ChardonNOIR – Episode 4: Bitter Finish

Claire waited until Burns was distracted with witness statements. Then she slipped into the cellar.

The air was cool, thick with the smell of oak and fermentation. Rows of barrels stretched into shadow. She moved fast, checking lot numbers, vintage dates, anything that didn’t belong.

Then she found it.

Behind a false wall panel: twelve cases of Reserve Selection 2019. Worth at least $200,000. Hidden. Illegal. And stamped with her aunt’s signature.

Her aunt, who’d died six months ago under “mysterious circumstances.”

Claire’s hands shook as she pulled out a bottle. The seal was perfect. The label immaculate. But when she held it to the light, she saw it—a tiny mark on the glass. A maker’s stamp she recognized.

Merlot Ridge.

Rex’s winery had produced this wine. But it was being sold under her aunt’s label. A partnership. Or blackmail.

“I wondered when you’d find it.”

Claire spun. Rex stood in the doorway, arms crossed, expression unreadable.

“Did you kill Marcus?” she asked.

“No.” He stepped closer. “But I know who did. And if you’re smart, you’ll walk away before they come for you too.”

“Who?”

He hesitated. “Your aunt didn’t die of natural causes, Claire. She found out someone was skimming bottles. Replacing the good vintages with cheap knock-offs. Pocketing the difference.”

“Who?” Claire repeated.

Rex’s eyes flicked toward the cellar stairs. “The person who’s been running this winery since she died. The person who convinced you to come back and inherit it.”

Claire’s blood went cold.

Beatrice.

Footsteps echoed above them. Slow. Deliberate.

The cellar door slammed shut. The lock clicked.

And the lights went out.

Episode 1: https://wineanddrama.com/chardonnoir-episode-1-death-by-chardonnay/

Episode 2: https://wineanddrama.com/chardonnoir-sour-grapes-episode-2/

Episode 3: https://wineanddrama.com/chardonnoir-episode-3-tainted-notes/

Episode 5: https://wineanddrama.com/chardonnoir-episode-5-the-last-pour/