They're usually released twice a year. I forget the exact months, but Spring and late-summer/fall. You'll see a rush where everyone seems to have it all at once, and then it goes away for 6 months. At least that's been the pattern in the past.
Yeah it seems like Germain's has been pumping esoterica and sobranie out and stopped making their own blends; haven't seen special brown or latakia flakes for a minute now.