Hoffa, DB Cooper, and now…Paulista.

Robert Stack of Unsolved Mysteries could do an episode on this because I’ll be straight up with you. We couldn’t find a trace of info on this wine. Neither can you. If you do, let us know and there will be a prize!

By all accounts, it never existed. Our sleuthing rarely hits a complete dead end. No Wayback Machine captures of the website. Searching for the name on the back label, “TS Fleckenstein” turns up nothing.

But we do know one thing. Y’all went BONKERS for the 2008 Firefly. For good reason. Finding an aged Napa Cab for $19 is rare as hen’s teeth. And given the love for that wine, when this came across the tasting table we thought, why not? Same price. Same vintage. Same “trust me bro” factor. It swings the more classic direction unlike the Firefly, tad less fruit, tad more structure, delicious nonetheless.

Although this time we had famed Operative Mark Stephens at the tasting table that day. A real life Operative. So we asked him “Hey Mark, would you be happy paying $19 for this” and he gave us two thumbs up. Trust your fellow Operative AND Agents of Wine!

Compared to the Firefly this seems darker and denser. With a bit more extraction and oak influence in play, you can tell it was an immense wine in its younger days. Today it still shows plenty of character although the once roiling fruit is now a simmer of blackberries and dusty black currants and dried cherries, with worn leather, roasted herbs like rosemary and marjoram, cigar box, walnut casings, and cedar jumping to the front of the line. Tannins are fully resolved and the stuff just drinks wonderfully from the pop - although a small decant might work some more mojo into it.

Getting a nearly-twenty-year-old piece of obscure Napa Cab history for NINETEEN DOLLARS? The risk is low. The reward is high. It’s like picking up a scratch ticket you know will at least pay back your investment.

I mean, you can easily spend $200+ on most any decades-old library Cabs from any number of producers around here. And if you’re into aged Napa Cabs or just want a one-of-a-kind pull to share with friends, snag a few of these for the experience.

That’s all, over and out.