Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A real mouthful of Cabernet any way you taste it. Bold, ripe, rich and flavorful, with complex layers of currant, black cherry and plum flavors nicely accented with cedary oak. Terrific now, best around 1999. From a producer with a superb track record with Cabernet.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Cabernet is king at Caymus. During the decade of the nineties, there has been a succession of sumptuous, rich, concentrated, lavishly-wooded, cassis-flavored Caymus Cabernet Sauvignons. The sumptuous 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon appears to be one of the best Napa Cabernets Caymus has produced. Remarkably, there is plenty to go around - 25,000 cases, approximately the same production as Lafite-Rothschild and Margaux. The wine exhibits a dark purple color, and a sweet, jammy blackcurrant-scented nose. The lush, juicy, succulent texture is crammed with glycerin and extract. Surprisingly soft (a hallmark of this vintage), with a smooth texture.
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.