🏷️ Lot Overview
Region: Petaluma Gap (Sonoma County)
Vintage: 2024
Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
ChatGPT Original Source Guess: Cattleya Wines (possibly also Ernest Vineyards)
Wine Berserkers Guess: Vaughn Duffy Ueberroth Pinot
Alcohol: 14.0%
Oak Aging: 60% new French oak (Remond, Francois Frères, Rousseau)
Cam Price: $12.50 ($149/case)
Retail Estimate: $75
Drink Window: Late 2025–2032
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With great numbers comes great responsibility and this ones a doozy…Lot 20 is one of the best Pinot Noir’s I have ever sourced!!
And the sourcing was easy, the winemaker is a neighbor of mine and I am a huge fan of their right-up-the-middle style of beautifully balanced, true-to-place Pinot Noir with an elegant, complex oak expression that elevates the fruit and doesn’t overpower.
With 94- and 95-point scores across the board from the Wine Enthusiast for their $75-$85/bottle single-vineyard-designate 2023 Pinot’s, they have solidified their reputation as one of Sonoma counties best up-and-coming boutique producers.
Just released two-weeks ago as a single-vineyard designate selling under the producer’s label for $75/bottle or $900/case, today you can enjoy the same wine in Lot 20 2024 Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir for…drum roll please…
…$149/case DELIVERED!
BOOM! Pinot lovers, it is time to back up the truck!
With only 150 cases produced, you’re gonna want to back up quickly…click the link above for more details!
🍷 Cameron’s Release Notes
With 94- and 95-point scores across the board from the Wine Enthusiast for their $75-$85/bottle single-vineyard-designate 2023 Pinot’s, they have solidified their reputation as one of Sonoma counties best up-and-coming boutique producers. And, I can promise you, this is luxury winemaking at it’s finest…just the custom crush fees and 60% new Remond, Rousseau and Francois Freres barrels alone cost about $200/case and that doesn’t even include the fruit, glass, corks, and labels!
Deep garnet in the glass, the bouquet is lifted and pretty with black cherry and strawberry interlaced with an earl grey tea and rose petal halo while undergirded with black earth and hints of dark chocolate. A lovely and complex bouquet that beautifully balances the fruit and umami elements that make Pinot Noir so compelling. Supple on entry with bold, rich fruit seamlessly welded to a robust, energetic structure that delivers a complex array of fruits atop mouthwatering minerality. This wine perfectly combines the tension, depth and dimension of fine Pinot Noir with the fleshy, juicy ripeness of the 2024 vintage. The result: elegance and finesse meet utter deliciousness. Pinot fans, your going to want to move quickly on this one.
🧠ChatGPT says:
🔍 Source Guess: Cattleya Wines (Alt: Ernest Vineyards)
🎯 Rationale:
- Score + Price Fit: Cattleya Wines (run by Bibiana González Rave) is known for single-vineyard Petaluma Gap Pinots scoring 94–95 pts in Wine Enthusiast and typically priced $75–$85.
- Style Alignment: “Right-up-the-middle” balance, elegant oak (Remond, Rousseau, Francois Frères), and detailed aromatic complexity matches Cattleya’s house style. Cam notes the oak program alone cost ~$200/case, which fits with Cattleya’s high-touch, small-lot luxury winemaking.
- Personal Ties: Cam refers to the winemaker as a neighbor and someone whose wine he personally buys. Cattleya is based in Windsor and is often praised by insiders for this level of quality and approachability.
- Alt Guess – Ernest Vineyards: Also based in Sonoma, also uses Petaluma Gap fruit, also has $75–$85 single vineyard Pinots with modern-but-balanced oak. If not Cattleya, Ernest is a strong runner-up.
🧠Alternative Considerations:
- Small Sonoma producers like Senses or Three Sticks were considered but don’t match the personal neighbor tie or the specific oak coopers mentioned.
⏳ Drink Window
- Early enjoyment: Winter 2025 (post-bottle shock)
- Peak drinking: 2026–2030, when fruit, spice, and mineral tension are in harmony
- Hold potential: Through ~2032 for those who prefer tertiary, earthy Pinot
⏳ Drink Window: 2025–2032 (peak 2026–2030)
🧑‍🤝‍🧑🍷 Wine Berserkers Guess: Vaughn Duffy Ueberroth Pinot