The Bard Blair Edition represents the first time Realm has taken what is traditionally a component of The Bard and bottled it as a Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s fitting to branch out this way with Blair Vineyard, the Calistoga site that’s been a source of Cabernet Sauvignon for us since 2010. In 2012 and 2013, the vintages that turned Realm’s fortunes around, Blair was the backbone of The Bard. As time has gone on and The Bard has grown in production, Blair has become a lesser percentage of the wine, but no less important. Sitting in the southeast corner of the Calistoga AVA with Larkmead Vineyard to the immediate west and Three Palms Vineyard to the north, Blair is a rocky, alluvial site formed by runoff from the eastern hillsides over millions of years. Vines here struggle in the well-drained soils, and the Calistoga heat, which we have learned to manage carefully, results in a rich fruit profile.

Another reason we bottled Blair on its own is to honor Realm’s long partnership with its owners, Greg and Patricia (Pat) Johnson. The property has been in their family since the 1950s, originally owned by Greg’s Aunt Cecilia. Greg, a veteran who spent 21 years in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, helped his aunt oversee Blair Vineyard in the late 1980s and 1990s, and when she died in 1996, she left the vineyard to Greg and Pat.

For several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s Blair Vineyard was bottled on its own. Greg and Pat’s son, Chris, a Fresno State University enology graduate, replanted the vineyard to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and used some of the fruit for his own small project, Blair Estate. Sadly, Chris died in 2009, and the Johnsons reverted to selling the fruit from Blair. With The Bard Blair Edition, we are excited to honor Chris’ memory and our long relationship with the Johnson family.