2021 Realm Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Farella Vineyard Coombsville 750 ml

Any time we get the chance to offer a wine from Benoît Touquette, it’s special. That’s doubly true for the wines of Realm—and triply true when it’s their iconic and coveted Farella Cabernet.

Farella Vineyard produces wines of intense power and towering personalities. It’s been tapped by Realm since the early days of the winery, back when the site was nearly unknown. Now, Farella is one of the undisputed stars not just of their lineup, but of Napa Cabernet. 

The 2021 is one of the greatest wines they’ve made from the site, earning 98 points from both Antonio Galloni of Vinous and James Suckling. The former called it “positively stellar” and was wowed by the refined tannic structure, which he called “quite an achievement,” coming from a site known for its power and intensity.

Benoît Touquette is a household name among Wine Access devotees. He’s at the pinnacle of Napa winemaking, with seemingly countless 100-point scores to his name. He and Realm have had such success with Farella Vineyard that they entered into a partnership with the Farella family in 2018 to farm it themselves—and now it’s a Realm estate bottling.

Perched in the tenderloin of a the slope, high on a hillside in Coombsville, the vineyard benefits from a dialectic of bright sunshine during the day and intense cooling winds at night and in the morning. The resulting Cabernet berries are thick-skinned and full of flavor and tannins. Only the most skilled winemakers are capable of harnessing that character while keeping the structure in check.