We can get used to these Frenchie Fridays!

Actually, due to our site crashing unexpectedly last Friday, we’re giving Operatives another whole day with similar gems in the Store. The 2009 Grand Puy Lacoste is long gone, but incredibly we found an ever better feature to lead the day…a 95 pointer described as “alluring” and “seductive” by Decanter. Our price? Just flat out wonky.

Can you keep a secret though?

Bordeaux can get very pricey. Our great “deal” for the 2016 Haut-Brion is back by the way. We have the BEST price for that wine in the US, at $599 a bottle. That’s a steal, relatively speaking, given how expensive Bordeaux CAN get.

But does it have to?

VERY FEW insiders’ wines remain in the stateliest of all French regions, but we just found one, and imported it for you direct from the Château! This exclusive is very special because it hails from a tiny property smack in the middle of primetime Saint-Julien properties.

Its immediate neighbors’ 2012 vintage wines - namely Léoville Barton, Gruaud Larose, and Beychevelle can be found in the $120-150 per bottle range these days. In Bordeaux, you could find this for $95.

On Wine Spies, it’s $38. That’s 60% OFF a 95-pointer Saint-Julien. Here today, gone tomorrow.

So, location? Can’t be better - check!

Scores? Triple 92-95-ers - check!

Provenance? Perfect - check!

How about almost a decade of bottle age never having left the Château until the cases landed stateside? Check, check, and check!

It oozes into the glass with a still youthful vivid ruby, settling in with a brilliant garnet edge. At once fruity, spicy, earthy in perfume, with those peerless top-shelf Bordeaux aromatics, while it blows your mind by softly hijacking your palate, caressing it with its silky texture and depth. Seamless, long as can be, ready to please yet showing potential to keep on and on too, wow. Must go out of your way to whip up an equally complex, savory, juicy, scrumptious meal.

Make room in your stash, we brought in much as we could, doesn’t seem to be enough these days!

95 Points – Decanter

“Alluring roasted coffee bean nose, augmented by pepper and spice on the black fruits. Seductive Saint-Julien texture, displaying finesse and evolution, with mushroom tints to the intense fruit, and a refreshing end.”

92 Points – Wine Enthusiast

“A blend from two parcels of vines, this wine comes from a vintage that always has emphasized fruit. Now ready to drink, the wine has great balance and the beginnings of secondary flavors, with hints of spice and tobacco. The wine is ready now, but will age further and could be even better from 2022.”

92 Points – International Wine Report

“The 2012 Château Les Ormes is a fantastic showing in this vintage. The Saint-Julien instantly bursts open with alluring aromas of blackberries and dark cherries which are woven together with spices, charcoal, toast, underlined by spring floral and mineral nuances. This medium-bodied red is beautifully textured, with polished tannins and a wonderful balance of fruit and acidity. The finish shows nice length, with red fruits and scorched notes lingering on. This is a complete success and drinking excellent right now.”