Professional Ratings and Reviews — Realm Cellars “Moonracer” 2022 (Napa Valley)
Ratings
- 98+ points — California Wine Advisors (blind tasting panel)
Highly structured and complex, showing dark fruit, cocoa, graphite, and fine tannins. Considered a standout Napa Cabernet-based blend from the 2022 vintage.
- 97 points — Tastingbook (aggregated critic score)
Ranked among top global wines, based on multiple professional critics and evaluators.
- 96 points — Decanter (James Button / panel)
Polished and focused with red-toned fruit, mineral lift, bay laurel, cherry wood, and velvety tannins. Structured and elegant.
- 96 points — James Suckling
Full-bodied and saturated with cocoa, graphite, black cherry, baked cherry, tobacco leaf, and spearmint. Balanced and powerful.
- 94 points — Vinous (Antonio Galloni)
More open-knit and approachable than prior vintages, with red fruit, mint, cinnamon, and orange peel. Medium-weight and silky.
- 94 points — Wine Advocate (Joe Czerwinski)
Harmonious and silky but less intense than prior vintage. Notes of mocha, cherry, and barrel spice. Elegant but slightly lighter in density.
Professional Tasting Profile (Consensus)
Across major critics, the 2022 Moonracer typically scores in the mid-to-high 90s range, generally 94 to 98+ points.
Style and structure
- Full-bodied Napa Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from Stags Leap District
- Firm but refined tannins with strong aging potential
- Balanced profile leaning slightly more elegant and less dense than top 2021 and 2019 vintages
Flavor profile
- Black cherry, plum, cassis, blueberry
- Cocoa, graphite, tobacco leaf
- Mint, spearmint, baking spice
- Subtle floral and mineral notes depending on critic
Critical consensus
- Strong, polished, and cellar-worthy wine
- Less concentration and intensity than the most powerful Realm vintages
- More approachable earlier, though still structured for long-term aging
Drinking Window
Most reviewers recommend:
- Best starting around 2028
- Capable of aging 15–25+ years under proper cellaring conditions
Winemaker's Tasting Note
Once again a kaleidoscope of flavors, packed with layers of blue fruits, fresh pine forest, graphite and notes of cassis. Tightly packed, full of tension and delivers on the palate with precision, slowly revealing itself layer after layer. The tannins on the 2021 are somewhat more persistent than in previous years, which is indicative of this vintage as a whole.For the first time, Moonracer is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon due to the replanting of Cabernet Franc and Merlot blocks currently underway. This will continue for the next few years as we wait for the new vines to mature. As usual, this wine will reward those with patience as the nuances unfold with time.
Vinous
From the Realm Estate in Stags Leap, the Cabernet Sauvignon Moonracer is an elegant, sophisticated Cabernet that shows the nuanced side of Stags Leap in its red-toned fruit profile, floral aromatics and mid-weight structure. I would give the 2019 at least a few years in the bottle. There is a certain approachability to the 2019, but ultimately I think that might be a bit deceptive relative to the wine's ultimate potential.
The Wine Insider
The 2021 Moonracer is a single vineyard wine from Realm’s vineyard in Stags Leap District. “The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon this year because the vineyard is being replanted,” said winemaker Benoit Touquette. “The Merlot and Cabernet Franc were pulled, and the new plantings aren’t in production yet. By the time we’re done, we will have replanted all this vineyard. Then a true footprint of the place will be in this wine.” Deep garnet-purple colored, gregarious notes of blackberry pie, black cherries, and black currant pastilles prance out of the glass, leading to fragrant wafts of lavender, chocolate mint, and cinnamon stick. Full-bodied, the palate is taut with ripe, crunchy black fruits, supported by a solid frame of grainy tannins and compelling tension, finishing long with loads of mineral and baking spice sparks. 720 cases were made.
