🏷️ Lot Overview
Region: Knights Valley (Sonoma County)
Vintage: 2023
Blend: 94% Cabernet Sauvignon (Knights Valley), 3% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot (from Oakville & St. Helena)
Chat GPT Original Source Guess: Likely Beringer’s Knights Valley Reserve Cabernet (Alt: Peter Michael Les Pavots second wine, Anakota)
Wine Berserkers Guess: Anakota Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol: 14.5%
Oak Aging: ~40% new French oak
Cam Price: $139/case ($11.58/bottle!)
Retail Estimate: $70–$100
⏳ Drink Window: 2026–2038
🍷 Cameron’s Release Notes
- “Once-in-a-lifetime value” — Cam hammers the pricing anomaly here ($11.58/bottle vs. $70–$100 retail).
- Style: “California-meets-Bordeaux” precision with youth-friendly plushness + aging structure.
- Producer: “Renowned for producing wines of structure, complexity and finesse” with recent vintages (2021, 2022) scoring 93–95pts from WA, LPB, Dunnuck, Suckling.
- Vineyard Conditions: 2023 long, cool season in Knights Valley — ideal hang-time and flavor development.
- Blend: Mostly Knights Valley Cab, with small amounts of Napa fruit blended in by Cam.
Tasting Highlights
- Appearance: Deep ruby core
- Nose: Plum, blackberry, blueberry pie, candied violets, espresso, graphite, cedar
- Palate: Supple and medium-full-bodied with ripe red/purple fruit, volcanic/graphite tannins, pencil lead
- Finish: Vanilla and cedar polish, elegant length
- Overall: Youthful plushness but Bordeaux-like frame for aging
~400 cases. Bottling August 28, 2025.
📦 Bottle Shock Status
❌ Bottling late August 2025 → Needs 12–15 months to integrate oak & structure.
🧠ChatGPT says:
🔍 Source Guess: Beringer Knights Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Alt: Anakota or Peter Michael’s Les Pavots “declassified” lots)
🎯 Rationale:
- Price Anchoring: Cam references $100 → $70–$99 recent pricing, which matches Beringer’s Knights Valley Reserve Cab (historically $90–$100, now seen discounted to $70–$80).
- Critic Scores: Beringer’s Knights Valley Reserve regularly scores 92–95 from WA, Dunnuck, Suckling — exactly what Cam cites for the 2021 vintage.
- Style: “California-meets-Bordeaux” is textbook for Beringer KV Reserve — structured, graphite-driven, yet plush enough young.
- Production Scale: Large enough to explain why excess inventory might hit the gray market in 2023, especially in a softening luxury market.
- Alternates:
- Anakota: Jackson Family’s Knights Valley project, produces $125+ single-vineyard Cabs (Helena Dakota, Helena Montana). Plush and structured, but pricing is usually higher than Cam’s reference point.
- Peter Michael (Les Pavots second wine): PM sits in Knights Valley and produces a Bordeaux blend that often scores 96–99pts. However, pricing ($250+) and style (more opulent new oak) lean higher than Cam’s cues.
âś… Conclusion: All signs point to Beringer Knights Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon as the most likely original source, with Anakota as a distant second.
⏳ Drink Window
- Earliest Opening: Mid-2026 (after ~9 months bottle shock + 1 year integration)
- Peak Drinking: 2028–2034 (sweet spot of plush fruit + resolved tannins)
- Hold Potential: Through 2038 (if cellared well, thanks to balanced acidity + ripe fruit core)
⏳ Drink Window: 2026–2038 (peak 2028–2034)
🧑‍🤝‍🧑🍷 Wine Berserkers Guess: Anakota Cabernet Sauvignon
(Knights Valley, plus some Cam finishing touches)