Caymus’s “Special Selection” is the pride of the Wagner family. It’s their flagship wine, is comprised of the very best barrels of the vintage, and is not produced in years where the quality just doesn’t meet Chuck Wagner’s standards. The “Special Selection” is approachable both in its youth as well as in its maturity.

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” – a 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.

If there are two names in the wine world that would join forces to make a knockout Tuscan wine, they would almost certainly be Mondavi and Frescobaldi. While Mondavi helped start a major qualitative shift in modern-day California, the Frescobaldi family have been making wine in Italy for seven centuries, and the ‘Luce’ is the perfect union of their new and old-world identities. The 2013 ‘Luce,’ a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot, is one of exceptional Tuscan charm, from a vintage heralded as “classic” by the Wine Advocate. With 97pts from James Suckling for its “beauty and polish” this easily stands up to peers at twice the price!