Lot 03 is Cam’s suspicion that he got his hands on a Reserve-tier blend from one of his favorite Napa producers, sourcing top barrels across four powerhouse AVAs including Coombsville, Yountville, Rutherford and St. Helena. Claude’s source guess is Clos du Val Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
Lot Overview
- Region: Napa Valley (50% Coombsville, 21% Yountville, 19% Rutherford, 10% St. Helena)
- Vintage: 2023
- Varietal: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec (Malbec added by Cam)
- Oak Aging: 35–45% new French oak, 18 months
- Alcohol: Not stated
- Cases Available: ~250
- Cam Price: ~$14/bottle ($169/case)
- Retail Estimate: ~$100/bottle
- Claude’s Source Guess: Clos du Val — Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon program
- Wine Berserkers Guess: Bell Wine Cellars
- Drink Window: 2025–2038 (peak 2028–2035)
Cameron’s Release Notes
Dear Friends,
We’ve got a soft spot for Lot 3—and we think you will too.
This 2023 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon comes from one of our absolute favorite producers in the valley. They’re known for rich-but-elegant wines with beautifully managed oak and rock-solid aging potential. But this one? It’s next level.
We strongly suspect Lot 3 is their Reserve-tier blend, built from top barrels across four of Napa’s powerhouse AVAs: Coombsville, Yountville, Rutherford, and St. Helena. It’s 92% Cabernet, rounded out with Merlot, Petite Verdot, and a small dash of Malbec we added at the final moment.
Bottling blend? Not officially. But when we tasted it, we knew: don’t mess with a good thing.
Deep purple in the glass with vibrant energy and immediate appeal. Black cherry, currant, dark chocolate, and floral lift meet a lush, polished palate of blackberry, cocoa, and toasty oak. Rich and seamless, with a long, structured finish that delivers classic Napa elegance.
This is a $1,200 case going out the door for $169. Get after it!
Tasting Notes
Our next offering hails from one of my favorite Napa Cabernet producers. Their wines pitch right up the middle stylistically, combining a rich-yet-elegant, approachable style with well-deployed oak regimens and a built-to-last structure. While the focus is typically on Cabernet clones, today’s release hails from what I suspect is their ~$100 “Reserve” program bottling that captures their top barrels from Napa’s top appellations. Today’s release is a blend of Coombsville, Yountville, Rutherford and St. Helena AVA Cabernet Sauvignon plus 4% Merlot and 2% Petite Verdot and 2% Malbec.
Bottling blend? I can’t be sure to be honest, but we loved it at first sight and are bottling it pretty much as-is (we blended in 2% Malbec).
Absolute classic Napa Valley Cabernet from an absolute classic vintage destined to go down in history as one of Napa’s finest. I have purchased plenty of wine from these folks in the past but nothing like this. Trust me, I never would have gotten my hands on this wine in any other market conditions.
Fantastically colored, deep purple in the glass with a kiss of purple electricity around the rim. Ripe and effusive right out of the bottle, the bouquet lively with powdery purple flowers, black cherry and black currant and a meaty melange of dark chocolate and fresh turned black soil. Succulent, juicy and remarkably open knit on the palate with blackberry jam and blackcurrant mingling with toasty oak and cocoa riding a perfectly integrated structure. Seamless, lush and ripe, it spreads out beautifully across the palate in a long, rich, balanced finish.
⏳ Bottle Shock Status
Bottled June 24th, shipped early July. Allow 30–60 days. Showing well early given the generous 2023 vintage character.
Claude’s Source Guess: Clos du Val — Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
The 50% Coombsville component is the most distinctive element of this blend, and it points strongly toward a producer with deep roots in that southerly AVA. Clos du Val’s estate sits in the Stags Leap/Coombsville corridor, and their winemaking philosophy — French-trained, classically structured, “rich-but-elegant,” restrained oak — matches Cam’s description almost verbatim. Their Reserve Cabernet program draws on Coombsville as a backbone, blending in Rutherford, St. Helena, and Yountville fruit for complexity, which maps precisely to the AVA breakdown here.
The 35–45% new French oak is also a hallmark of Clos du Val’s approach — notably restrained compared to the 80–100% new oak programs of ultra-premium Napa producers. Cam’s language about “beautifully managed oak” and “built-to-last structure” is exactly how critics and collectors describe Clos du Val’s style. Their Reserve Cab sits comfortably in the ~$100 tier, fitting Cam’s stated price level.
One note: Cam says he added 2% Malbec at the final blend stage, meaning the source wine itself likely didn’t include Malbec — consistent with Clos du Val’s typical Bordeaux-classic blend of Cab, Merlot, and Petit Verdot.
✅ Confidence: Medium-High — AVA breakdown, oak philosophy, style descriptors, and price tier all align well with Clos du Val’s Reserve program. Community intel would help confirm.
Drink Window
Early: 2025 — the restrained oak and 2023 vintage openness make this accessible now.
Peak: 2028–2035. Clos du Val’s classical structure rewards 5–10 years of cellaring.
Hold: 2038. Their Reserves regularly evolve beautifully over 15+ years.
My Call: ⏳ Drink window: 2025–2038 (peak 2028–2035)