2014 Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Our Appointment at 8700 Conn Creek Road — No Hedging Bets at Caymus

Throughout our travels over the last 30 years, there’s been one common refrain among winemakers: “It’s all about the dirt.”

A pair of geologists, Jonathan Swinchatt and David Howell, explain in their brilliant book The Winemaker’s Dance how Napa Valley was formed, and how each AVA’s Cabernet Sauvignons are influenced by both microclimate and geology.

One of the more fascinating chapters of The Winemaker’s Dance teases out “the relationships among bedrock, sediments, soils, and wine” in the Rutherford Fan, the thick alluvial sedimentary soil that lies at the foot of the mountains to the west. The Wagner family’s Caymus Vineyards sit on the flatter portion of the Rutherford Fan, right up against Conn Creek, which the geologists say “carried the sediment outwash from the large (Lake) Hennessey drainage before it was dammed.” That rich soil has helped make Caymus, along with Silver Oak and Opus One, one of Napa Valley’s iconic brands.

For four years, we’d been banging on the door at Caymus, but always to no avail. Finally, a year ago, we were able to schedule a visit to 8700 Conn Creek Road in Rutherford.

We’ve made hundreds of WineAccess presentations over the last nine years. We’ve worked and reworked our pitch a thousand times, preaching “the virtues of our platform,” citing the size, quality, and buying power of our membership. Some days, we’re spot-on. On others, we miss the mark. Last May at Caymus, we were on fire.

A few minutes before 11, sensing the moment was right, we cut to the chase, boldly requesting a 100-case allocation of the 2013 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon — as soon as Robert Parker’s review hit the web.

As it turned out, we could have saved our breath. The winery knew all about WineAccess, and enjoyed reading our stories from time to time. Caymus, we were told, was willing to “test out” our platform with the new release of their 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon — not with the 100 cases we requested, but with 25. But the winery was less willing to postpone the WineAccess allocation until after The Wine Advocate weighed in. If we cut our purchase order on or before Memorial Day, the 25 cases were ours. If not, there could be no guarantees.

We considered the Caymus offer for three days. Yes, this was Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. But at $80, without a Parker rating, we simply couldn’t commit. Six-and-a-half months later, in mid-December, Parker posted the rave 94-point review that ruined any chance we’d had to purchase a single case of the 2013 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon.

Last Monday, we returned to 8700 Conn Creek Road on the eve of the release of the stupendous 2014 — a vintage that combines the plush voluptuousness of Parker’s 96-point 2012 with the more-classical structure of the 94-point 2013. Having learned our lesson the hard way, this time we weren’t hedging our bets!

The 2014 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon is an absolute blockbuster. Dense purple/black in color. Extravagant and voluptuous aromas of blackberry, mountain blueberry, ripe black currant, and graphite. MASSIVE on the attack, a Cabernet of exquisite purity and density, filled with a hedonistic mix of crushed-black-fruit preserves, sweet crème de cassis, notes of tobacco and sweet spice, finishing with the silken tannins that all Caymus collectors know so well. Drink 2018-2035.

$80 per bottle. Twenty-five cases are up for grabs. Shipping included on 3.