Lot 86 is a single-vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir from the same artisanal producer as Lot 87 — farming both sides of the RRV/Sonoma Coast AVA boundary with extremely low yields and master-level winemaking, scoring 93-95 points consistently from Galloni, Dunnuck and Wine Enthusiast. Claude’s source guess is Ceritas Wines. See also: Lot 87
Lot Overview
- Region: 100% Russian River Valley (single vineyard, 600+ foot hilltop, Sebastopol Hills, Goldridge and Steinbeck sandy loam)
- Vintage: 2024
- Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir, partial stem inclusion
- Oak Aging: ~30-40% new French oak
- Alcohol: 14.2%, TA 6.0 g/L, Malic >0.1 g/L, Lactic 1.3 g/L
- Cases Available: ~175
- Cam Price: ~$10.75/bottle ($129/case)
- Retail Estimate: $60-70/bottle
- Claude’s Source Guess: Ceritas Wines — Sebastopol Hills single vineyard, Russian River Valley (Alt: Bohème Wines)
- Wine Berserkers Guess:
- Drink Window: 2026–2033 (peak 2027–2031)
Cameron’s Release Notes
Dear Friends,
Oh yeah, it’s Back Up The Truck time!
First-run, World-Class Russian River Valley Pinot Noir with a 93-95-point pedigree from major critics for just $129/case? Damn straight!
Best Russian River Pinot Noir we’ve put in the bottle at the best price we’ve ever offered a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir? Damn straight!
Lot 86 2024 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is an absolutely gorgeous single-vineyard wine that exudes nuance, complexity and verve. Rich and perfectly ripe fruit is elegantly layered over tremendous cool-climate precision by a master of the craft.
Folks, it’s run, don’t walk to the buy button time! We’ve only got 175 cases of this beauty up for grabs and you are not going to want to miss this one!
Tasting Notes
Lot 86 2024 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is a single-vineyard offering hailing from a lovely 600+ foot hilltop site in Sebastopol Hills seated in the Goldridge and Steinbeck sandy loam soils the region is famous for. The producer focuses on this cool, hilly region on the western edge of Russian River Valley, farming estate vineyards on both sides of the AVA boundary in both the Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley.
Regardless of what side of the AVA boundary, all of their Pinots and Chardonnays have a decidedly artisanal feel to them with pretty, crunchy, mouthwatering acidity that gives them a particular lightness of being while threading the needle beautifully with physiological ripeness due to extremely low yields ranging from 1 to 2 tons per acre. This first class winemaking from the hands of a master, I promise, with consistent 93-95 point scores from the likes of Jeb Dunnuck, Antonio Galloni, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Independent, etc.
Normally sold as a single-vineyard designate between $60-70/bottle, today this delicious, absolutely fantastic Pinot Noir can be yours for just $129/case.
Beautifully extracted cherry red with lovely magenta hue. The bouquet is fantastic and worth the price of entry alone, opening with ripe wild raspberry and spicy cherry complexed with more savory, umami components like black tea, lavender, rose petal, and forest floor. With air, caramel and dragon fruit notes join the fray, underpinned with earthy blackberry and cedar. Tremendously fresh and complex, this is an unmistakably sophisticated, potent-yet-beautifully elegant wine. Fleshy and perfectly ripe on entry with a pretty melange of red/black fruits, earth and rock perfectly attenuated over crunchy acidity and mineral-laced tannins. Impeccably balanced with perfect oak integration, this fantastic Pinot Noir finishes long and lovely with pretty cherry, raspberry/dragon fruit, lavender and coriander notes echoing throughout a long, pristine finish. With tremendous complexity, purity and precision throughout, Lot 86 perfectly combines Russian River ripeness with Sonoma Coast cool.
✅ Bottle Shock Status: Drinking well now — 30-40% new oak and cool-climate fruit at 14.2% alc is accessible early.
Claude’s Source Guess: Ceritas Wines — Sebastopol Hills Single Vineyard, Russian River Valley (same producer as Lot 87)
The description is nearly identical to Lot 87 — artisanal producer farming both sides of the RRV/Sonoma Coast AVA boundary with 1-2 tons/acre yields, consistent 93-95 points from Galloni and Dunnuck, $60-70/bottle single-vineyard designates, and “lightness of being” as the defining stylistic descriptor. The specific geography here — 600+ foot hilltop in Sebastopol Hills on Goldridge and Steinbeck sandy loam — is consistent with Ceritas’s estate vineyard locations along the Bohemian Highway corridor, where their sites span the RRV and Sonoma Coast boundary at elevation.
Lot 86 appears to be the RRV-designated companion to Lot 87’s Sonoma Coast designation — two different vineyard blocks from the same producer, one on each side of the AVA boundary, bottled as separate CAM X lots. This cross-lot structure is entirely consistent with Ceritas’s known estate portfolio, which includes multiple single-vineyard Pinots spanning both appellations.
Bohème Wines (Kurt Beitler) remains a strong alternative — also farming both sides of the RRV/Sonoma Coast boundary in the Occidental Hills/Bohemian Highway corridor at similar elevation with comparable $60-70 pricing.
✅ Confidence: High — same producer fingerprint as Lot 87, geographic and stylistic details align with Ceritas’s Sebastopol Hills estate blocks, 93-95 critic scores confirmed, $60-70 retail confirmed.
Drink Window
Early: 2026 — drinking well now per Cam’s description, 30-40% new oak is accessible early.
Peak: 2027–2031. Russian River Valley Pinot at this quality tier peaks 3–7 years from vintage.
Hold: 2033. The 6.0 TA and cool-climate structure give this solid medium-term aging.
My Call: ✅ Drink window: 2026–2033 (peak 2027–2031)