Winemaker Notes
One of the most allocated and collectible Cabernets in the world, Caymus Vineyards Special Selection is crafted from the outstanding barrels of the vintage. Special Selection is produced only in vintages that proprietor Chuck Wagner feels are suitable for this designation.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fabulous aromas of sweet tobacco, dark fruits, and dark chocolate. Full bodied and soft, with lovely velvety tannins and a long fruity finish. Nice subtlety. This is ready to go today. Why wait? Find the wine.
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Wine Spectator
Complex, riveting aromas of spice, cola and sassafras join wild berry, spice, black cherry and sage notes in this full-bodied, intensely flavored, tightly focused and very persistent display of fruit that's long and lingering.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Both of the Caymus Cabernets reviewed in this issue embrace unabashed ripeness as a defining trait, but, in this instance, the wine's rush to ripeness is balanced by a wealth of very sweet oak and well-extracted fruit. Plush and full-bodied and shot through with cassis and cocoa, the wine more than makes up in richness for what it may lack in finesse, and its slight edge of last-minute heat is easy enough to forgive. Fans of unabashedly expressive Cabernets will find lots to like here.
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.