Lot 41 is a Founding Member exclusive — a 2023 Napa Valley estate field blend of Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon from a producer with serious blue chip winemaking pedigree, offered exclusively to Founding Members and VIPs. No source guess per Cam’s request. See also: Lot 14, Lot 19.
Lot Overview
- Region: 100% Napa Valley (estate grown field blend)
- Vintage: 2023
- Varietal: 33% Cabernet Franc, 27% Petite Sirah, 22% Petit Verdot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Oak Aging: 80% new French oak
- Alcohol: 15.0%
- Cases Available: ~110
- Cam Price: ~$14.08/bottle ($169/case)
- Retail Estimate: $95/bottle (Cam notes blue chips would charge $200+)
- Claude’s Source Guess: Founding Member exclusive — no guess published
- Drink Window: 2027–2040 (peak 2029–2036)
Cameron’s Release Notes
Please limit your purchase to 1 CASE or less as we only have about ~110 cases available. If the offer does not sell out then I will open it up to additional purchases.
Again, this is no-expense-spared production deploying 80% new French oak and produced by a winemaker with serious blue chip pedigree (and I do mean serious).
Did I mention the wine is absolutely fabulous? I guess that’s where the rubber hits the road, yes? Check it out…
I opened this barrel sample last Friday and was impressed right off the bat, but the wine has continued to blossom significantly as here we are on Tuesday and it continues to add layers of depth and dimension. The fantastic 2023 vintage has served up a fabulous red blend here with a powerful, palate-staining-yet-elegant and exquisitely balanced structure that delivers tremendous complexity.
This is a pretty straightforward offering as the 33% Cabernet Franc, 27% Petite Sirah, 22% Petite Verdot, and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon Field Blend is proprietary; hence, the need to lock up this offering to “protect the innocent”.
Again, in order to protect our ability to keep offering you these gems, please refrain from posting anything about the producer online or in forums. Thank you!
Normally, $95/bottle under the original label (which is quite reasonable, by the way, any of the blue chips would be charging $200/bottle for this), today I am offering the same bottling blend in Lot 41 2023 Napa Valley Red Blend for just $169/case DELIVERED!
Tasting Notes
Deep purple, almost opaque, but not quite squid ink. Opens somewhat monolithic with gobs of black fruit, dark chocolate syrup and tons of toasty oak but, over the course of days the wine began to unwind and reveal its self complexing with creme de mure and black cherry notes underpinned with chocolate covered blueberries, fresh-turned black earth haloed with new leather and crushed tobacco leaf. The palate is ripe and robust with plentiful ripe blackberry, black cherry, cedar and vanilla wrapped around a potent core of tannins that unfurl with precision and elegance in a long, pure, sustained finish. First-class all the way.
⏳ Bottle Shock Status: Bottling January 2025, shipping late January 2025. Allow minimum 18–24 months — 15% alc and 80% new French oak need serious integration time.
About This Lot
Lot 41 was a Founding Member and VIP exclusive offer. It is not publicly available and no source guess is published per Cam’s explicit request to refrain from posting anything about the producer online or in forums. The wine is a 100% estate grown proprietary field blend from a Napa Valley producer with serious blue chip winemaking pedigree — Cam notes that comparable producers would charge $200/bottle for a wine of this caliber.
Drink Window
Early: 2027 — 15% alc, 80% new oak, bottled January 2025 — needs minimum 2 years.
Peak: 2029–2036. Napa Valley field blend at this quality tier peaks 4–10 years from vintage.
Hold: 2040. The Petite Sirah backbone and oak structure give this solid medium-long aging potential.
My Call: ⏳ Drink window: 2027–2040 (peak 2029–2036)