🏷️ Lot Overview
Region: Napa Valley (Atlas Peak)
Vintage: 2023
Blend: 75% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot
ChatGPT Original Source Guess: Likely Realm Cellars
Wine Berserkers Guess: Krupp Brothers Synchrony
Alcohol: 15.0%
Oak Aging: ~70% New French Oak
Cam Price: $14.08 ($169/case)
Retail Estimate: $150–$175
Drink Window: Late 2025–2040
🍷 Cameron’s Release Notes
This blend came directly from “the vineyard that shall not be named up on Atlas Peak” and was originally destined for a $150+ bottling under a proprietary label with consistent mid-90s scores from Parker and Dunnuck. At 75% Cab Franc and 25% Merlot, Cam opted to bottle it as a varietal Cab Franc—untouched—and says it’s a connoisseur’s wine: powerful, elegant, and complex.
The bouquet opens deep and earthy with black plum, dark chocolate, and garrigue, layered with ripe cherry, blackberry, cinnamon spice, violets, and freshly turned soil. On the palate, it’s robust and chewy up front, then transitions into juicy blackcurrant and cocoa with lively energy and structure. A long, persistent finish seals the deal on this beautifully knit, elevated red.
425 cases were produced and bottled in late June 2025.
🧠ChatGPT says:
🔍 Source Guess: Realm Cellars
🎯 Rationale:
- The vineyard source on Atlas Peak—described as “legendary” and “shall not be named”—is the same as that referenced in multiple recent CAM X lots (10, 13, 16, 17), all of which track to Realm or AXR.
- Realm has a track record of mid-90s scores from Parker and Dunnuck, proprietary bottlings, and a consulting winemaker model that fits Cam’s hints.
- Realm’s Cab Franc program is limited but elite—most notably, Beckstoffer To Kalon Franc and other estate Francs blended with Merlot for softening—fitting the profile here.
- The wine is described as “ethereal,” “powerful-yet-elegant,” and “structured”—hallmarks of Realm’s elevated style.
- $150–$175 retail range, 70% new French oak, 15% alcohol, and that refined tannic structure are all consistent with Realm’s red wine builds.
🧠Alternative Considerations:
- AXR: Also a candidate, as they’ve worked with Atlas Peak fruit and released plush, oak-forward reds with consulting winemaker precision. But AXR’s Cab Franc program is less documented and usually more extracted, while Cam emphasized “ethereal” elegance here.
- Blackbird Vineyards: Known for Merlot and Cab Franc blends with proprietary names, but their wines are typically cooler-climate, lower-alcohol, and a different stylistic target.
⏳ Drink Window
- Early: Fall 2025 after bottle shock
- Peak: 2027–2035 when Cab Franc’s floral lift integrates with Merlot’s plushness
- Hold Potential: To ~2040 for aged tobacco, graphite, and savory secondary notes
⏳ Drink Window: 2025–2040 (peak 2027–2035)
🧑‍🤝‍🧑🍷 Wine Berserkers Guess: Krupp Brothers Synchrony