From the Proprietor:

We bought a few 6 packs on release and immediately moved to our cold storage. In August, 2023, we decided to share a bottle. Just for research of course. At first, it was very rich, dense, ‘saturated’ as the winery notes, with lots of cassis and black currant. Over about 30 minutes, with a good swirling of air, it opened perfectly into a big bold yet smooth Napa cabernet. So please decant this wine to enjoy a perfectly made California icon.

From the winery:

Vintage and Winemaking

This bottling marks the 24th vintage that we have designated a Special Selection at Caymus. In all those years, certain vintages stand out in memory because their near-perfect conditions. I believe that 2001 achieves the stature of the great ones, such as 1978, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1994, and, most recently, 1997.

In 2001, at the end of a dry, moderate, extended growing season, stretching into October with no threatening rain, the grapes that were destined for Special Selection stood out for their deep color, sweetly ripe, concentrated flavors and firm but mature tannins. These are qualities that we have been aiming for in our farming practices: tighter spacing, radical crop thinning throughout the growing season, and individual cluster selection at harvest.

With this double advantage of viticultural advances and excellent weather, we reached a point that we have been working toward for many years. At several Napa Valley vineyards where we believed the soil types and climate were optimal, we have assumed total control of the farming, from the selection of rootstock and clones at replanting onward. I have long believed that we in the Napa Valley — in fact, we in the New World — have a distinct advantage over winemakers in areas where old rules and traditions restrict their choices to a specific vineyard or a specific subappellation. In 2001, the best Cabernet Sauvignon grapes we grew came from our estate, a neighboring vineyard in Rutherford and a hillside vineyard at 1,400 feet elevation.

Tasting each lot morning and late afternoon during fermentation confirmed the grapes’ pedigree: the colors were rich and saturated, the flavors highly extracted, the wines plush but weighty. We continued to monitor the small wine lots closely during barrel aging, matching each to the type of barrel we felt would best enhance its characteristics. We selected French oak barrels from five different coopers, about 60 percent of them new, at several different toast levels. This multiplication of cooperage choices allowed us to custom-fit each wine lot to the barrel and vice versa. About 20 months after harvest, only those wines that had consistently proven themselves worthy of the Special Selection designation made the blend. I believe that this is one of the most luxuriant, rewarding wines we have ever made.

— Chuck Wagner

Winery Tasting notes

Supersaturated, deep ruby color. Aromas of ripe, vanilla-tinged black currants and black cherries, roasted coffee beans and exotic spice. In the mouth, a solid core of sweet, dense liquid cassis flavor flows seamlessly from first taste to a long, expansive finish, underscored but never dominated by notes of mocha, spices, vanilla, earth and olives. The wine is dense, with a solid grip, but the tannins remain supple. Sweet oak becomes more apparent on the finish but is always subservient to the lavish fruit.

Release date: March 2004