1990 vintage. Previously tasted 3x in the last 4+ years 01.20.23 (9.6), 05.16.21 (9.4) and 09.21.23 (9.5) Top shoulder fill. Excellent cork. Decanted and tasted immediately. Oodles of sediment as expected. Beguiling St. Estèphe nose. This. Was. Phenomenal. Best of the four horsemen/tastings. Enough structure to build the infrastructure for a new city along with a surprising amount of dark fruit. A well-stored, large format bottle of this might just show you the best time you’ve ever had. WoW. 08.14.25. — 12 days ago
A powerhouse Napa classic showing its age with grace and density. The 2012 vintage leans fully into Caymus’ signature fruit-forward opulence, offering a deeply concentrated and aromatic experience.
👃 Bursting with overripe black cherries, baked blueberries, and fig compote, layered over leather, toasted oak, and a warm touch of vanilla spice. Aromas are rich, seductive, and unmistakably bold.
👄 On the palate, it’s full-bodied, plush, and multi-layered, with flavors of cooked dark berries, espresso, and unsweetened dark chocolate. The tannins have softened beautifully, giving way to a silky texture and a dry, gently fading finish that still echoes with flavor.
Mouthfeel overall: Velvety, dense, and evolving, the age is starting to mellow the edges, but the wine still holds depth, richness, and a long tail of flavor. Caymus lovers, this vintage hits all the lush, hedonistic notes.
Drink now, or enjoy watching the last stretch of its maturity unfold over the next 2–3 years. 🍇🍫🖤 — a month ago
2018 vintage. Last tasted 04.08.23 (9.5), 12.01.22 from a 375ml (9.5) and upon release 06.07.21 (9.5). Decanted and tasted after 45 minutes. Mysterious, dark-fruited and dusty nose. Medium body with excellent darkness of night color. Previous baby-fat overtures approximately 90% gonzo. Slimming down and getting more toned. In a state of transition with undeniable tension that can easily be misconstrued as underperforming. Last wine I tasted that was under this sort of metamorphosis at this level was the 1996 Pichon-Lalande about 1.5 years ago. Such a privilege to experience world-class wines in such a vulnerable moment. Everything is laid out bare/naked before you and you can see where the wine is headed and whether it will be following a trajectory that agrees with you. Definitely unusual to find this occurring in a wine this youthful but the 21st Century is smashing the old 20th Century clay tablets and digitizing. For most wine enthusiasts sampling this wine now, expecting some disappointment in the scoring. For myself, this is currently in the perfect symmetry of past, present and future. Will it show critically better in the future according to the accepted trials, palates, judges and juries? Probably. Will they experience the potential, doubts, insecurities and questions? Doubtful. This kid stays in this exact picture for another 2-4 years imho before striking another pose and I would love to taste this again during that time frame. An above and beyond thank you to FLB (Friday Lunch Bunch) regular Todd. 08.15.25. — 11 days ago
Last had this vintage a couple years ago. These obviously have a long life ahead of them. With some nice air, this does open up. Wonderful dark fruit and earth aromas. Tannins are quite present and a bit bitter (not in a bad way at all). Excellent acid on the finish. Delicious pairing with kinderhook pork chops with tutto porchetta seasoning. — 2 months ago
Blend of Cab Sauv, Petit Verdot, & splash of Merlot; estate-owned vineyards Rutherford, Napa, St. Helena & Stag's Leap District. Just opened, 14 years in the bottle after couple of years in the barrel! Still tasting well, young & juicy, should easily last another decade, but nice now. Deep Ruby, dark fruits, spice, complex nose. Palate reflects juicy rich berry fruits, well structured harmonious wine. Fine soft rich tannins, long finish ending with fruit, tobacco and earthy tones. Wow! — 10 days ago
Medium yellow , touch of gold . Fine bubbles , though not a lot noticable in our wine glasses . Bit of development with brioche , orange rind , mocha , touch of honeysuckle and crushed stones . On the palate this is fine boned , elegant, lemon rind , baked pastry , fine chalky notes . Quite high grippy acidity , this is linear and quite direct in style , but enough volume on the palate to cover its bones . Good medium length mineral and crystallised lemon pith charged finish . This is drinking well now but will probably last well over the next 5-10 years. — 7 days ago
Deep ruby garnet , thin garnet rim . Just beginning to show some development, with grafite tinged , pipe tobacco, cassis , spicy herbal hints and oyster shell notes. On the palate this still comes across as very young , dark cassis , blackcurrant fruit and a very long , detailed mineral and saline length. Sweet but grippy tannin , and fresh acidity. Tobacco and oyster shell return on the long finish . Needs time but has a great future . Come back in 5 -10 years , will last well a further 25 . Apologies for the silly stock photo , don’t think I took one having been so excited by both the 2016 and 2010. A huge , vast improvement on the rather chunky , forced and flat 2009 had at Vinous Icons Miami in Nov 2024. At Vinous Icons NY , Pier 60 , Feb 2025. — 19 days ago
It was very acidity and a bit bland at first. Maybe it needed more time, but decanted for 3ish hours and it tasted a lot like mushrooms, balsamic, black currant and a touch of underbrush with forest floor- with a touch of oak and spice. It was tannic but there was a lack of something in the mid palate and fruit. As I drank the last glass after 5 hours of decanting, it started to open up beautifully. All the aforementioned characteristics but with a strong mid palate filled with dark fruit. Delicious. Not as good as other vintages but this is worth drinking but give it some time to decante. Maybe 4+ hours. — 2 months ago
Thijs Hendriks
Magnum, last part of the decanted bottelen — 2 days ago