Lot 23 is a Knights Valley Cabernet that was $100/bottle for years before the market softened to $70-99 — Cam received 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and finalized the blend himself with his own additions. Claude’s source guess is Knights Bridge Winery or Anakota Winery.
Lot 23 — 2023 Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Lot Overview
- Region: 100% Knights Valley (estate, with Cam’s Oakville/St. Helena additions)
- Vintage: 2023
- Varietal: 94% Knights Valley Cab Sauv, 3% Merlot, 2% Cab Franc, 1% Petit Verdot (Cam’s final blend)
- Oak Aging: ~40% new French oak
- Alcohol: 14.5%
- Cases Available: ~400
- Cam Price: ~$11.50/bottle ($139/case)
- Retail Estimate: $70–99/bottle (formerly $100+)
- Claude’s Source Guess: Knights Bridge Winery — Knights Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon or Anakota
- Wine Berserkers Guess: Anakota
- Drink Window: 2026–2038 (peak 2028–2035)
Cameron’s Release Notes
Cameron’s Release Notes
Dear Friends,
The fantastic 2023 vintage continues to deliver some of the most insane values I have ever seen, and this is certainly among the greatest values I have ever had the privilege to offer.
And it is a privilege, as only under a perfect storm of market conditions do wines like this make their way to the market. Indeed, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire wines from exceptional producers from an exceptional vintage at prices not seen since the 1970’s.
Lot 23 Knight’s Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is just such a wine.
Priced at just $139 per case DELIVERED, it is a mind-blowing bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon produced in a California-meets-Bordeaux style that both drinks well in its youth and will age beautifully over the next 10-15 years. This is classy, precision winemaking combined with an incredible vintage – compelling to say the least and, at this price, doubly so.
Tasting Notes
$100 bottle of Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for just $139 per CASE DELIVERED?
No brainer!
Well, I should say it WAS a $100 per bottle for the last 4-5 years, but I see it now in the market (and even the winery website) for less…anywhere from $70-$99. Sign of the times.
…still, it seems like a no-brainer.
Like Calistoga, the normally quite warm Knight’s Valley absolutely slayed it in 2023. The long-cool growing season (along with significant vineyard elevation) allowed for tremendous hang-time and flavor development, which, in the hands of this winery, renowned for producing wines of structure, complexity and finesse, resulted in a fantastic Cabernet Sauvignon.
Similar vintages of this wine, like the 2021 (which is what’s in the market), have fantastic scores in the 93+ realm from major critics (Wine Advocate, LPB, Suckling, Dunnuck) and the 2023 is an even better wine. How do I know? The winemaker told me it was the best vintage they had even seen up there and that we were indeed quite lucky to be able to purchase this gem. If it wasn’t for the state of the market, no one would be parting with incredible quality like this.
Get it while the gettin’s good.
I should note here we received one lot of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and finalized the blend ourselves. It didn’t take much but, with the base lot quality and all the dynamite blenders available on the market, it was a simple, easy task.
⏳ Bottle Shock Status: Bottling August 28th. Allow 60-90 days minimum.
Claude’s Source Guess: Knights Bridge Winery or Anakota Winery — Knights Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Two boutique producers actually located in Knights Valley fit Cam’s clues almost identically, and both deserve serious consideration.
Knights Bridge Winery farms approximately 50 organically certified acres on hillside vineyards ranging from 300 to 900 feet elevation on the rocky volcanic slopes of the Mayacamas range — one of only two wineries physically located in Knights Valley. Their estate Cabernet Sauvignon retailed at $100–125 for several vintages and has softened to $70–100 in the current market, matching Cam’s “was $100 for the last 4–5 years, now $70–99” description precisely. The 2021 vintage scored 93 Wine Advocate, 94 Wine Enthusiast, 93 Jeb Dunnuck, and 94 James Suckling — exactly the “93+ realm from Wine Advocate, LPB, Suckling, Dunnuck” Cam cites. The winery is known specifically for structure, elegance, and finesse. Knights Bridge farms Merlot, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot alongside their Cabernet on the estate, which explains why Cam received 100% Cab Sauv and added his own blending components. The “volcanic tannins” in Cam’s tasting note is also apt — the estate sits on rhyolitic volcanic soils from Mount St. Helena.
Anakota Winery, also a Jackson Family Wines estate in Knights Valley, produces two single-vineyard 100% Cabernet Sauvignons — Helena Dakota and Helena Montana — at the same $100 price tier, scoring 93–95 across Wine Advocate, Dunnuck, and Suckling on recent vintages. Their Helena vineyard wines are known precisely for the structure, complexity, and finesse Cam describes, and Jackson Family’s established négociant relationships would make this kind of surplus arrangement easy to execute. The price slide from $100 to $70–99 in the current softened market fits Anakota equally well.
The WB community landed on Anakota, which is a strong call given their track record and distribution relationships. Claude’s slight preference for Knights Bridge comes down to the newer winery infrastructure (completed August 2021) and the boutique scale making a surplus scenario more plausible — but this one is genuinely too close to call.
✅ Confidence: Medium-High for both Knights Bridge and Anakota — either fits the available clues. The 2023 vintage release may ultimately confirm one over the other.
Drink Window
Early: 2026 — 40% new oak and mountain structure need 2-3 years integration.
Peak: 2028–2035. KV Cab at this quality tier typically peaks 5-12 years from vintage.
Hold: 2038. Cam says 10-15 years and the mountain fruit/tannin structure supports it.
My Call: ⏳ Drink window: 2026–2038 (peak 2028–2035)