Wine from California

Signature Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and nearly equal portions of Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Merlot.

The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon has been a foundational wine for more than five decades. It is a benchmark for the long-lived hillside wines of the Napa Valley, full of structure and aging potential, yet seductively forward in its concentrated varietal character. The dry, rocky soils of Pritchard Hill produce small, intensely flavorful grapes. Crop thinning allows for full, even ripening and elevates flavor complexity.

Review:

Nine different Cabernet clones joined forces for the 2022 Signature, a wine designated in what the winery offers only in extraordinary vintages. The final blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, includes Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Merlot in small quantities. Luscious, as expected, a bath of puréed black cherries and milk chocolate match with teeth-coating plum skin tannins. Spiced red tea, Italian herbs, and a trace of cinnamon-cedar are left behind on the long, silky finish. - The Tasting Panel, July/August 2025

-Tasting Panel 97 Points

Winery Notes:

Each year, we set aside the best barrels of our Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley to produce Special Selection. Distinguished by extremely fine, velvety tannins and enjoyable upon release or with aging. A wine of structure with intense concentration of supple flavors and dark fruits. Special Selection is the only wine in the world honored twice as Wine Spectator magazine’s “Wine of the Year.”

While the wine has sufficient tannins and structure for long-term bottle aging, Caymus Cabernet is dark and concentrated, with ripe, luxurious, fruit-driven softness that shows from the day of release. 

Caymus has a signature style that is dark in color, with rich fruit and ripe, velvety tannins – as approachable in youth as in maturity. We farm Cabernet grapes in eight of Napa’s 16 sub-appellations, with diversification enabling us to make the best possible wine in a given year. This Cabernet offers layered, lush aromas and flavors, including cocoa, cassis and ripe dark berries.

I feel this wine expresses the greatness of California and its hidden pockets where Cabernet can excel. The cold Pacific Ocean running the entire length of the state presents maritime influences – and with each small distance eastward the climate warms. Stony soils, south facing slopes and moderately warm conditions are the keys to producing dark, rich and good tasting Cabernet.

A small release from Caymus Vineyards, this wine is a California-appellation Cabernet Sauvignon – supple, dark and rich, bearing the signature hallmarks of Caymus. It is sourced from sites throughout the state which feature climatic conditions, soils and topography that are ideally suited to Cabernet. This project stems from excitement over California's diverse vineyard land, often in lesser-known areas, with the potential to produce exceptional Cabernet. 

Winery Notes:

Each year, we set aside the best barrels of our Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley to produce Special Selection. Distinguished by extremely fine, velvety tannins and enjoyable upon release or with aging. A wine of structure with intense concentration of supple flavors and dark fruits. Special Selection is the only wine in the world honored twice as Wine Spectator magazine’s “Wine of the Year.”