Lot Overview
- Region: Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley
- Vintage: 2025
- Blend: 65% Grenache, 35% Mourvèdre
- Alcohol: not stated
- Oak Aging: not stated
- Cases Available: ~a couple hundred gallons (very limited)
- Cam Price: $10.75/bottle ($129/case)
- Retail Estimate: $25–$30
- Claude’s Source Guess: Lamborn Family Vineyards (winemaker: Heidi Barrett or Chelsea Barrett)
- Wine Berserkers Guess: Hamel Family
- Drink Window: Drink now through 2027
Cameron’s Release Notes
Yes, indeed, Lot 48 2025 Oak Knoll Rosé is in the bottle and ready-to-ship! Bottled on January 16th, it’s emerging nicely now from bottle shock and will be drinking great by the time it hits your doorstep!
What’s the story you ask? Well, I don’t know too much about this wine other than it’s absolutely gorgeous Rosé, a blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Mourvèdre grown in Oak Knoll estate vineyards and produced by a very talented (and pedigreed) winemaker. I see other Rosé from this producer available in the circa $25–$30 range, but what they were doing with this particular blend, I don’t know. We were only able to get our hands on a couple hundred gallons unfortunately — I would have purchased twenty times as much if I could have.
I guess you’ll just have to trust me, again.
But, I promise, this is an absolutely delicious Rosé! Not to mention it’s an absolute steal at $129/case!
Tasting Notes
Lovely light pink with just a kiss of lavender hue. The bouquet is ripe and succulent offering up a jubilee of peach and pretty strawberry notes lifted on rose petals and underpinned with watermelon candy. With a little air, the bouquet complexes with pillows of whispery cotton candy, powdery pink rose petal and a hint of grapefruit. The fantastic bouquet is worth the price of entry alone. But the palate is equally compelling — juicy and succulent with raspberry and watermelon candy notes exquisitely balanced against schisty, diamond-crusted acidity that unfurls resounding waves of cherry candy and pretty peach notes in a long, mouthwatering finish. Bone dry, this deftly-made and lovely rosé perfectly balances ripe fruit and elegant structure.
⏳ Bottle Shock Status
Bottled January 16, 2025 — emerging from bottle shock now. Drinking well upon arrival.
Claude’s Source Guess: Lamborn Family Vineyards — winemaker Heidi Barrett or Chelsea Barrett
The clues here are narrow and they point in one direction. Cam specifies estate Grenache and Mourvèdre grown in the Oak Knoll District — a distinctly unusual combination for Napa, where Rhône varieties are rare and estate-grown examples even more so. Lamborn Family Vineyards produces their “Mary-Hāna” Rosé from 100% estate Oak Knoll Grenache and released a 2024 vintage of approximately 218 cases — consistent with Cam’s “couple hundred gallons” description. The Mourvèdre in Lot 48 could represent a separate lot blended in from the same estate or a neighboring block not bottled separately.
The “pedigreed winemaker” clue is the clincher. Lamborn’s winemaker since 1997 has been Heidi Barrett — known as “The First Lady of Wine,” the only winemaker to receive consecutive 100-point scores from Robert Parker, and the winemaker behind Screaming Eagle. Her daughter Chelsea Barrett now handles the rosé program. It’s hard to think of a more legitimately pedigreed winemaker working with estate Oak Knoll Rosé fruit in this price tier.
The flavor profile also aligns well: Lamborn’s Mary-Hāna consistently shows strawberry, watermelon, rose petal, and white peach — a near-identical match to Cam’s tasting notes. The price tier ($25–$30 for their other rosé) matches Cam’s observation exactly.
Alternative consideration: Trefethen Family Vineyards also farms estate Oak Knoll fruit and has a long, pedigreed history, but they are not known for Grenache or Mourvèdre. Matthiasson sources Rhône varieties for rosé but from Dunnigan Hills, not Oak Knoll estate. Lamborn remains the most precise fit across all clues.
✅ Confidence: High on Lamborn Family Vineyards as the source.
Drink Window
This is a drink-now wine. Rosé at this price point and style is built for freshness — enjoy through 2027 at the latest, ideally in the first year after receipt. The bone-dry structure and vibrant acidity will hold it together for a couple of years but there’s no upside to cellaring here.