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
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.
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.
A rare Reserve-level blend from one of Napa’s most respected producers — crafted from top AVAs like Coombsville, Yountville, Rutherford, and St. Helena. This is a $1,200 case going out the door for $169.
Tasting Notes
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 mélange 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)