![]() The only wine ever named Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year" twice has the Caymus name on it: the vaunted "Special Selection" Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasting Note: The full-throttle character is here as expected with lots of ripe fruit and toasted oak. Having spent years learning the secrets of the property farming alongside his father, Chuck took the helm as winemaker in 1984. After re-planting significant portions of their 73-acre property to grapes (most significantly to Cabernet clones from grower Nathan Fay), Charlie, his wife Lorna and his son Chuck officially founded Caymus in 1972. Not until winemaking legend Andre Tchelistcheff commented on the remarkable quality of his home winemaking grapes did he begin to look at his land in a different way. Charlie was an old-school character not easily given to fad or fashion, and wasn't about to switch gears without a very compelling reason. He had no grand visions of becoming one of Napa's vineyard gurus. Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 is a truly special wine crafted by one of the most iconic wineries in Napa Valley. The 2016 vintage shows how well the 'Special Selection' program has progressed. 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. This wine is not produced in difficult years. That wine was one of the memorable wines I have ever tasted. Caymus Special Selection is the flagship wine of the Wagner family and is comprised of the very best barrels of the vintage. ![]() I recall being floored when I tasted the 1975 vintage, its first release. The late Charlie Wagner, a non-nonsense man of the land, was happily farming wheat and fruit trees on the same Rutherford property he had known since childhood. COMMENTARY: The Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most iconic and recognized wines. Their story began quietly in the 1940's, when Napa Valley was largely considered a far flung wilderness of prune and walnut orchards with a mere smattering of grapevines. Few farming legacies in California, certainly when it comes to growing world-class wine grapes, can stand up to the Wagner family. ![]()
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