Judgment of exceptional minds — recent (11)
I believe the answer is:
discernment
'judgment' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'exceptional minds recent' is the wordplay.
'exceptional' indicates anagramming the letters.
'minds'+'recent'='mindsrecent'
'mindsrecent' with letters rearranged gives 'DISCERNMENT'.
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for discernment that I've seen before include "good judgement's needed here" , "Understanding" , "keen perception" , "Perceptiveness -- good taste" , "Good judgement" .)