Caymus
Caymus Vineyards made its debut in 1972 when Charles and Lorna Wagner decided to establish a winery in the sub-region of Rutherford, California. It was one of the first wineries to produce a California Cabernet Sauvignon wine from a selection of multiple plots, so there is a good reason that their top wine bears the name Special Selection. Caymus Vineyards is a true family business since even the grandchildren have joined the team.
The plots have a cumulative area of 140 hectares. These hectares are mainly planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. Cabernet Sauvignon is harvested relatively late. Due to the late harvest, the grape is very ripe with a lot of concentrated aromas.
The wine cellar is managed by Charles and Lorna’s son Chuck Wagner. He allows the grapes to ferment at a low temperature, in order to fully preserve the primary fruit aromas. After fermentation, the wines are transferred to French oak barrels. The proportion of new wood can amount to 90%. The average maturation period is 18 months. The wines are marked by a mature character with lots of black fruit and soft tannins. The first vintage consisted of 240 boxes of Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, production has grown to about 65,000 bottles per year.
The Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection is the only wine ever to be named Wine of The Year twice by Wine Spectator Magazine. These were the vintages 1984 and 1990. Furthermore, Charles and Chuck have been honored with Wine Spectator's Distinguished Service Award. They received this award for their contributions to the American wine industry.
The best vintages of Caymus are: 1976, 1978, 1984, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
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