OOOOOHHH… do we have a doozy for you today Ops! A hefty 70%+ break on a sexy Napa Cab blend that will make your mouth water and your face melt!

As you can imagine, our Friday all-spies tasting panel can get rowdy. We go through thousands of bottles a year to find the perfect wines to bring to you our dear operatives.

And we rarely stop a tasting to gush. “Whoa!” We heard. “Damn,” was said. So we knew it was a champion. …THEN WE FOUND OUT ABOUT THE PRICE! Winner-winner, I’m having IT for dinner. Like. Every. Day. Of. The. Week.

A gem of a find, born from a simple handshake between Matthew Ospeck and winemaker James Frost. Auburn James was born in 2005, and have poured their heart and soul into producing great wines with esteemed character. Think of your favorite big Napa Cabs and Red Blends from the heart of Rutherford. This one is a Left-Bank-inspired blend and pays homage to the address of the winery - 1001 Silverado Trail. That’s right across the street from where you turn for Joseph Phelps, by the way.

A fascinating backstory from The Napa Wine Project claims “The winery name pays tribute to both James as the winemaker and co-founder Matt’s love of automobiles. The Auburn Automobile was a short-lived company based in Indiana with years of production from 1903-1937. Today their cars are highly sought after by collectors. In the early 2000s Matt purchased the rights to use the Auburn vehicle trademark. Matt also used to design vehicles and was involved in the design of the Lincoln Navigator. One of his ideas was implemented in cars – placing an arrow next to one’s fuel gauge indicating which side of the vehicle contained the gas cap.”

Brilliant! I use that invention all the time. Why is it so hard to remember that, anyways??

Lest we get sidetracked on automobile dashboard design and turn into Motor Trend, let’s turn back to this wine. Deep dark and broody, this is a big boy with lots of personality. Black cherry, cedar, and dark chocolate tones play perfectly with the lush tannins and bright acidity. That little pop of Malbec keeps the flavors fresh and brilliant while deepening the complexity. Ripe and succulent in feel, with a creamy-edged set of cassis, warmed plum, and blueberry fruit that are seamlessly layered with subtle sage, dark earth, and tobacco notes build up on the impressive finish.

No wonder it’s a 97 point vintage Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “The best wines from 2015 are singular, totally unique expressions of their vineyards and are absolutely spectacular. Apart from very fine-grained, silt-like tannins and great freshness that structure the superlatives… The intensity of floral and spice perfumes that can be found is just astounding.”

This ain’t one of those huge brands with pallets upon pallets made, but a genuine small production gem that shut its doors for good recently. We scooped up every bottle left, you reap the benefits.

There. $90 once, $25 today? Get to it!!!