Lot 73 is a Carneros Chardonnay blending fruit from the Haire Vineyard in Carneros and the Cunat Family Vineyard in Oak Knoll District — two well-regarded sites combined into a single CAM X bottling. Claude’s source guess is Sequoia Grove Winery.
Lot Overview
- Region: Napa Valley (82% Los Carneros / 18% Oak Knoll)
- Vintage: 2024
- Varietal: 100% Chardonnay (Wente Clone, old vines — Carneros component)
- Oak Aging: ~38% new French oak, medium toast
- Alcohol: 14%
- TA / pH: 6.1 g/L TA, 3.45 pH, malic 0.45 g/L, lactic 1.35 g/L
- Cases Available: ~150
- Cam Price: ~$11.50/bottle ($139/case)
- Retail Estimate: $70+/bottle (Carneros component program); ~$35–45 (Oak Knoll component)
- Claude’s Source Guess: Sequoia Grove Winery — Haire Vineyard Carneros (Wente clone) + Cunat Vineyard Oak Knoll
- Wine Berserkers Guess:
- Drink Window: 2026–2032 (peak 2027–2030)
Cameron’s Release Notes
Dear Friends,
I have a fantastic Chardonnay offer for you today!
Lot 73 is a gorgeous, single-vineyard designated Carneros Chardonnay sourced from the highly regarded Haire Vineyard in Carneros and the Cunat Family Vineyard in Oak Knoll District. The producer sells this wine for well over $50/bottle and it is a fantastic deal at $99/case DELIVERED.
At just $99/case DELIVERED, this is a mind-blowing deal for world-class Carneros Chardonnay!
Tasting Notes
Lot 73 is a gorgeous, single-vineyard designated Carneros Chardonnay sourced from the highly regarded Haire Vineyard in Carneros and the Cunat Family Vineyard in Oak Knoll District. The producer sells this wine for well over $50/bottle and it is a fantastic deal at $99/case DELIVERED.
Beautiful pale gold in the glass with a gorgeous, effusive bouquet of ripe peach, apricot and nectarine notes beautifully complexed with lemon zest, brioche and a kiss of toasty oak. With air, the bouquet opens further with notes of honeysuckle, beeswax and a lovely mineral halo. Supple and juicy on entry with a beautifully integrated structure of medium-full bodied Chardonnay with mouthwatering acidity carrying ripe peach and apricot fruit laced with lemon zest and brioche to a long, sustained finish. Beautifully balanced with tremendous elegance and complexity, this gorgeous Carneros Chardonnay is a must-have for Chardonnay lovers!
⏳ Bottle Shock Status
2024 vintage, just bottled and released. Allow 30–60 days before opening. Drinking well upon arrival but will improve with rest.
Claude’s Source Guess: Sequoia Grove — Haire Vineyard (Carneros) + Cunat Vineyard (Oak Knoll)
Sequoia Grove, the Rutherford-based Napa producer founded in 1979, fits this lot with uncommon precision. Their flagship Chardonnay program has long been built around two anchor sources: the Haire Vineyard in Carneros, planted to 30+ year old Wente clone specifically for Sequoia Grove, and the Cunat Vineyard in the Oak Knoll District. Those are exactly the two components Cam describes — an 82% Carneros old vine Wente clone program and an 18% Oak Knoll program. The $70 price point also fits Sequoia Grove’s Vineyard Series Haire Vineyard Chardonnay, their single-vineyard step-up tier above the nationally distributed Napa Valley Chardonnay.
The Haire Vineyard in Carneros has legitimate “legendary” status in knowledgeable Napa circles. The old Wente clone blocks there are planted to the chicks-and-hens cluster structure that produces natural concentration and complexity — exactly what Cam describes as “all the depth, complexity and nuance befitting an old vine $70/bottle Chardonnay.” The Cunat Oak Knoll component brings the lighter-touch oak and structure that Cam describes as the secondary piece using “a little lighter hand on the oak (30% new French).”
Cam’s reference to “Lot 4 fans” is worth noting — Lot 4 was an earlier Napa Chardonnay that presumably shared some characteristics. The style description — “right up the middle,” “Burgundian,” energetic rather than heavy — fits Sequoia Grove’s winemaking philosophy under Jesse Fox, which emphasizes tension and freshness over weight. The lactic reading (1.35 g/L) also suggests partial but not full malolactic, consistent with how Sequoia Grove manages Haire fruit.
One caveat: Sequoia Grove’s nationally distributed Napa Valley Chardonnay retails at ~$35 and uses Haire and Cunat as its backbone. It’s possible Cam received surplus or whole-lot fruit from those same vineyard sources rather than specifically from Sequoia Grove as the producer — meaning the $70 program Cam references could be a boutique label using Haire exclusively rather than Sequoia Grove’s blended program. If so, the Haire Vineyard remains the Carneros anchor regardless.
✅ Confidence: Medium-High — the Carneros old vine Wente clone + Oak Knoll combination is quite specific and Sequoia Grove’s sourcing matches it almost exactly. The $70 single-vineyard tier and “legendary” Haire Vineyard pedigree align well. Community intel on this one would help confirm.
Drink Window
Early Enjoyment: Summer 2026 — the low lactic (1.35 g/L) and moderate oak (~38% new) mean this is accessible early without suffering for it.
Peak Drinking: 2027–2030. The old vine Wente clone concentration and partial malolactic structure will fill out beautifully over 2–3 years.
Hold Potential: 2032. Not a long-aging wine by design, but the natural Carneros acidity (6.1 g/L TA) provides the backbone to evolve gracefully for 6–7 years from vintage.
My Call: ⏳ Drink window: 2026–2032 (peak 2027–2030)