Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 750ml

Wine Advocate #219, Jun 29, 2015 by Robert Parker Jr
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection is made in the classic Caymus style that Chuck Wagner has perfected, seemingly so easily. It’s a big, ripe Napa Cabernet Sauvignon (as it should be) coming in at 15.2% natural alcohol. This has gorgeous notes of fig, plum, blackberry, cassis, with no real oak showing through, at least at age ten. Low in acidity, opulent, sexy and fresh, it is indeed a beverage of pleasure, and Chuck Wagner certainly knows how to deliver it in spades. This full-bodied, juicy Cabernet Sauvignon will age easily for another 10-15 years, but why wait? It is that stunning at present.

Caymus Vineyards produces two Cabernets Sauvignons a Napa Valley and the venerable Special Selection. Both Cabernet bottlings have aromas and flavors which can only be achieved through hang time technique which chances the loss of crop if early winter sets in. Leaving the fruit to hang on the vine unusually long develops suppleness, increases color, and matures the tannins of the grapes. The wines are abundant in textural tannins yet soft as velvet. Crop thinning, allowing measured sunlight to reach the vine's fruit zone, and waiting for increased ripeness are all part of our viticultural practices. Caymus Cabernets offer a wide array of aromas and flavors including cocoa, cassis and vanilla.
Caymus Special Selection is the flagship wine of the Wagner family and is comprised of the very best barrels of the vintage. 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. Caymus prides itself on producing wines that are as approachable in youth as well at maturity. Both the Napa Valley and Special Selection Cabernets are produced under the winemaking hand of Chuck Wagner.

Meats, Beef and Venison