FRIYAY afternoon DOUBLE AGENT time! We’re breaking out a very special (and very limited) one for a lucky few Ops - the last remaining cases of BEEKEEPER, baby! An all-time favorite, all-time great Zinfandel straight from the hive. Huge buzz (95+, 96) as always, and the best price you’ll see anywhere, as always. We bought everything they had left, and this is the very last few cases of their incredible ‘Secret Stones’ bottling. Office pool sitting at 2 hours, tops…while it lasts!

“I was stunned by the quality of these 2018s, Beekeeper is a must-taste for any Zinfandel lover. – Wine Advocate

And then it happened. THIS happened.

We’re lucky, dear Operatives, and proud, to be the EXCLUSIVE partner of Beekeeper Cellars!

For the 2018 vintage Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate rated hundreds of Zinfandels. Among the Top 10 scored, there’s only one winery that took 3 spots, with all they make. You guessed it.

We started offering these wines in 2020, and truly, nothing has compared, or could, in Zinfandel realm. They’re one-of-a-kind, boasting mega huge scores across vintages, and held in a pantheon of the highest quality alongside the likes of Turley, Bedrock, Carlisle, Martinelli… and whomever else sits up there.

Just last year Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate recapped the story of this “relatively new project from co-winemakers Ian Blackburn and Clay Mauritson… began in 2008 when Mauritson, a seventh-generation grower, offered Blackburn some of his family’s fruit from the Rockpile appellation in the Dry Creek Valley. Zinfandel became the flagship varietal, and the wines are crafted at Mauritson’s facilities.”

Writing a Beekeeper tasting note can be quite challenging. There’s SO MUCH in every sniff and sip to talk about. Layers upon layers unfold, like peeling a hypothetical fruit that never ends. It’s trippy stuff, really. Like a theatrical masterpiece, an opera, a symphony, it’s an experience that must be lived to be believed. We’ll let the couple of raving reviews below do the rest as we are at an utter loss of words in the presence of such perplexing beauty and complexity.

Oh, and at under $50, no other varietal, place, or winery can readily deliver what we’ve got here. If you don’t believe us, put a Beekeeper up blind against the finest reds your budgets can line up, and let your imagination go wild when things unfold. No doubt it will put wines 10x, heck 100x its price to shame.

Get it while it’s HOT.

96 Points, Wine of the Year – Connoisseur’s Guide

“There is host of accomplished Zinfandels to choose from these days, but we have come to expect Beekeeper’s version to vie for top honors as each new vintage arrives, and the latest Secret Stones bottling is a stunning, amazingly well-made wine that does not disappoint. It is a big, remarkably deep working that is brimming with concentrated, very pure varietal fruit and, while fully ripe, never crosses the line into excess. It is nothing short of an absolute show-stopper now, but it has all the hallmarks of a classic rendition that will grow and grow with time, and serious collectors lucky enough to hide a few bottles away in the dark and distant recesses of the cellar for a full decade or more will see just how good genuinely great Zinfandel can be when given the chance to age.”

95+ Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

“Medium ruby-purple, the 2018 Zinfandel Rockpile Secret Stones offers generous layers of blackberries, blueberries and cranberries with tones of crushed stone, allspice, peaches and wildflowers. The full-bodied palate is plush and ripe without going over the top, a streak of stony character anchoring its layered fruits. It is supported by loads of grainy tannins and bright acidity that highlight pretty, spicy layers and drive the long finish. Powerful yet elegant, and blended with a 3% dash of Petite Sirah, it will be long lived in the cellar. 250 cases were made. Drink 2023-2037.”