Why Buy Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
With so many Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon options available, what should you look for when buying Caymus versus another brand? We look at the price, style, soil, and story considering any bottle of wine. With Caymus, the style becomes the top consideration. Caymus is the style of cabernet sauvignon that put Napa on the map, with vintage after vintage delivering consistent quality . Caymus has a silky, soft texture and round consistency you can always feel in the wine. The finish is velvety and smooth on the palate, rounding out the fruit-forward style. The tannins are soft, and acidity is subdued, both desired qualities for enjoying wine with or without food. However, to experience both with such a young wine leads us to believe the wine may not be a contender to age for many years.
The 8 Best Napa Valley Wineries For Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley’s prestigious wine reputation was built boldly on the back of cabernet sauvignon. The region boasts close to 20,000 acres of vineyards planted with this red wine grape varietal. Napa’s warm weather, long growing season, diverse soil structures, and remarkable microclimates welcome cab-loving vintners and consumers alike.
The vast majority of Napa’s wineries will offer at least one cab in their tasting lineup. However, if you’re a wine enthusiast visiting the Valley, you’ll want to hit the top wineries to discover the best of Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon. Keep in mind, it’s always a good idea to call ahead for tasting reservations, though many places still allow drop-ins.
Caymus Vineyards Napa Valleymembers Price: $17999
With thrilling levels of extract and velvety tannins that are almost impossible to detect, Caymus performs on a grand stage with their exuberant, plump, beautifully ripe Cabernet Sauvignons a style that theyve undoubtedly pioneered. Their top wine, which they call Special Selection is the ONLY domestic wine to have been honored twice, as the #1 Wine in the World by the Wine Spectator.
The liquid definition of the word regal, the iconic Caymus Special Selection Cabernet is created from the absolute best barrels at the winery. The irresistible flavors that ensue are achieved through extended hang time, which is a technique that leaves fruit on the vine unusually long, allowing it to develop an attractive suppleness and irresistibly mature flavors.
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Caymus Vineyards Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Founded 1972. Wagner Family Wine. Caymus was established when home winemaker Charlie Wagner Sr. produced 250 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1972. The winery remains owned and operated by the Wagner family, with successive generations overseeing farming and Winemaking. Caymus Vineyards is located in the Rutherford district, a center point of the Napa Valley, surrounded by well-manicured vineyards. A wine’s character is held within the soils-however Caymus takes extra steps with time-honored Vineyard practices that can add concentration to the wine by example, removing excess clusters by hand during summer and minimizing, or even eliminating, irrigation of the vines The warm days, cool nights and special soils of our charming valley are most hospitable for Napa’s best-known wine. Cabernet Sauvignon. Farming is protected by law in the Napa Valley, and the land remains dedicated to agriculture. Chuck Wagner, Owner/Winemaker. Charlie Wagner, Sr., circa 1995. Alc. 14.9% by vol. 29.8 Produced and Bottled by Caymus Vineyards Rutherford, California, U.S.A.
Contains: Contains sulfites.,Government Warning: According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.
The Taste Of Caymus Is Unparalleled
Wine-Searcher offers that the style of Caymus is “unapologetically New World,” which means that the wines are big and showy, very ripe, and juicy. These characteristics occur through various vineyard techniques that enhance the wine’s supple qualities. Caymus practices crop thinning, removing excess bunches of grapes from the vine before they ripen, which helps the remaining fruit become intensely concentrated. Additionally, the vineyard allows its grapes to ripen for an extended period on the vine before harvest, otherwise known as an increased hang time. The fruit becomes very luscious and sweet, further concentrating the flavors.
These techniques ensure consistency in the wine vintage after vintage. Once produced, the wine has aromas of blackberry and cherry, milk chocolate, cocoa powder, roasted espresso, and licorice. These aromas lead to plush flavors of ripe black cherry, blackberry jam, dried currant, vanilla marshmallow, and chocolate fudge, with warm spices, like nutmeg and clove that mingle with toasted oak. The wine balances sweet and savory, which is exactly what we’ve come to expect from Caymus.
Balance is important to the winery, notes Grape Collective. Wine can be of high alcohol, but if acidity, tannic structure, and fruit ripeness balance, the wine is complete. The alcohol percentage of 2019 Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is 14.6% ABV, similar to other vintages of the wine.
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How To Serve And Pair Caymus
Worldwide, caves and cellars are often used for aging wine. The dark, cool, slightly humid cellar allows aging to occur slowly, allowing tannins to ease . At home, store your bottle on its side in the coolest, darkest place possible, like the bottom of a dark closet or on a rack in the basement, where the wine won’t be jostled or moved. Generally, it is safe to store your wine in any place under 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat, light, and vibration create the largest threat to wine, each potentially destroying the juice inside, shares Wine Spectator.
Caymus is best enjoyed at around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, per Wine Cellar Insider. The wine shouldn’t be warm, as heat can taint the wine, but serving too cold will hide the wine’s bouquet. If drinking a youthful vintage, for an hour before drinking. If you don’t have a decanter, simply open the bottle, pour a glass, and swirl once poured, allowing the wine to aerate or breathe. Allowing the wine to come into contact with air will help the initial bite of alcohol dissipate, the aromas will open, and the tannins will soften.
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection Usa California Napa Wine Review
The regular Caymus tends to be a love/hate wine, but the Special Select is a different wine completely and one that just about everyone loves. It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is great with cassis, blueberries, tobacco and spice. Full bodied. Firm tannins. Dense texture. On the palate, this is deep with cassis and spice. Long finish. Delicious. This is still showing young and while drinking well now, another five years in the cellar would help it out. Either way, drink over the next fifteen to twenty years.
Visiting wine country? Why spend $250 per day in tasting fees when you can get the wine pass and pay less then half of that? 1 Day with the wine pass = $125+ in savings. 2 Days with the wine pass = $250+ in savings. The Priority Wine Pass
December 10th, 2019Written by Loren SonkinNovember 27th, 2012Written by Loren SonkinAugust 17th, 2010Written by Nancy Parode
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Caymus Has Ties To Another Award Winning Wine
The Grape Collective notes that when the Wagner’s purchased their Rutherford estate, prunes and walnuts were the main crops. However, Napa Valley was quickly transforming from fruit and nut trees to vineyards, with cabernet sauvignon emerging as the leading variety in the region. Vintner Nathan Fay was the first to plant cabernet sauvignon grapes in the Stag’s Leap District of Napa Valley, putting 90 acres under vine in 1961 . Fay sold his fruit to Napa’s winemakers, quickly gaining a reputation as some of the finest in the region. As fate would have it, Fay and Wagner Sr. were friends. In the late 1960s, when the Wagners began adding wine grapes to their Rancho Caymus estate, Fay gave them cuttings from his vines to propagate the vineyard.
Years later, Fay Vineyard Stag’s Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon would win the prestigious 1976 Judgment of Paris, as reported by Time Magazine. The wine tasting competition pitted Napa Valley chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon against the finest Bordeaux and Burgundy wines of the time. The tasting competition was judged by some of the most prominent French winemakers, and these critics determined the outcome. The result was shocking and ground-breaking for the emerging wine region, planting Napa Valley squarely on the international wine map.
A Young Chuck Wagner Joined The Family Business
Chuck Wagner began the winery with his parents when he was only 19. Barrons reports that the elder Wagners had invited their son to join them in starting a winery. Had he turned them down, the Wagner parents would move to Australia to begin a new adventure. Instead, Chuck agreed, and today he says one of the greatest gifts of his life was being able to work alongside his parents in the winery for 30 years.
Lucky for us, as he began working the vines, his youthful eyes noticed that the grape leaves looked unhealthy. Powdery mildew, which Vine Forecast defines as a season-ending disease with the potential to destroy an entire vintage, had crept into the Caymus vineyard. Wagner Jr. turned to a neighbor who helped him eliminate the fungus and save the fruit. After this, he knew he had found his calling. Thankfully, his father recovered, and they began the family-owned winery five years later. Today, it remains a Wagner-run business.
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Caymus Cabernet Comes From A Range Of Terrains
Initially, every bottle of Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon once came from fruit grown on the Rutherford estate . Today, Charlie Wagner, Jr. that the winery opts to focus on a diversity of locations in each vintage, honoring the Caymus history while bringing in innovation. By employing Napa’s diverse microclimates, Caymus can bring qualities to its wine that Rutherford terroir does not present. These characteristics include different flavors and aromas and derive from a mix of soils, elevations, and sun exposures not found in Rutherford.
According to the Wagner family, today’s wine blends fruit from eight American Viticultural Areas within the valley. 25% of the fruit comes from mountain vineyards, like Atlas Peak and Howell Mountain, and 75% is valley-floor fruit from cool, southern Coombsville on to the warmest AVA in Napa, Calistoga. In Napa’s mountain vineyards, grapes struggle to find nutrients. Here, vines dig deep into the mineral-rich earth of volcanic mountains, bringing tannic structure and density to the fruit. Conversely, the nutrient-rich valley floor brings forth the supple qualities of the fruit, per Napa Valley Vintners. The characteristics of different soils become infused into the fruit, and utilizing various terrains brings diversity to the Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon.
Caymus Has Ties To The Land
Celebrating its golden anniversary this year, Caymus is one of the oldest family-owned wineries in Napa Valley. Founded by a family with local farming roots that date back to the late 1800s, per Wine Spectator, Caymus began on a 73-acre plot purchased by the Wagner family in 1941 in the Rutherford District of Napa. In 1972, founders Charles F. “Charlie” Wagner, Sr., his wife, Lorna Belle Glos Wagner, and their 19-year-old son, Chuck, began Caymus Winery. The name was chosen after the Mexican land grant where the farm is located, which had originally been named Rancho Caymus after a Native American tribe that called the area home, notes The Napa Wine Project.
The family was ready for the task as the senior Wagner had been a home winemaker for years, coupled with knowledge acquired from several generations of farming Napa Valley land. Charlie, Sr. and Lorna, had been vintners for decades, selling the Wagner estate fruit to other wineries and watching it become beautiful wine for someone else. The most important aspect of making good wine was covered quality fruit. Wagner’s Rutherford-grown fruit is great. To this day, the Wagners lead with the belief that everything is tied to the land. First and foremost they are farmers at heart. Every bottle of wine proudly carries the mantra that Caymus is “dedicated to agriculture.”
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Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Was First Sold At Unbelievable Prices
The same year the winery began, 1972, the Wagners produced the first vintage of Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery utilized grapes previously sold to Inglenook Winery, which under the leadership of a Napa icon, John Daniels, Jr., produced some of the finest Bordeaux-style wines in the world during the 1940s and 50s . Daniels sold the winery in 1964, and the next few years saw a change in Inglenook’s direction regarding fine-wine production. It was the ideal time for Caymus to take the leading role in the Napa Valley story.
With the senior Wagner utilizing his skills as a home winemaker, and inspiration from helpful neighbors like legendary Napa Valley winemaker André Tchelistcheff of Beaulieu Vineyard, Caymus debuted its inaugural vintage. Just 250 cases of Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon were produced that year, with the wine selling for just $4.50 a bottle. The U.S. Inflation Calculator records that value as $31.47 today. What started as 250 cases in 1972 has grown to a production of 70,000 Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon cases annually, per WineBid.
Where In California Is The Wine Country
The Californian wine country is in the North San Francisco Bay area, with over 800 wineries located all along this scenic route. The Bay area encompasses some of the world’s most famous wine regions, including Napa Valley and Sonoma.
The success of these famous regions within the Bay area is largely to do with the sound soil composition and ideal climatic conditions. Each region is fortunate to have a wide range of temperatures and soil types, allowing the brilliant variety of grapes to thrive here.
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Caymus Vineyards 2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
- Availability: In Stock
Caymus Vineyards 2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Caymus has a signature style that is dark in color, with rich fruit and ripe tannins as approachable in youth as in maturity. Since its founding in 1972, Caymus has become renowned as a consistent leader in the production of Napa Valley Cabernet. Grapes for this wine are farmed in 8 of Napas 16 sub-appellations, with diversification enabling us to make the best possible wine in a given year. Our Cabernet offers layered, lush aromas and flavors, including cocoa, cassis and ripe berries. Winery Notes
What Is The Famous Wine Region Featured In The Movie Sideways
Thats Santa Barbara.
The greatest attribute of Sideways is that it promoted Pinot Noir, which became very popular because of the movie.
The region of Santa Barbara offers a great variety of unique tasting options with over 120 different wineries to choose from. This region is off-the-beaten-track, but should not be underestimated. Sideways drew much-needed attention to this region and all that it has to offer.
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Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
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Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
When compiling a list of iconic Napa Vally Cabernet Sauvignon producers, it would not be complete if it did not include Caymus Vineyards and Chuck Wagner, his father Charlie Wagner and his mother, Lorna Belle Glos Wagner.
In 1971 Charlie and Lorna Belle asked their son, Chuck, if he would be interested in joining them to start a winery. Chuck accepted, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Caymus produced their first vintage in 1972, comprised of a total of 240 cases. They have been focused their efforts on producing top quality Cabernet Sauvignon ever since, and have certainly been instrumental in developing Napa Valley as a distinguished region for producing world class Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varietals.
With thrilling levels of extract and velvety tannins, Caymus performs on a grand stage with their exuberant, plump, beautifully ripe Cabernet Sauvignons a style that theyve undoubtedly pioneered and championed.
This liquid definition of Regal arose from a matrix of carefully farmed vineyards, and the irresistible set of flavors were achieved through extended hang time, which is a technique where the fruit is kept on the vine unusually long, allowing the berries to develop an attractive suppleness and perfectly mature flavors.
At under $100, their Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in a Special 1-Liter Bottles is absolutely an American Icon that delivers sensational levels of satisfaction and joy.
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Which Wine Regions Are In California
From North to South, the main regions are Mendocino, Lake, Napa Valley, Sonoma, Livermore Valley, Lodi, Sierra Foothills, Santa Cruz Mountains, Monterey, Paso Robles and Santa Barbara.
California is a vast region that consists of several smaller wine-producing areas. Although Napa Valley and Sonoma are what California is most known for, the states other regions produce equally outstanding wines.
Napa Valley and Paso Robles are renowned for the bold reds of Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel, as well as the scenic wine route which offers unique experiences to wine lovers. On the contrary, Santa Barbara and The Russian River Valley, with conditions more suited to delicate grapes, produce outstanding expressions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Each of these regions offers a unique take on the wines of California allowing for a greater expression and experience of what the Golden State can truly offer.
