Lot Overview
- Region: Napa Valley — Atlas Bench estate + Stagecoach Vineyard (Atlas Peak)
- Vintage: 2023
- Varietal: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Malbec
- Oak Aging: ~85% new French oak, 19 months
- Alcohol: 15.0%
- Cases Available: ~750
- Cam Price: ~$12.50/bottle ($149/case)
- Retail Estimate: $130–150+/bottle
- Claude’s Source Guess: Krupp Brothers — M5 Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
- Wine Berserkers Guess: Krupp Brothers Verasion Cabernet
- Drink Window: 2027–2045 (peak 2030–2040)
Cameron’s Release Notes
This bottling blend comes to us from the same producer as Lot 10. Featuring a fantastic combination of Atlas Bench estate fruit blended with a significant portion from the “vineyard that must not be named” up on Atlas Peak, aged 19 months in ~85% new French oak. Normally priced north of $130+/bottle with consistent 93 and 94-point scores from both Parker and Dunnuck for the last two rated vintages.
Tasting Notes
Inky and totally opaque but beautifully aromatic with cassis and blackberry notes, spring flowers, milk chocolate, seasoned oak and fresh-turned black earth. With air it layers in nervy olallieberry, pie spice and graham cracker. Fleshy on entry, juicy yet muscular — a touch more feminine and pretty than Lot 10 but still substantially structured with silky, big-grained tannins carrying beautifully attenuated red and black fruits layered over mineral-laced tannins. The classic iron fist, velvet glove Cabernet with a sexy, energetic palate more open-knit than its big brother Lot 10. Will be showing nicely in the Fall and age gracefully another 15–20 years.
⏳ Bottle Shock Status: Bottled June 27th. Allow minimum 12–18 months.
Claude’s Source Guess: Krupp Brothers — M5 Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
This is the fourth lot in the confirmed Krupp Brothers cluster (Lots 10, 13, 16, 17), and the most precisely identifiable. The M5 is Krupp’s flagship estate Cabernet Sauvignon, blending their best Stagecoach blocks with Atlas Bench estate fruit — exactly the sourcing Cam describes. The M5’s track record of 93 WA / 94–96 Dunnuck on the 2021 vintage, and 94 WA / 94 Dunnuck on the 2016, matches Cam’s “consistent 93 and 94-point scores from both Parker and Dunnuck for the last two rated vintages” with precision. The winery direct price of ~$130–150 aligns with Cam’s “north of $130+/bottle.”
Cam explicitly calls this “a touch more feminine and pretty than Lot 10” — meaning the M5 flagship is more refined than the experimental icon blend of Lot 10, which fits perfectly since the M5 is a polished, established program while Lot 10 was described as an unreleased icon-tier experiment. The 750-case production is consistent with Krupp’s M5 output.
✅ Confidence: Very High — Parker/Dunnuck scores match exactly, price tier confirmed, same-producer cluster with Lots 10/13/16 confirmed, Atlas Bench + Stagecoach sourcing aligns with M5’s known vineyard composition.
Drink Window
Early: 2027 — 15% alc and 85% new oak over 19 months needs 2+ years minimum.
Peak: 2030–2040. M5 Stagecoach Cab consistently peaks 7–15 years from vintage.
Hold: 2045. Cam says 15–20 years and the structure absolutely supports it.
My Call: ⏳ Drink window: 2027–2045 (peak 2030–2040)