What’s a more wondrous sight? A Cuban greater funnel-eared bat or THIS?

…a RARELY-seen-in-the-wild, 12 barrels made, Dave Phinney crafted Napa Cab from “a spectacular year” rated 99 points by Wine Spectator? Hard to say, but for a fleeting moment, YOU can snag a few bottles of this uncommon Cabernet Sauvignon for a sweet price. The normal $68 is quite fair for a wine of this caliber but today, at our discount? It’s destined for extinction (selling out) no doubt.

You all know Phinney. The winemaking wunderkind behind Orin Swift’s massive success. The one Robert Parker proclaimed, “has the Midas Touch.” In fact, Wine Advocate recently summed the famous story up well “What started out as dark, symbolic imagery on the label of a pretty decent red wine blend at a pretty decent price snowballed into a full-blown, highly lucrative wine trend. In 2010, Phinney sold his “The Prisoner” brand of wines… Huneeus sold it to Constellation Brands, one of the world’s largest drinks companies, for a purported $285 million. Bada bing bada boom.”

He’s remained the master behind Crane Assembly’s many hugely rated (and accordingly priced) wines, and the superb value-driven Locations series. Not to mention his distillery and an upcoming fried chicken restaurant on Mare Island we’re pretty excited about…

But most people don’t know Chateau de Vie at all. Although some of you old-timers may remember we offered another vintage of this wine years ago. It’s one of Phinney’s earliest projects, and to this day, one of his best. With such small production - you rarely see it anywhere - a small B&B up in Calistoga, near Tamber Bey and not far from Chateau Montelena. They make a small amount of wine from their estate vineyards, mostly sold on site, at select restaurants, or via the mailing list.

While we normally associate Phinney with a face-ripping, ultra-hedonistic, full-throttle style, these wines definitely take a more balanced and poised approach. If Orin Swift was his wild undergrad days, this is more like a mature graduate thesis. It’s powerful and elegant, but not totally over the top. Packed with a dense core of ripe blackberry, warm plums, crème de cassis, smoked meats, pencil shavings, all kinds of spice, and minerality. Just sensational. Heady and wonderfully balanced, a special Cab indeed.

That price, too! Congratulations in advance to anyone who scores some (with not a lot to spare.) Do whatever you must to secure a few of these rarely seen gems. They’ll go fast.