Caymus 2004 Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine Advocate, December 2006 Rated: 96 points. “The brilliant, super-rich 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection boasts an inky/purple hue, and sweet notes of lead pencil shavings, crème de cassis, licorice, and charcoal. This dense, full-bodied, opulent, seamless heady Cabernet is ideal for drinking over the next 15+ years.”

Caymus Cabernet-Sauvignon

Wine Enthusiast, August 2007 Editors’ Choice Rated: 97 points “Beautiful wine, lush and soft in the style of this warm vintage. It’s immediately enjoyable for the wealth of cherries, blackberries and raspberries, with a decadent edge of melted milk chocolate. Oak adds extra dimensions of smoky vanilla, caramel, butterscotch and gingerbread. Those who think they don’t like red wine will enjoy…..gorgeous now and for the next six years.”

Wine Spectator, May 15, 2007 Spectator Selection; Collectible Rated: 94 points. “A superb Cabernet that’s ripe, plush and deeply concentrated, with tiers of currant, plum, blackberry and spicy, cedary oak. Firmly tannic, lively and deep, revealing extra flavor nuances on the long, engaging finish. Best from 2008 – 2013.”

Decanter, January 2008 Rated: Five stars; Outstanding. “Masses of toasted oak. Vanilla and spice. Full, very rich, same as nose. Full-throttle wine. Sumptuous texture. Powerhouse of a wine. Balanced, very long.”

Quarterly Review of Wines, Summer 2007 Best of the Best California Cabernet Sauvignon; Best of Show Rated: Five stars. “Deep, rich, ripe, pure, velvety, blackberry, vanilla and nutty oak flavors — perfection itself.”

The Wine News, December 2007 Top Ten Cabernets of the Year. “Attractive, intense bouquet of cassis and black cherry laced with espresso bean, chocolate and baking spice. Full-bodied, velvety and deeply concentrated with firm, ripe tannins and complex flavors of black currant, black cherry, sweet oak and nutmeg, which linger in the extended close.”

Wine Review Online, (Gerald Boyd) July 17, 2007 Rated: 95 points. “Caymus’ ‘Special Selection’ bottling was first produced in 1975, and every vintage since the original rendition of the wine has stayed true to its name. The 2004 Special Selection has a deep, inky color, a lovely seamless aroma of dark fruits like blackberry, and nicely integrated toasted oak. The flavors are bright and inviting, with ample berry and coffee notes. It finishes long and textured; a complete package. Special Selection has long been a favorite of mine, being one of those wines that is difficult to describe; you just like it.”

Wine Review Online, (Michael Franz) May 8, 2007 Rated: 94 points. “Very dark and concentrated, the wine nevertheless avoids the sort of unnatural massiveness that turns me off in ‘statement wines.’ Deeply flavored but still vinous, the dark berry and black cherry fruit is bolstered by a very serious dose of smoky oak. Rarely do I sense this much wood influence without being bugged by it, but the quality and character of the oak is such that the smoky, spicy accents are really quite welcome…There’s no denying that this is an excellent effort.”

Connoisseur’s Guide to California Wine, April 2007 Rated: 2 stars. “This deep and wonderfully rich wine is as involving and has as much succulent fruit at its heart as any wine in this issue, and it gains more richness yet by way of its absolutely lavish appointment of oak. It is, however, far more than a pretty face or fancy façade and it sports the serious structure and evident tannins of a wine meant for age.”

International Wine Cellar, May/June 2007 Rated: 93 points. “Good deep ruby-red. Musky black fruits and earth on the nose, with oak notes that seem far more harmonious and subtle than some of the vintages of the ‘90s. Sauve, moderately sweet and silky, with ripe acidity framing the dark berry flavors. This builds nicely toward the back, finishing with tooth-dusting tannins and linger notes of redder fruits, gravel and loam. A superb showing.”

Newsday, December 3, 2007. “A fabulous vintage for California cabernet sauvignon, and what you’d expect from Caymus Vineyards: a powerhouse, concentrated and aromatic, heady with cassis and black cherry, with a long finish.”

Globe and Mail (Toronto), December 1, 2007. “A brilliant vintage of one of California’s greatest and most cellar-worthy wines.”

Florida Sun-Sentinel, April 19, 2007; Wine of the Week. “Attention serious wine collectors. The 2004 Caymus Vineyards Special Selection is one of the great red wines of the Western World. Buy it if you can and hold off pulling the cork for at least six years. It is worth the wait.