2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Hartwell XX

This is a super-impressive set of 2019s from the Realm team led by Proprietor Scott Becker and Winemaker Benoit Touquette. Over the least few years, the wines seem to have gained in precision, which is clearly a huge positive. One of the recent developments has been longer aging on the lees and fewer rackings, an approach designed to maintain as much freshness as possible. Judging by the 2019s, that seems to be working. That's the good news. The not so good news is that Realm has decided not to bottle their 2020 reds because of smoke taint issues. From a practical perspective, that means the wines in this report will be spread out over three releases. The lineup is full of highlights, but The Bard Blair Edition and the Cabernet Sauvignon Hartwell XX are especially of note.