Special Selection Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Deep Ruby with aromas of blue & black fruits, sweet spice & slight mineral character. A blend of mostly Cab Sauvignon with small amounts of Malbec, Petit Verdot & Cab Franc from their estate-owned Napa Valley vineyards, aged 18 months French (62%) & American oak (38%) (about 50% new). Palate, complex flavors, blackberry, plums & cherry with sweet spice, oak & tobacco notes. Well balanced with good acidity & developing tannins. Full-bodied, long finish ending with pepper & wood spice. Nice!

Dark fruit. Sweet edges. Great fruit given the age. Oak softened. Very good

Had to try it. Used to love their work prior to 2012. After that, their style changed to picking at higher brix levels thus creating a much sweeter profile. SS was one I’d hoped they’d left alone and they did not. Not quite as sweet as their regular Cabernet but sweeter than before. I made the pitch to the property to make Caymus Classic along side their new sweeter style wines. The 94 Special Selection was one of their best.

Nice clear bro fruit at the front. Plum and black cherry with a hint of pepper and an inky poise. Very good.

My last of a three pack, and this shockingly drinks almost identical to my last bottle over four years ago.

Lovely deep red in the glass with bricking around the rim. Fig bar, sweet black cherries and tobacco aromatics. Ripe red and black fruits on the palate...not over ripe, but definitely sweet. Channeling more of a cherry liqueur and concentrated mid-palate as it ages. Close to fully integrated. Quite smooth and still a lot of fruit playing a primary role, but it’s not getting any better. More sexy than intellectual (nothing wrong with either).

I’d imagine this will hold in this window for another couple years and then decline, but I didn’t expect it to hold in this same window for almost five years. Drink up.

Holding much better than baby sister. Right in its age wheelhouse. Good dark fruit. Chocolate.

Still firing on all cylinders. I think this is our last 2012 Napa. Great body and could still go for sure. Decanted about an hour.

A rich, dense ruby color, hints at the dark fruit nose of blackberry and currant that carries through to the palate, interwoven with complex aromas of black licorice, anise and creme de cassis. On the palate, the wine opens up to reveal an earthiness, with brown spice, cigar box and ripe dark fruits that linger throughout the extracted and long finish. The texture is opulent and rich, yet has a velvety quality with supple density.

I was disappointed with my last Caymus Special Selection vintage, but this beauty brought me back to a bottle that won Wine Spectator's #1 Wine of the Year ... Twice!! Incredible fruit and balance. This can be cellared and enjoyed for years to come. Cheers!!

The good stuff. Saving it for a special occasion, or until some drunk person accidentally opens it.