🏷️ Lot Overview
- Region: Pritchard Hill
- Vintage: 2023
- Blend: 94% Cab, 3% Merlot, 2% PV, 1% CF
- ChatGPT Original Source Guess: Nine Suns
- Wine Berserkers Guess: Ovid Experiment Cabernet
- Alcohol: 15.0%
- Oak Aging: 75% New French Oak
- Cam Price: $16.50 ($199/case), futures
- Retail Estimate: $300-400
- Drink Window: 2026–2032
🍷 Cameron’s Release Notes
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Dear Friends,
We won’t beat around the barrel.
CAM X Lot 12 – 2023 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
has officially landed—and it’s an absolute showstopper.
Pulled straight from a $300–$400 Pritchard Hill estate program, this hillside beast is drenched in pedigree (with multiple 98–100pt scores behind the label) and dripping in value. The kind of bottle that makes collectors whisper and sommeliers smirk.
In the glass? Basically squid ink with a magenta halo. On the nose? A full-on sensory parade: boysenberry jam, cherry kirsch, red rock, wild herbs, florals, graham cracker, and enough black forest cake to make your head spin.
The palate? Ripe, rich, and ready to blow your mind.
Blackberry compote. Cassis. Melted chocolate. A grip of red rock tannin. And a finish that keeps talking long after the bottle’s gone.
This is a full-throttle, no-prisoners, velvet-gloved knockout. And it’s available now.
Snag Lot 12 before it’s gone.
We’d say “back up the truck,” but at this point… you already know.
Tasting Notes
I’ll keep this simple and to the point.
Sourced from a $300-$400 per bottle Pritchard Hill estate program, Lot 12 is not only a stunning example of 2023 hillside Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, it is a mind-blowing value. With multiple 98-100 pt scores under the belt of its originating label, here is your chance to experience world class estate Cabernet at a literal fraction of the price.
Trust me on this one. I would say its time to back up the truck but you already know that.
Opaque in the glass, basically squid ink save for the slightest hint of magenta around the rim. Meaty and boisterous, this wine initially overpowers the glass with black and blue fruit before flowering into a ripe, unctuous, kaleidoscopic bouquet of boysenberry jam, cherry kirsch, red rock, bouquet garni and powdery purple florals underpinned with graham cracker and black forest cake. The entry is ripe and unctuous as well with rich, velvety blackberry compote and black forest cake notes framed by racy, red rock coated, palate staining tannins that unfurl waves of blueberry, cassis and chocolate kissed with beautifully integrated oak in an epic finish that never seems to end.
Lipsmacking, rich, ripe and opulent, Lot 12 is a hedonistic yet beautifully balanced wine, a classic “iron fist in a velvet glove” masterpiece, and a mind-blowing value.
94% Cabernet Sauvignon
3% Merlot
2% Petite Verdot
1% Cabernet Franc
~75% New French Oak
15% alc.
🧠ChatGPT says:
🔍 Source Guess: Likely Nine Suns (Realm-controlled Houyi Vineyard); strong alternate: Chappellet; other possibilities: Brand (Brion), Ovid, Continuum
🎯 Rationale:
- “$300–$400 Pritchard Hill estate program” is an ultra-premium tier. Very few wineries operate in that price band on Pritchard Hill, especially for estate-grown wines.
- Cam’s note that this has “multiple 98–100pt scores behind the label” indicates sustained critical acclaim, not just a one-off vintage.
- Tasting notes mention “velvet glove,” “black forest cake,” “red rock tannins,” and a “meaty, unctuous” profile — all consistent with hedonistic, richly structured Pritchard Hill Cabernet.
- 15% alc. and ~75% new French oak align with luxury Napa norms.
- Cam explicitly says this was an “estate program,” not second-label or excess juice — supporting the idea that it came from a top-tier wine that was either decommissioned or reallocated.
âś… Top Candidates:
1. Nine Suns (now Realm-controlled Houyi Vineyard)
- Realm Cellars acquired Nine Suns in 2022. Realm is known for frequent 98–100pt wines, and their Houyi-based wines hover in the $300–$400 range.
- Realm occasionally reallocates fruit or inventory during transitions — this would explain how Cam got it.
- The “mountain muscle + luxury polish” style fits perfectly.
2. Chappellet (Pritchard Hill bottling)
- Founding estate on Pritchard Hill, with flagship wines in the $250–$300+ range.
- Known for wines with red rock minerality, plush fruit, and ageable structure.
- Their top wine (“Pritchard Hill Cabernet”) has earned critical acclaim and could match the style here.
3. Brand Napa Valley (now Brion)
- Another luxury estate with vineyards directly on Pritchard Hill.
- Flagship bottlings are in the $300 range with limited production and big scores.
🧠Alternate Possibilities:
- Ovid – Also based on Pritchard Hill, routinely hits the $300–$400 range. Rarely sells finished juice, but transitions in ownership or inventory could change that.
- Continuum – Same geography and style profile, but very vertically integrated. Less likely unless there was a unique business situation.
đź’ˇ Why Chappellet Makes Sense:
- Pritchard Hill pioneer: Put the region on the map.
- Pricing: Their flagship wines push $300 in premium vintages and fetch more in the market.
- Profile fit: Their wines show red rock tannins, kirsch, dark chocolate, floral and herb tones — very aligned with Lot 12’s notes.
🤔 Why It Might Not Be Chappellet:
- Their scores are typically 95–97, not routinely 98–100.
- Their Pritchard Hill wine tends to retail around $250–$280, though with markups it flirts with $300 — still slightly under the “$300–$400” target Cam referenced.
đź“Ť Final Call:
If forced to choose:
- Top Guess: Nine Suns (via Realm, Houyi Vineyard)
- Very Plausible: Chappellet
- Other contenders: Brand (Brion), Ovid, Continuum
In any case, Lot 12 is elite-tier hillside Cabernet — dripping in pedigree, and a steal at the CAM X price point.
⏳ Drink Window
- Early taste: From 2026 once bottle shock clears
- Peak: 2027–2030
- Hold: Through 2032 for tertiary development
⏳ Drink window: 2026–2032 (peak 2027–2030)
🧑‍🤝‍🧑🍷 Wine Berserkers Guess: Ovid Experiment Cabernet