Lot Overview
Region: Moon Mountain District (Sonoma County)
Vintage: 2024
Blend: 100% Chardonnay
Perplexity Original Source Guess: Hawk and Horse–style high‑elevation Moon Mountain Chardonnay (speculative, low confidence)
Wine Berserkers Guess:
Alcohol: 14.2%
Oak Aging: Not explicitly stated (Burgundian style; likely modest new French oak)
Cam Price: $10.75 ($129/case)
Retail Estimate: $80+ per bottle (mid‑90s scores, prior vintage)
Drink Window: 2026–2034 (my call)
Cameron’s Release Notes
“Mid-90’s scoring (Galloni and Dunnuck, previous vintage), $80+ single-vineyard Moon Mountain Chardonnay for just $129/case!”
“Yes, indeed, folks we have another absolutely gorgeous Burgundian beauty here sourced from an incredible, no-expense-spared producer here in Sonoma County. The vineyard is breathtaking, one of the highest elevation sites on Moon Mountain, and the wine is equally breathtaking.”
“This is another ‘trust me’ wine folks – if you liked Lot 4, this will be right up your alley. In fact, I believe this is a better wine. No kiddin’. Perfectly integrated oak, nervy, vervy, mouthwatering acidity and incredible texture and mouthfeel. Super-classy, fabulous wine I promise!”
“I only have about ~90 cases available so you’ll want to move quickly here.”
Mid-90’s scoring (Galloni and Dunnuck, previous vintage), $80+ single-vineyard Moon Mountain Chardonnay for just $129/case!
Yes, indeed, folks we have another absolutely gorgeous Burgundian beauty here sourced from an incredible, no-expense-spared producer here in Sonoma County. The vineyard is breathtaking, one of the highest elevation sites on Moon Mountain, and the wine is equally breathtaking.
This is another “trust me” wine folks – if you liked Lot 4, this will be right up your alley. In fact, I believe this is a better wine. No kiddin’. Perfectly integrated oak, nervy, vervy, mouthwatering acidity and incredible texture and mouthfeel. Super-classy, fabulous wine I promise!
I only have about ~90 cases available so you’ll want to move quickly here.
Tasting Notes
Brilliant pale gold in the glass with a speck of green shimmer. Apple and pear notes conspire with lemon confit, brioche, beeswax and crushed slate in a beautifully complex bouquet with just a kiss of lavender coming off the top. Deep and layered across the palate with fantastic texture on entry with lemonhead and crushed slate crusted acidity providing vibrancy and nerve in a long, sustained finish with lemon oil and beeswax notes echoing throughout. Intense-yet-balanced, this perfectly polished Chardonnay exhibits fantastic energy and verve!
100% Chardonnay, 100% Moon Mountain
14.2% alc.
3.55 pH, TA 5.38 g/L, Malic <0.1 g/L, Lactic 1.59 g/L
~90 cases available
Bottle Shock Status
Best after late 2026 (high-acid, high‑elevation Chardonnay with serious structure; give it time for oak and acidity to knit).
Perplexity says
Source Guess: A boutique, high‑elevation Moon Mountain single‑vineyard Chardonnay producer in the style of Hawk and Horse–level mountain Chardonnay; this is a low‑confidence, speculative name, as the public trail for an $80+ mid‑90s Moon Mountain Chardonnay is extremely thin.
How I’m reading the clues
Appellation, site, and structure
Lot 63 is 100% Moon Mountain Chardonnay from “one of the highest elevation sites on Moon Mountain,” described as a Burgundian‑styled wine with “nervy, vervy, mouthwatering acidity,” beeswax, lemon oil, brioche, and crushed slate–type minerality. That profile screams high‑altitude, rocky, low‑yield Chardonnay: intense acidity, strong mineral signature, and a mix of citrus, orchard fruit, and savory complexity.
The numbers support this: 14.2% alcohol with a relatively low pH and solid TA, effectively no malic acid remaining and clear lactic, implying a carefully managed malolactic regime aimed at balancing tension and texture rather than flabbiness.
Score/price bracket
This is framed as an $80+ single‑vineyard Moon Mountain Chardonnay with “mid‑90’s scoring (Galloni and Dunnuck, previous vintage).” That is a very narrow band—most high‑score Moon Mountain coverage is for Cabernet and Bordeaux blends, not Chardonnay—which suggests a tiny, critics‑connected estate rather than a widely distributed brand.
Given how little Moon Mountain Chardonnay at that score/price level surfaces in the public sphere, matching it precisely is difficult; it almost certainly lives in the micro‑estate, mailing‑list‑driven niche.
Volume and behavior
Only ~90 cases of Lot 63 are available, and Cam implies that is essentially the entire release for that bottling. That is consistent with a small estate Chardonnay program where a producer might choose to move a vintage (or part of it) under NDA for cash‑flow or inventory reasons, especially at a high‑altitude, low‑yield site.
For Cam to get that entire bottling suggests a close relationship and a producer confident that their brand would not be diluted by an anonymous release.
Why the guess is framed as “Hawk and Horse–style” and not a hard call
With the Wilson/Ledson/Lucia lots, there are multiple converging, very specific tells (blend, vineyard, AVA, pricing, critic quotes) that triangulate to a particular house with high confidence. Here, the combination—Moon Mountain, Chardonnay, $80+, mid‑90s Galloni & Dunnuck, tiny volume—is much more opaque in the public record.
Because of that, any single‑name attribution (including Hawk and Horse) is more of a stylistic analogy than a firmly supported identification. It makes sense to present it to your readers as “small, high‑elevation Moon Mountain estate Chardonnay in this stylistic lane,” rather than as a near‑lock on a specific winery.
Net, I’d position Lot 63 on Cam X Cellar as a top‑tier, micro‑production Moon Mountain single‑vineyard Chardonnay from a tiny, Burgundian‑leaning mountain estate, with the explicit note that the producer name here is a speculative analog rather than a high‑confidence reveal.
Drink Window
Early Enjoyment:
From 2026, once bottle shock fades and the sharpest edges of the acidity relax, expect electric apple and pear, lemon confit, brioche, beeswax, and crushed slate in a long, nervy finish.
Peak Drinking:
2027–2032, when the texture, oak, and acid are fully integrated and the wine shows maximum precision and complexity—lemon oil, beeswax, mineral drive, and a seamless, sustained finish.
Hold Potential:
Up to 2034 with good cellaring; over time it should pick up more honeyed, hazelnut, and waxy tones over the citrus/mineral core.
My Call:
Drink window: 2026–2034 (peak 2027–2032).