We’re back, CLASSIFIED!

It’s the only way they let us give you $111 back in savings with each bottle you buy at $39 today.

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 at a discount. And because some wineries are 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 put our livelihood at stake. Our industry is built on relationships and not wanting to ruffle feathers, sometimes it’s a necessary precaution to redact some of the information.

HOWEVER, we can drop a couple of major clues, and the savviest of you may figure it out. In fact, even the least savvy of you will probably figure this one out…we’re making it easy today.

The first one being how popular this winery and their winemaker Extraordinaire Julien Fayard have been on these pages since our first feature with them in early 2020. Over the 5+ years, we’ve seen over 20 highly rated gems with this trusted and true label. As their reputation and scores grow, there will be times when we have to redact to full Classified mode to protect the innocent…

Next clue, a big fat 95 points. Fascinatingly, this reputable publication is the only one that reviewed it yet, while the reassurance is more than enough when they say that it’s “full-flavoured, full-bodied, lip-smacking…” offering “heady oak spices nicely balanced by ripe, juicy black cherry and blackberry fruits, complemented by nuances of graphite, clove, and brown baking spices” and wrapping it all up is a “long finish that reveals notes of vanilla bean and chocolate-covered figs.”

We’d go even a point higher with the nine months of added age since that impression, as it has gained in the sweet fruit and round tannin weight, culminating in a finish that lasts longer than No Time To Die, the record holder for the longest Bond movie at 163 minutes…

Okay, one last clue in case you haven’t had that a-ha moment yet. The fruit sources in here are led by a pair of vineyard sites good as they get. In fact, one has so much aura that if we spelled out their name here, HQ may get wiped out by a rogue missile within minutes, no joke. Let’s just drop this nugget, among the select names who wear it on their $300+ labels are the likes of Schrader and TOR. Oh, and the other one is in southern Yountville on the Stags Leap District border, owned and farmed by a prominent winery whose name rhymes with Eldorado. Damn, writing these Classified offers is FUN!

Did we say it’s $150 online? Not that it really matters as it will sell out soon, but did you figure it out yet? Still stumped? Head over to the Facebook group and check out the latest posts - crowdsource the answer…

A good Operative always makes sure they bought enough first though.