Lot Overview
- Region: 100% Napa Valley (blend of appellations, NDA; Stags Leap District producer)
- Vintage: 2025
- Varietal: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
- Oak Aging: Neutral French oak + stainless steel, bâtonnage
- Alcohol: 13.5%, pH 3.2, TA 7.8 g/L, Malic 2.3 g/L
- Cases Available: 500
- Cam Price: ~$8.25/bottle ($99/case)
- Retail Estimate: $30–32/bottle
- Claude’s Source Guess: Cliff Lede Vineyards — Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc (Christopher Tynan, Director of Winemaking; same producer as Lots 9 & 32)
- Wine Berserkers Guess:
- Drink Window: Now–2028
Cameron’s Release Notes
How about a stunning $30+ Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc from a Stags Leap District appellation producer for just $99/case? Lot 79 is a blend of very high-quality appellations — prevented by NDA from revealing which — produced in a mix of neutral French oak cooperage and stainless steel fermentation with ongoing bâtonnage. An absolutely archetypal Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc and a ridiculous value for just $99/case.
Tasting Notes
Pale straw in the glass and gorgeously aromatic — pear, white peach, and hints of mango lifted with lemon-lime citrus notes, lemongrass and acacia blossoms. Super-fresh and brisk with piercing crystalline sea breeze acidity bursting up through the bouquet. Juicy, ripe, and fleshy on entry with vibrant, crunchy acidity coated with green apple minerality fleshing out with fresh nectarine and lemon-lime citrus notes in a long, sustained finish. Pitch-perfect sucrosité beautifully balanced with fantastic, mouthwatering mineral tension. Electric!
✅ Bottle Shock Status: Bottled May 19th. Drinking well now — SB needs no aging.
Claude’s Source Guess: Cliff Lede Vineyards — Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc (same producer as Lots 9 & 32)
This is the third CAM X lot identified as Cliff Lede Vineyards, confirming an ongoing and productive supply relationship. Cliff Lede is based in the northern corner of the Stags Leap District — precisely Cam’s “Stags Leap District appellation producer” descriptor — and their Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is one of the benchmark examples of the style, retailing at $30–32. Director of Winemaking Christopher Tynan produces the wine using a combination of neutral French oak barrels and stainless steel tanks with aging on lees and regular bâtonnage — matching Cam’s production description almost word for word. MLF is suppressed at Cliff Lede, which explains the high residual malic acid (2.3 g/L) in Cam’s chemistry — a direct fingerprint of their house winemaking protocol.
The NDA on specific appellations is consistent with Cliff Lede blending fruit from their SLD estate alongside purchased Napa Valley appellations to build volume for their Sauvignon Blanc program. The 500-case lot is consistent with Cliff Lede’s production scale for this wine, which is distributed nationally.
Lots 9 (Carneros Chardonnay, inaugural 2023), 32 (Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon), and now 79 (Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc) establish Cliff Lede as one of Cam’s most consistent CAM X supply relationships across both white and red programs.
✅ Confidence: Very High — Stags Leap District location confirmed, $30–32 retail confirmed, neutral oak/stainless/bâtonnage/suppressed MLF winemaking protocol confirmed, institutional “Director of Winemaking” language confirmed, and three-lot sourcing pattern with Cliff Lede established.
Drink Window
Drink now through 2028. Unoaked/neutral SB with suppressed MLF and 7.8 g/L TA is built for freshness — the high acidity will keep this lively longer than most California SB but early drinking is ideal.
My Call: ✅ Drink now — 2025–2028