Lot Overview
- Region: Sonoma Coast (42% Russian River Valley, 18% Green Valley of the RRV, 40% Petaluma Gap — Gap’s Crown Vineyard)
- Vintage: 2024
- Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir (three-vineyard blend)
- Oak Aging: 35% new French oak, 14 months
- Alcohol: 14.5%
- TA / pH: 6 g/L TA, 3.55 pH, 1 g/L lactic
- Cases Available: not stated
- Cam Price: ~$10.75/bottle ($129/case — estimated)
- Retail Estimate: $70+/bottle equivalent
- Claude’s Source Guess: Sojourn Cellars (primary); Gary Farrell (strong alternative)
- Wine Berserkers Guess:
- Drink Window: 2026–2033 (peak 2027–2031)
Cameron’s Release Notes
Lot 72 2024 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is a purpose-built bottling blend featuring fruit sourced from three of Sonoma County’s best Pinot Noir vineyards, every single one of which is revered amongst Pinot lovers and almost always featured as a single-vineyard designate. The vineyard blend is 42% Russian River Valley, 18% Green Valley of the Russian River Valley, and 40% Petaluma Gap from Gap’s Crown Vineyard. Gap’s Crown commands prices easily in excess of $70/bottle and the Russian River sources are very well-known and priced even higher. The other vineyards would be hitting too close to home to name.
Aged for 14 months in 35% new, beautifully integrated French oak of the highest quality cooperage, this is a succulent, ripe and juicy Pinot Noir with terrific nuance and complexity in an open-knit style befitting the sexy, beguiling 2024 vintage.
Tasting Notes
Beautiful pale ruby in the glass with a vibrant purple shimmer. The bouquet is ripe and expressive, redolent with black cherry, rhubarb and forest floor with chocolate umami complexed with a hint of pepper and nicely integrated seasoned oak notes of leather and lightly toasted caramel. Plush, succulent and bold on the palate with an accessible structure that unfurls lovely, juicy raspberry and cherry notes beautifully framed with sandalwood and umami. The finish is pure magic carpet ride with fantastic purity and seamless, beautifully balanced complexity.
⏳ Bottle Shock Status
2024 vintage, recently bottled. Allow 30–60 days. Drinking well upon arrival.
Claude’s Source Guess: Sojourn Cellars — purpose-built blend from Gap’s Crown, RRV, and Green Valley sources
The blend structure here is the key clue: Gap’s Crown (Petaluma Gap) + unnamed Russian River Valley + unnamed Green Valley of the RRV. Cam names Gap’s Crown because it’s large enough with enough producers sourcing from it to protect anonymity. The unnamed RRV and Green Valley vineyards are “revered” and “almost always featured as single-vineyard designates” — meaning these are well-known individual vineyards whose names would immediately identify the producer.
Sojourn Cellars is the most compelling candidate because they are one of the few producers who regularly source from all three of these zones simultaneously. Their vineyard list includes Gap’s Crown (Petaluma Gap), Wohler and Reuling (RRV), and Riddle (Green Valley) — all of which appear as single-vineyard designates in their portfolio at $70–$85+. Sojourn’s winemaker Erich Bradley mentored under Arrowood and David Ramey, and their house style — luxurious, multi-vineyard blends with meticulous sourcing — matches Cam’s “purpose-built bottling blend” language precisely.
Gary Farrell is a strong alternative. Their owner Bill Price literally owns Gap’s Crown vineyard, giving them uniquely privileged access. They regularly blend RRV sources including Hallberg (Green Valley) and multiple named RRV vineyards, and their single-vineyard Gap’s Crown retails at $75. The fact that naming the unnamed vineyards “would be hitting too close to home” could mean RRV vineyards whose names are so associated with Gary Farrell (Rochioli, Bacigalupi, Hallberg) that they’d be immediately identifiable.
The three-zone blend isn’t a typical retail offering from either producer — it reads as surplus inventory assembled specifically for Cam, which is consistent with how he works. Both Sojourn and Gary Farrell have the relationships and inventory to pull this together.
✅ Confidence: Medium — Gap’s Crown is confirmed, the producer identity depends on which house controls access to those specific unnamed RRV and Green Valley sources. Sojourn and Gary Farrell are both legitimate candidates and the community may have better intel on which producer’s specific vineyards match.
Drink Window
Early Enjoyment: Summer 2026 — the 2024’s open-knit, accessible structure means this will show very well young.
Peak Drinking: 2027–2031. The 35% new oak and 14-month aging is restrained enough to allow the fruit to lead for several years before tertiary notes develop.
Hold Potential: 2033. The high lactic (1 g/L) and low TA relative to some Pinots suggests full ML and a wine built for freshness rather than extreme longevity.
My Call: ⏳ Drink window: 2026–2033 (peak 2027–2031)