2019 Realm Cellars The Bard Blair Edition
Community Tasting Note
Cristal2000 Likes this wine:
Friday, November 4, 2022 - The interesting Blair version of Bard...an SVD, but shares the name "Bard" with the 7000 case blend and apparently this may be the only version of it. Not sure how they came up with that, but I was willing to roll with it to the tune of three bottles. Only about double the price, so my fiscal side was sleeping again, as tends to happen with wine. After that mess of an intro, I have to say, this is really good wine.
Right now the best part of this wine is the bouquet (aroma, nose..etc). It is soooo striking, with violets jumping out glass bringing with it blackberry pie, crushed rock, forest floor and deep, grainy earthy notes. That's a $500 napa nose right there - amazing. The nose led me to believe this was going to be rich and possibly extracted, but shockingly, it's restrained, with excellent balance a great purity, The tannins are powerful, but sweet and integrated, and the spine is powerful, bringing great overall structure. It is by no means a fruit bomb either, with really impressive savory notes to complement the deep purple expressive fruit. Powerful and somewhat tannic finish. Overall, this is really good and better than the "blend" Bard. I don't think it will keep up with the more established Realm SVD's over long periods of time, but for the next 5 years or so, this is going to be fabulous.
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4 comments have been posted
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (4,255 views)
Comment posted by Decanting Queen:
11/5/2022 5:12:00 AM - Thanks for the early look! I have been curious to try but their other SVDs usually seem to need more time to settle down. I may crack into the 3-pack sooner rather than later
Comment posted by Cristal2000:
11/5/2022 8:52:00 AM - DQ: It can definitely use a little time in the bottle. I've just gotten to the point where I just drink some as they come in, because there's no room!
Comment posted by Decanting Queen:
11/6/2022 5:29:00 AM - Cristal—I have the same problem. Although I am trying to make room by drinking older stuff. Not easy as I can’t reach most of it and my cellar is now all blocked with boxes 😂
Comment posted by Cristal2000:
11/6/2022 7:35:00 AM - I feel your pain. Sometimes I give up hunting through the wine racks. I've always loved trying out new wines. Kind of like Xmas for me. So this time of year there are a lot of presents to open! :)