CLASSIFIED TIME.

This one requires an extra layer of airtight approval. But trust your Agents of Wine, it’s SO worth it.

For reasons that will soon become clear, these wines are so good, so scarce, and 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 little trail of breadcrumbs and the savviest of you may figure it out. With that preamble over, put your detective cap on and let’s venture out into the wilderness…

Let’s begin.

We can’t give you approximate coordinates, but we can say this: The winery has been a dominant and popular player on the Screaming Eagle/Dalla Valle side of Oakville.

For this flagship “Opus-buster” Cab blend though, they always beef things up with famed Stagecoach Vineyard fruit from high atop neighboring Atlas Peak. Usually a good 80-90% of it is comprised of the two Cabernets. Some Merlot and Petit Verdot factor into the mix for that extra complexity.

For the pedigree you get, $150 is heck of a deal. At half price though? It’s never been there.

Your next clue?

This isn’t “corporate juice.” It’s a classic family endeavor celebrating their 30th anniversary. One known by many for making world-class Napa Valley wines. The proprietary name of this mighty blue-chip classic holds a special place in the hearts of many since its inception at the turn of the century. It’s up there on a pedestal with the likes of Insignia, Rubicon, Affinity, or Trilogy… and it’s rooted in Greek mythology as “a source of inspiration and revelation” for the family.

We can’t tell you who the star winemaker was at the time of this library vintage as that would be a dead giveaway. However, we can brag about this retired veteran having other big names like Joseph Phelps and Grace Family on his resume. Gulp.

The wine?

As you’d expect from a monumental vintage like 2018, it drinks like a dream today. There are a couple of “outstanding” scores on it out there and they rave about its “charming scents”, as ”a long, mouthwatering” red with “chewy tannins and a structured finish.” What we can add is that it has everything you’d hope for from a top-shelf 2018 with a mountain fruit core. It’s a showstopper!

Are you conjuring up any ideas?

Good. Even if you’re still clueless, count on holding the bottle and smiling BIG. Head over to the Facebook group and check out the latest posts - crowdsource the answer before it sells out!

Or just trust the back label, “We hope that you find the answers to life’s most compelling questions while enjoying (this) with friends and family.”