Wine Spectator calls it “one of Napa’s first benchmarks.”

But which one?

We had to go Classified again, Ops. Unlike last week where we went full covert counter-ops in the group, this one will not be nearly as guarded. The source gave this one (away, basically) with that condition, as it’s too ICONIC to offer openly.

For reasons that will soon become clear, these wines can be so good, so scarce, or so exclusive that they must hide behind a closely guarded veil of secrecy.

You rarely, if ever, see these bottles offered at a discount. This one AVERAGES $178 and is currently seen out there in the $140-245 range. Because famous wineries can be very price-sensitive, their mailing list members would go ballistic seeing a deep deal on it.

Unless…

We go full redaction – CLASSIFIED – über-top-secret black ops mission style.

Revealing the name would make life miserable for a lot of us. Our industry is built on relationships, and not wanting to ruffle feathers, sometimes it’s a necessary precaution to redact information.

HOWEVER, we can drop a trail of breadcrumbs… so let the games begin!

Key clue: the word “first.” Like from a century ago. Before the world knew of Napa, they heard of this. If a Napa wine were chosen to represent humanity on a space mission, this is a strong contender.

Back in the day, this pioneering winery’s founder (clue #2: the wine’s named after him) was, according to Decanter, “keen to create what today would be called an icon wine, one that fully represented the finest Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards and followed the great winemaking traditions of Bordeaux.”

Guess what? He did just that. With too many vintages to count consistently scoring in the 95-100 range.

Wine Advocate states this wine “continues to provide wine consumers with a substantial vinous history of Napa Valley along with a proven track record for ageability. Even today, there are a good many older bottles still to be found on brokers’ lists around the world.”

Seriously, that leaves us clueless. Most of you must already know which wine we’re talking about. Okay, okay, if you insist, one last clue. A man who was born in the previous century put this wine on the map in 1941, and per Wine Spectator, “he shaped the future of California wine,” by influencing every winemaker thereafter. Yup, that kind of a giant who still lives on with this wine and many others.

Can’t say more; probably already said too much. A white van is on the way with some men on board who look like doors and have a black bag ready to put over Agent Noir’s head before taking him in for an interrogation he’ll never forget.

Oh, what the hell, yes, this too has big scores in the 95-98 points range. Before Mark Stephens’ premonition becomes reality, here is an encrypted tasting note from all the big words the wine press has spent on this timeless masterpiece: “Power and grace come together beautifully in this long-running classic…” “pure seduction: an unctuous, deep, glossy pool of pure and ripe black berries…” “Hint of old-fashioned Napa – in a nice way.” “…showcasing depth, structure, and a well-integrated balance of fruit and oak - a powerful yet refined expression.”

And on, and on… get as much as you can, at this crazy price for what it is.