devoid of any glycerin type of sense. The fruit darkened considerably to a dark blue/black with heavy tobacco, a bit of coffee grounds, and a bit of a tart ending by hour 3. Left a small glass in the decanter on the kitchen counter to sit overnight. Will check in on it tomorrow and see what another 24 hours does to it. It's a solid 93 now with upside of 2-3 points easily I would think going forward if, like most high level '18s, it really comes together over time.
  
  Addendum: almost 23 hours later open to room temp in the decanter....a little darker garnet color, nose is pleasant with a hint of sweet rose petal but overall, only minimally indicative of its MH vineyard. The only time this wine had a nose highly indicative of MH was in the first hour it was open to air. Mouthfeel is creamier, slight chalky sense to it. The fruit is deep and rich and has stayed pretty dark, mostly black right now. This is pretty good stuff, maybe close to a 95 but I'd like to see and feel more of the MH that's in there.....maybe as it continues to age we'll get that? If not, it's still a pretty damn good wine with plenty of acidity to age nicely for many years and a wonderfully long finish has turned up today, nearly 24 hours later.......I'm upping my score (was 93 now 95) and I still think it has another 2 points in there.

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18 Comments

• DrBad commented:

  9/7/21, 10:07 PM - Thanks for the note. What do you think about the 19's about to be released?

• Decanting Queen commented:

  9/8/21, 2:52 AM - Interesting this hasn’t changed much since I tried one just after release. The ‘19s are meant to be more approachable. I just reallly hope these ‘18s come together

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/8/21, 4:42 AM - I'm looking forward to my glass tonight. The last sips last night were the best.

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/8/21, 4:45 AM - Db....this was my first FM ever. It's high quality and great qpr, just not completely ready. I'll buy à 3 pack of the '19. It should be good but I'm not buying much wine these days.

• blarmston commented:

  9/8/21, 12:29 PM - I liked this vintage so much that instead of buying the 2019 Realm Bard, I'm going to go back in and add another three pack of the '19.
  
  Similar price point but this wine just hits my palate in all the right ways...

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/8/21, 6:40 PM - Blarm, it's a very nice wine and I'm picking up some '19 but I'm getting some Bard also!

• Papillon1112 commented:

  9/8/21, 7:31 PM - Yup with the 2019 release this week I did a 6 hr decant of ‘18 on Sunday and then back into the bottle to have on day #2. Not much changed 24 hrs later other than the darkening of the fruit. Nice wine. 94 now for its rich silky finish but I expect it will hit its stride +2025 and gain a point or 2 down the road.

• Jimaronson commented:

  9/8/21, 8:16 PM - Interesting thoughts in comparing it to the Bard. However, the Bard grapes are a composite of many vineyards. I suppose on price it is comparable. In that case it would make sense to compare other $120 bottles and include some B Cellars wines. Seems like the wines are now priced in three tranches: $110 to $120, $175 to $200, and $225 to $250. Most of the $175 to $200 bottles have moved to $225 or will be moving after the 2020 tough year.

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/9/21, 5:45 AM - Pap, you are probably correct, but I'll have a hard time letting my other bottles sit four more years! I loved the way this held up over 24 hours of air and actually improved. Most wines cannot do that, and is a great indicator of quality, to me.

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/9/21, 5:49 AM - James you are completely correct on your pricing groups....and yes, they are all going up, again. I think the Bard is more of a fruit bomb but I like that on occasion, too. This FM, has better quality fruit to it, more depth and class. I certainly can see why Blarmston is buying more....but I do like having different bottles at the same pricepoints.

• Papillon1112 commented:

  9/9/21, 6:04 AM - Absolutely agree Mark on the quality, class and depth. I’m going pass on the Bard this year (OMG) and opt for a 3 pk of Fait-Main. Honestly when I spotted a ‘18 Bard in Total Wine I rolled my eyes and thought ugh “mass producing.”
  P.S. Great tasting note!

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/9/21, 6:25 AM - Thanks, Pap....this certainly is a great hobby when you can find so many great wines to enjoy with others....cheers!

• NickRut commented:

  9/10/21, 10:13 AM - Definitely weighing my options between the FM Hopper and the Bard. In 18 I loaded up on the Bard and skipped the Hopper. Thinking I should split the purchase this year. Hard decision tbh.

• Decanting Queen commented:

  9/10/21, 10:15 AM - I did both..they are so different but it is hard with all these allocations coming at the same time

• NickRut commented:

  9/10/21, 10:23 AM - That’s where I’m leaning. Also have the Greer release, the caterwaul release, and the detert release to consider. Plus a trip to Napa in a few weeks. What fun.
  
  Shipping season is coming up here in atlanta so that will be fun. Ha

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/10/21, 4:57 PM - Nick, nice to have choices....get some of both! I've decided to pass on most of the $200+ bottles. When you can get wines like this for $100-120 and are capable of scoring 95-96, and cellar for years, there's no reason to spend $200-400 for a wine that may score 1, 2 or even 3 points higher. Just not a sensible purchase

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/10/21, 5:00 PM - Jen, I did both, too......but limited my damage to only 3 bottles of each!

• Mark1npt commented:

  9/10/21, 5:02 PM - Nick, there's just a few too many wines out there now......I'm scaling back on total bottles and number of producers. I have so much to drink, and they always make more...on a separate note, pricing is just getting too outrageous out there....

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