I'm assuming a few people here have not studied Latin, which is fine of course, but their understanding is based on a simplification of a summary of nice and orderly definitions on what periods adhere to what types of Latin dialects. This is not how the real world worked and neither how Latin is taught at my particular institution.

Unfortunately, I do not have time to explain everything, and I am also not a Latin scholar. I studied Latin over 6 years ago so my Latin history knowledge is also a little fuzzy.

But you are right, Cicero is Classical Latin. However, we were taught a mix of Latin that is kind of like what this Wiki says:

"The Latin of the panegyrics is that of a Golden Age Latin base, derived from an education heavy on Cicero, mixed with a large number of Silver Age usages and a small number of Late and Vulgar terms."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panegyrici_Latini#Language_and...

"Silver Age" is what I probably should have said instead of strictly Late and Vulgar, which are both technically different terms, but which were also taught in my Latin courses.