Caymus 'Special Selection' Cabernet Sauvignon - $165.99

Wine Details

Price: $165.99
Producer: Caymus Vineyards
Region: Napa Valley
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Container Size: 750 ML
Flavors: meaty
  • Red Wine
Add to Cart Add Case
Add to Tasting Journal

Product Description

  • Dark, intense ruby color. Wonderful aromas of ripe berries are followed by the concentrated flavors of black currant, black cherry, hints of mocha and a touch of spice. The deep flavors expand during an extremely long finish, rounded out by a full-bodied mouth feel and velvety tannins.

Expert Ratings

Ratings   Vintage Source Flavors
CGCW - 93 Details: This deep and wonderfully rich wine is as involving and has as much succulent fruit at its heart as any wine in this Issue, and it gains more richness yet by way of its absolutely lavish appoint-ment of oak. It is, however, far more than a pretty face or fancy facade, and it sports the serious structure and evident tannins of a wine meant for age. Only its palpable finishing heat dampens our otherwise unbounded enthusiasm and brings it up achingly short of a third star 2004 CGCW
Tanzer - 93 Details: ($136) Good deep ruby-red. Musky black fruits and earth on the nose, with oak notes that seem far more harmonious and subtle than some of the vintages of the '90s. Suave, moderately sweet and silky, with ripe acidity framing the dark berry flavors. This builds nicely toward the back, finishing with tooth-dusting tannins and lingering notes of redder fruits, gravel and loam. A superb showing. 2004 Tanzer oak
WineSpectator - 94 Details: A superb Cabernet that's ripe, plush and deeply concentrated, with tiers of currant, plum, blackberry and spicy, cedary oak. Firmly tannic, lively and deep, revealing extra flavor nuances on the long, engaging finish. Best from 2008 through 2013. 11,800 cases made. –JL 2004 WineSpectator blackberry, currant, oak, plum, spicy
CGCW - 90 Details: Extravagant oak lends an especially seductive sense of richness to every aspect of this very rich and outgoing wine, but beneath its layers of vanilla, cocoa and cream and cedar, their lies a nice measure of sweet, unmistakable curranty fruit. The wine is fairly rounded and accessible given its relative youth, and shows little of the austerity or tannic bite that often comes with Cabernets of its tender age. Caymus Special Selection bottlings commonly show so well when young that they are hard to resist early on, and, in this particular incarnation, it seems a wine best tagged for mid-term keeping at most. 2003 CGCW cedar, oak, vanilla
WineSpectator - 93 Details: Supple and harmonious, with rich, fleshy currant, blackberry, herb, mocha and dill. Picks up momentum and holds onto a tight focus through the long, satisfying finish, where the tannins are rich and intense, boding well for short- to mid-term cellaring. Best from 2007 through 2014. 9,800 cases made. –JL 2003 WineSpectator blackberry, currant, dill, herb, mocha
WineEnthusiast - 93 Details: Young and dense, almost misleading in its soft fruitiness, but there’s tremendous power, and despite the appearance of approachability, it would be a mistake not to cellar this wine. It’s explosive in fruit and berry flavors, and the tannins are so melted, you could easily open it tonight. But this is a wine with proven ageability. Should begin to mature by 2010 and drink well through 2020, at least. 2003 WineEnthusiast berry
WineAndSpirits - 91 Details: Finely made, this smooth and smoky cabernet has lasting herbal notes and fresh blueberry flavor. The soft tannins make the wine accessible now with a steak; several years in the cellar will allow more complex flavors to develop. 2003 WineAndSpirits blueberry, herbal notes, smoky
WineSpectator - 93 Details: Rich yet sleek and concentrated, with tiers of ripe plum, wild berry and black cherry. Shows a touch of spice, sandalwood and nutmeg. The long, detailed aftertaste that keeps introducing new flavors. Best from 2006 through 2014. 8,800 cases made. –JL 2002 WineSpectator black cherry, nutmeg, plum, sandalwood, spice, wild berry
CGCW - 91 Details: Tasting a bit riper than one might expect of a Caymus Cabernet, this expansive bottling is both impressively concentrated and still somewhat direct and waiting to unfold into greater richness and range. Its curranty fruit and loamy, coffee and creamy oak notes all add to its promise, but what is lacking for the moment is any of the immediacy that would mark it for near-term drinking even though that is the part of what the winery was seeking when it made the wine in a riper style. Its focus is spot on and its depth is without question, and we would be inclined to give it a quiet rest of some four to seven years. 2002 CGCW coffee, oak
WineEnthusiast - 93 Details: 93 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2001 $136. A lush textured wine that shows gobs of blackberry, cherry, plum, coffee, spice, herb and anise flavors, all framed in firm, ripe tannins. The finish is long, with a spicy edge. Quite intense and full-on. 2001 WineEnthusiast anise, blackberry, cherry, coffee, herb, plum, spice, spicy
1 2 3 4 5

Food Pairings

Category Pairing
Cheese Blue Cheese, Provolone, Brie
Red Meat Roast Beef, Barbeque Pulled-Pork or Ribs, Veal Carpaccio, Game, Sausage, Variety Meats or Organ Meats, Kidney
Poultry & Eggs Game Birds
Vegetables Potatoes, Roasted Mixed Vegetables
Fish or Shellfish Sea Bass
Sauces Red Wine Sauce
Herbs & Spices Basil, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme

Wine Terms

Name Value
Cabernet Sauvignon (cab er nay saw vee nyon)—This highly adaptable grape grows almost anywhere it is relatively warm, but the best wines come from the Burgundy region of France (where it is a noble variety), California, and Australia. It became famous through the red wines of the Médoc district of Bordeaux and is now grown in Washington, southern France, Italy, Australia, South Africa, Chile, and Argentina. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes make wines that are high in tannin and medium- to full-bodied. Usually identified as having black currant or cassis flavors, the grape can also possess vegetal tones when the grapes are less than ideally ripe. The best wines are rich and firm with great depth, and are often aged for fifteen years or more. Because it is highly tannic, Cabernet Sauvignon is often blended with other less-tannic grapes such as Merlot.
Napa This tiny strip of land just north of San Francisco is home to America’s most prestigious wineries. Its climate is ideal for viticulture. Ironically, it was deemed too ideal for some vintners, who have moved their vineyards from the valley’s flat plain to the hills in the east and west, adhering to the idea that grapes that struggle to grow yield better wine. The climate, soil, and individual wineries are enormously varied, so it’s impossible to identify a singular trait of Napa wines. In addition, nearly every noble grape is grown here, although Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the primary grapes. In the past, Napa’s wines have alternated between extremely fruity and fat to lean and subtle. Today the best Napa wines have achieved a balance between these extremes. Many are made to be drunk young and have abundant ripe fruit; others can be initially hard and tannic, but soften over four or five years to perfumed, cedary fruit. White Napa wines are excellent with fresh-grilled fish and chicken, but can also cope with more spicy and creamy flavors. Many Napa reds will overwhelm delicate cuisine, but rich red meat and cheeses do make good companions.
United States Wineries exist in all fifty states, but the most predominant (and best) wine comes from Northern California, Oregon, and Washington State, with New York gaining a foothold in the industry. American wines make up about 75% of all wine sales in the US. The appellation system uses the term AVA (American Viticultural Area) to determine where wines were produced, but grape varieties can be planted anywhere in the country. American wineries generally use varietal labeling, and government regulations require that the variety on the label must make up at least 75% of the blend (in Oregon it’s 90%). The words reserve, special selection, private reserve, classic, and so on have no legal definition in the US. Some wineries use these terms to indicate their better wines; others use the words as a marketing tool to move lower quality wines off the shelf.
California California produces the majority of wine made in the United States. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir dominate the wine production in California, but many other varietials thrive in the California climate. Many fine wines are produced in California using Mediterranean grapes.
Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Over the past few decades, the Napa Valley has become synonymous with award winning Cabernet Sauvignon. Originating from the Bordeaux region in France, Cabernet Sauvignon is truly wine's ambassador to the world. Now in the annals of wine history, this varietal put the Napa Valley on the map. There is a select set of conditions, often enjoyed in Napa, which makes for world class examples of the grape. These include long, sunny days in warm climates, in conjunction with porous, well draining soils.
Napa County Napa County is located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. At the north end of Napa County is the Bay Area's second tallest peak Mount Saint Helena, and to the far south of Napa County lays the section of the Napa Valley that bleeds into Carneros. When the first white settlers arrived in the early 1830s, there were six tribes in the valley speaking different dialects and they were often at war with each other. The Mayacomos tribe lived in the area where Calistoga was founded. Napa County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Napa Valley is widely considered one of the top wine regions in California and all of the United States. By the end of the nineteenth century there were more than one hundred and forty wineries in the area. Today Napa Valley features more than two hundred wineries and grows many different grape varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Zinfandel. The region is visited by as many as five million people each year, making it the second to Disneyland as the most popular tourist destination in California.

Tasting Notes

Please login to view your personal tasting notes.Login