Lot Overview
- Region: 80% Coombsville, 20% Howell Mountain, Napa Valley
- Vintage: 2023
- Blend: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petite Verdot, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc
- Alcohol: 15.3%
- Oak Aging: ~70% new French oak, 30 months in barrel
- TA / pH: 6 g/L TA, 3.75 pH, 0.9 g/L lactic, no malic
- Cases Available: ~150
- Cam Price: ~$17/bottle ($199/case — price not stated, estimating based on context)
- Retail Estimate: $200+/bottle
- Claude’s Source Guess: Kongsgaard Wine — Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
- Wine Berserkers Guess:
- Drink Window: 2028–2045 (peak 2030–2040)
Wait — Cam doesn’t give the price in this email. Let me re-read… he just says “150 cases available” with no price listed. I’ll leave the price blank.
Lot 68 — 2023 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Lot Overview
- Region: 80% Coombsville, 20% Howell Mountain, Napa Valley
- Vintage: 2023
- Blend: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petite Verdot, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc
- Alcohol: 15.3%
- Oak Aging: ~70% new French oak, 30 months in barrel
- TA / pH: 6 g/L TA, 3.75 pH, 0.9 g/L lactic, no malic
- Cases Available: ~150
- Cam Price: ~$16.50/bottle ($199/case)
- Retail Estimate: $200+/bottle
- Claude’s Source Guess: Kongsgaard Wine — Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
- Wine Berserkers Guess:
- Drink Window: 2028–2045 (peak 2030–2040)
Cameron’s Release Notes
Time to back up the truck Cab-lovers, this is sure to be one of our best 2023 Cabernets!
The main component comes to us from the same producer as Lot 38 Coombsville Chardonnay, a finished bottling blend comprised of 80% Coombsville and 20% Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that sees ~75% new French oak and built for a $200+ price point. The latter component is not typical of this producer but, apparently, the owner had friends on Howell Mountain with some extra tonnage in 2023.
Only 150 cases available.
Tasting Notes
Inky and semi-opaque in the glass but not quite squid ink. 30 months in barrel has served this wine well as the bouquet is quite open-knit and super-sexy already. Ripe blueberry, blackberry and fresh turned black earth are enveloped in chocolate, leather and cedar. With a couple of swirls, pretty white flowers, iron and rock complex the ethereal bouquet. Perfectly balanced and smooth on entry with black and blue fruit, chocolate and earth arrayed over open-knit, minerally and big-grained tannins that are both elegant and palate-staining at the same time with beautifully attenuated length and tremendous complexity. FANTASTIC!
⏳ Bottle Shock Status
Already 30 months in barrel — likely bottled late 2025 or early 2026. Allow 60–90 days before opening. Best from late 2026.
Claude’s Source Guess: Kongsgaard Wine — Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
The “same producer as Lot 38” anchor is the key, and Lot 38 was a Coombsville Chardonnay priced “just shy of triple digits” from a “legendary estate.” That price point and descriptor point directly at Kongsgaard, whose Napa Valley Chardonnay incorporates Coombsville fruit from the Warren Winiarski-planted vineyard since 2020 and retails around $90–100. The estate is deeply tied to the volcanic eastern rim of Napa Valley — Stonecrest Drive/Coombsville territory — with their winery literally carved into volcanic rock at the Coombsville/Atlas Peak interface.
The Cabernet at $200+ is a clean match: Kongsgaard’s Cab retails at $240–$262, one of the most expensive non-cult Cabs in Napa Valley from a small family operation. Their winemaking style — 30 months in barrel, high new oak percentage, low-intervention cave winemaking — is a perfect fit for the 30-month élevage Cam describes, which is unusually long and signals a producer committed to that Burgundian-style extended aging approach Kongsgaard is known for.
The Howell Mountain component explains itself perfectly in context: Cam notes “the owner had friends on Howell Mountain with some extra tonnage in 2023” — exactly the informal, relationship-driven way a small family producer like Kongsgaard would source a one-off component. Their own Atlas Peak estate vineyard is high-elevation volcanic mountain fruit, so Howell Mountain fruit from a neighbor would be a natural stylistic fit.
The tasting profile — iron, volcanic rock, big-grained elegant tannins, white flowers, Coombsville earthiness — is textbook Kongsgaard, whose wines are known for precisely this combination of power, mineral tension, and aromatic complexity.
✅ Confidence: High on Kongsgaard. The price point anchors for both Lot 38 (Chardonnay ~$90-100) and Lot 68 (Cab $200+) converge on one producer in the Coombsville estate space, and the 30-month barrel aging and small family winery relationship story match Kongsgaard’s profile precisely.
Drink Window
Early Enjoyment: Late 2026 at the absolute earliest, and only with aggressive 2–3 hour decanting. At 30 months in barrel, 70% new oak, and 15.3% alcohol, this wine is going to be very closed on release.
Peak Drinking: 2030–2040. The “big-grained yet elegant” tannin structure Cam describes is the Coombsville signature — they take time to resolve but reward patience beautifully.
Hold Potential: 2045. Zero malic, moderate lactic, and high TA with an elevated pH of 3.75 suggest this wine is built for very long aging. Kongsgaard Cabs have historically needed 10–15 years to show their best.
My Call: ⏳ Drink window: 2026–2045 (peak 2030–2040)