Winemaker Notes
Caymus Special Selection is the flagship wine of the Wagner family and is comprised of the very best barrels of the vintage. This wine is not produced in difficult years. Caymus Napa Valley is more representative of a standard Cabernet of Napa Valley, as it is a bit less precocious than the Special Selection, but still delivers big. Caymus prides itself on producing wines that are as approachable in youth as well at maturity. Both the "Napa Valley" and "Special Selection" Cabernets are produced under the winemaking hand of Chuck Wagner.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet in color, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection comes wafting out of the glass with drop-dead gorgeous scents of Christmas cake, Chinese five spice, sandalwood and dried roses over a core of warm cassis, dried mulberries and stewed tea plus wafts of pencil lead and underbrush. Full-bodied, the palate is oh-so-light on its feet, featuring layers of perfumed black and red fruit preserves and an exquisitely fine-grained frame, finishing long with bags of freshness and loads of minerally sparks.
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Wine Enthusiast
So delicious now, you can hardly keep your hands off it. Blackberry tart, ripe blueberry, cassis, milk chocolate, licorice and sweet, smoky cedar flavors flood the mouth, dramatically huge and memorable, and lasting long into the finish. The tannins are obvious, but sweetly ripe and soft. A brilliant evocation of Napa Cabernet, despite a high production level of nearly 30,000 cases, which is about the same size as a Bordeaux first growth. Shows the class and potency this bottling has exhibited for many years, and believe it or not, the price is a relative bargain these days. Drink now–2020.
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Wine Spectator
Temptingly rich and layered, with complex mocha, plum and wild berry fruit that’s spicy and aromatic. Full-bodied, gaining depth and turning ever more elegant and detailed, with tannins that give this traction. Drink now through 2019.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
High in ripeness and generously enriched by scads of creamy, somewhat caramelly, slightly toasty oak, this full and complete wine from Caymus does a masterful job of delivering lots of concentrated currant fruit tinged with notes of blueberry and root beer. It is supple and a tad fleshy in feel and takes full advantage of its ample tannins for some needed spine that serves as an offset to its never-say-die, lengthy fruit on the palate. Put it away for five to ten years.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.