About Houyi Vineyard:
Houyi Vineyard is Realm’s estate vineyard on Pritchard Hill. Tucked away on the eastern side of Napa Valley, Pritchard Hill is home to some of the best-known wine names in the world. At an elevation of nearly 1300 feet, our 22 acre vineyard sits above the fog line, its vines soaking in the morning sun. The vineyard is full of dense, volcanic rock. These unique soils provide an environment for the vines to produce concentrated fruit. This wine is rich and complex yet soft and elegant. It is approachable in a way that runs counter to many mountain wines. A paradox…
Realm has produced a single vineyard cabernet sauvignon from Houyi Vineyard since 2013. After cherishing this site for nearly a decade, we had the good fortune of acquiring the vineyard from the Chang family in 2022. We are grateful for the opportunity to continue the Chang family’s legacy as stewards of this special land.
About the Label
We first saw “Air Water Earth” by Luchita Hurtado, a Venezuelan-born, Los Angeles-based artist, a few years ago on a visit to the Hauser & Wirth gallery in Los Angeles. The painting spoke to us, as did the story of Hurtado’s life, and the piece stayed on our minds for months and years afterwards. When the gallerist later sent us a book of Hurtado’s work which included “Air Water Earth,” we knew it was meant to be: here was the ideal work of art to express the story of Houyi. Appearing for the first time with the 2022 vintage of Houyi, this label was created to mark Realm’s acquisition of the Pritchard Hill vineyard the same year, making it the fourth estate-grown wine in our portfolio.
As the title implies, “Air Water Earth” references balance in the natural world and was created at a time when Hurtado was considering the effects of climate change. The concept of balance resonates deeply with us as farmers and landowners who have lived through two devastating fire seasons and for whom the changing environment is an existential concern. But there’s something about Hurtado’s work that calms amidst the stress. At just 10”x10”, “Air Water Earth” is an intimate piece that invites you in. It is beautiful and tranquil, with layers and themes that are both universal and personal. Serendipitously, it is also an apt reflection of the myth of Nine Suns and Houyi. According to this Chinese legend, there were ten suns that one day appeared all at once; Houyi was an archer who shot down nine of the suns, restoring balance to the earth.
Luchita Hurtado is a fascinating artist whose work encompassed many styles, movements and themes throughout a career that spanned eight decades. Her work was rarely shown until she was in her 90s, when the discovery of a trove of her paintings and other works led to several solo exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles and London. Hurtado gained international recognition and was named one of Time 100’s most influential people in 2019. She died in 2020 at the age of 99.
Completed as part of a series in 2013, the crayon and acrylic on canvas “Air Water Earth” hangs at our Houyi Estate.
96 Points Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Houyi Vineyard comes from a vineyard on Pritchard Hill and is based on 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot. It has plenty of mountain structure and minerality as well as beautiful black and blue-tinged fruits, some violet, leafy tobacco, and foresty, herbal undertones, medium to full-bodied richness, and ripe, polished tannins. It's a pure, polished, elegant Realm that will age gracefully over the coming 15 years.
96 Points The Wine Independent
The 2022 Houyi Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it is quite closed at the moment, needing a lot of coaxing to bring out notes of plum preserves, blueberry compote, and black cherries, giving way to hints of tar, star anise, and cumin seed. Full-bodied, the palate is dense with black fruit preserves layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and opulent. Houyi Vineyard was picked through the 2022 heatwave. This fruit needed a lot of selection (nearly 30% of the fruit was discarded), making this a stellar effort. (LPB)
95 Points Vinous
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Houyi Vineyard is a dense, explosive wine. It shows the radiant, solar style of the year but with the body and texture that so many wines lack. This is the first vintage Realm made following their acquisition of this site, and they conducted the heaviest sorting here. Super-ripe red cherry, red plum, mocha, spice, lavender and orange peel stain the palate. This is a stellar wine for the year. (AG)
