Lot Overview
Region: Santa Lucia Highlands (Monterey)
Vintage: 2023
Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
Perplexity Original Source Guess: Lucia by Pisoni
Wine Berserkers Guess:
Alcohol: 14.0%
Oak Aging: ~40% new French oak (20 months)
Cam Price: $11.58 ($139/case)
Retail Estimate: $70–$80/bottle (tasting room/online)
Drink Window: 2026–2034 (my call)
Cameron’s Release Notes
“Hailing from one of the most sought after sites in Monterey County’s Santa Lucia Highlands, Lot 57 is a beautiful, world-class Pinot Noir normally bottled as a single-vineyard designate from the highly-regarded Soberanes Vineyard.”
“The vineyard itself (which is not the source of the wine) is a joint venture between the legendary/pioneering Franscioni and Pisoni families and was named ‘one of the appellation’s most esteemed properties’ by the Wine Enthusiast.”
Hailing from one of the most sought after sites in Monterey County’s Santa Lucia Highlands, Lot 57 is a beautiful, world-class Pinot Noir normally bottled as a single-vineyard designate from the highly-regarded Soberanes Vineyard.
The vineyard itself (which is not the source of the wine) is a joint venture between the legendary/pioneering Franscioni and Pisoni families and was named “one of the appellation’s most esteemed properties” by the Wine Enthusiast. Noted for producing wines of elegant-yet-vibrant intensity, the Soberones vineyard client list is indeed a who’s who of artisanal Pinot Noir producers throughout California.
The CAM X Lot 57 2023 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir is a meticulously produced, finished bottling blend sourced from a highly-regarded Pinot Noir focused producer with many single vineyard designated bottlings (we basically split the SLH bottling with them). With consistent mid-90’s scores, their single-vineyard designate Soberones is celebrated for its supple elegance and classy presentation, valuing complexity and verve over power and extraction – this is archetypal cool-climate California Pinot Noir. The wine sees 20-months in ~40% new French oak and typically sells tasting room and online only for $70-80/bottle.
Today it can be yours for just $139/CASE!
Tasting Notes
Pale ruby in the glass. As promised the wine is intensely aromatic and pure with vibrant fruit. The lively bouquet is bright and effusive with raspberry and black cherry fruit complexed with a savory halo of black tea and clove. Supple, silky and expressive on the palate yet with great backbone and vibrant, crunchy acidity that lifts and carries juicy and well-delineated red fruits complexed with clove and nicely integrated oak in a long, pure finish. This is a beautifully balanced wine with tremendous elegance, verve and complexity for the Pinot Noir enthusiast!
100% Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
14% alc.
~125 Tranche One cases
Bottle Shock Status
✅ Best after late 2025 (20 months oak, recent bottling; allow time for integration).
Perplexity says
Source Guess: Lucia by Pisoni (most likely), supplying a finished SLH Pinot Noir bottling blend that they split with Cam X after deciding not to bottle the full production as their Soberanes single-vineyard designate.
How I’m reading the clues
Soberanes Vineyard connection
Cam explicitly mentions the wine is “normally bottled as a single-vineyard designate from the highly-regarded Soberanes Vineyard” by the producer, but clarifies “the vineyard itself (which is not the source of the wine)” – this means the producer has a flagship Soberanes Vineyard Pinot bottling, but Lot 57 is from other SLH fruit blended into their finished SLH program.
Lucia by Pisoni’s flagship is literally “Lucia Soberanes Vineyard Pinot Noir,” which has earned consistent mid-90s scores (94–97 Wine Enthusiast, etc.) and is celebrated for “supple elegance… valuing complexity and verve over power and extraction” – an exact stylistic match to Cam’s description.
Producer profile
The producer is “highly-regarded Pinot Noir focused” with “many single vineyard designated bottlings” and a Soberanes designate that scores mid-90s. Lucia by Pisoni fits perfectly: Pinot‑only label, multiple SLH single‑vineyard Pinot Noirs (Soberanes, Garys’, Lucia), mid-90s scores, and tasting room/direct sales model at $70–$80 range.
The Pisoni/Franscioni family connection to Soberanes (their joint‑venture vineyard) is also explicitly called out, matching Cam’s “legendary/pioneering Franscioni and Pisoni families.”
Production behavior
Cam describes buying a “meticulously produced, finished bottling blend” and “splitting the SLH bottling with them” (~125 cases Tranche One), which implies Lucia produced their full SLH Pinot program but chose to release only part under their own label (likely keeping the pure Soberanes portion for the flagship), diverting the blended remainder to Cam X.
This is common for small Pinot producers managing limited fruit across multiple vineyard designates.
Style and technicals
14% ABV, 20 months in 40% new French oak, pale ruby color, “supple, silky… vibrant, crunchy acidity… juicy red fruits… clove… long pure finish” is textbook cool‑climate SLH Pinot Noir from the Pisoni stylebook—elegant, precise, and aromatic rather than extracted or heavy.
Lucia’s wines are routinely described this way: “rich aromas of boysenberry pie, lilac and violet… opulent, lush and juicy” (Wine Enthusiast).
The combination of Soberanes flagship bottling + mid-90s scores + Pisoni/Franscioni mention + SLH finished blend at $70–$80 + exact style descriptors makes Lucia by Pisoni the strongest named match for Lot 57.
Drink Window
Early Enjoyment:
From late 2026, once the oak fully integrates, expect vibrant raspberry/black cherry, black tea, clove, and silky texture with bright, crunchy acidity providing lift.
Peak Drinking:
2027–2032, when the wine shows maximum elegance, complexity, and harmony between fruit, savory elements, and structure—archetypal cool-climate SLH Pinot.
Hold Potential:
Up to 2034 with careful cellaring; beyond that, expect graceful evolution toward earth, dried cherry, tea leaf, and spice notes.
My Call:
Drink window: 2026–2034 (peak 2027–2032).