Lot Overview
- Region: 100% Oakville District, Napa Valley (Rock Cairn Vineyard)
- Vintage: 2023
- Varietal: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot
- Oak Aging: 60% new French oak
- Alcohol: 14.1%
- Cases Available: 300
- Cam Price: ~$16.50/bottle ($199/case)
- Retail Estimate: $100–125/bottle
- Claude’s Source Guess: Ghost Block Estate Wines — Rock Cairn Vineyard, Oakville (Pelissa family)
- Wine Berserkers Guess: Ghost Block Estate Wines
- Drink Window: 2026–2038 (peak 2028–2035)
Cameron’s Release Notes
Sourced from the organically farmed and well-regarded Rock Cairn Vineyard, this dynamite Oakville District Cabernet Sauvignon sells for well over $100/bottle under the producer’s label. We purchased their final Oakville Cabernet blend and then finalized our version with a splash of Malbec and Petit Verdot — which I believe is quite improved!
Tasting Notes
Dark black core with vibrant purple rim. Opens with a rich, ripe, oaky bouquet of blackberry jam, graphite and tobacco framed with cedar, adding more black raspberry fruit and caramel oak notes as it opens. Rich and powerful on entry with nicely delineated black and blue fruit seamlessly welded to a robust, palate-staining ball of chewy tannins that unwind a mineral-driven flourish of black cherry, blackberry and chocolate with a blue fruit halo. Elegant yet powerful structure, great complexity, and a delicious finish.
⏳ Bottle Shock Status: Bottled June 27th. Allow late 2025 minimum.
Claude’s Source Guess: Ghost Block Estate Wines — Rock Cairn Vineyard, Oakville (Pelissa family, fifth-generation organic growers)
Cam names the vineyard directly here, making this one of the easier identifications in the catalog. Rock Cairn Vineyard is owned and farmed by the Pelissa family, fifth-generation Napa growers who have had all 650+ acres of their vineyards 100% certified organic since 1991. The 30-acre Rock Cairn site sits near the southern edge of the Oakville AVA, east of Highway 29, in deep gravelly loam with a western exposure. The Pelissa family bottles their Rock Cairn Cab under the Ghost Block label at $100–125/bottle.
Cam received the producer’s “final Oakville Cabernet blend” — meaning Ghost Block’s base blend before Cam added his own 4% Malbec and 3% PV splash — and then bottled it as a CAM X lot at a fraction of retail. The 14.1% alcohol and 60% new French oak are both consistent with Ghost Block’s house style, which prioritizes elegance over extraction.
Also notable: Nickel & Nickel sources 9 acres of Rock Cairn for their own single-vineyard Rock Cairn Cab ($95–110), confirming the vineyard’s reputation as a source for blue-chip Oakville producers.
✅ Confidence: Very High — vineyard named directly, organic farming confirmed, price tier matches Ghost Block’s Rock Cairn Cab, and the “final blend” narrative fits a family estate operation clearing surplus inventory.
Drink Window
Early: 2026 — allow a year post-bottling for the 60% new oak to integrate.
Peak: 2028–2035. Oakville Cab from gravelly loam at this quality tier typically peaks 5–10 years from vintage.
Hold: 2038. The 14.1% alcohol and elegant structure give this a graceful long arc.
My Call: ⏳ Drink window: 2026–2038 (peak 2028–2035)