Just tried Caymus 40th.....

[Marc_Frontario]

This wine makes me think of Dr Pepper on steroids

[RS_Beck]

I agree with the opinion that the wine is flawed.

IMO, that much residual sugar in a dry red wine is an obvious flaw.

Not for possible “fun” (“exciting”?!) drinking by casual wine drinkers with little interest in the intricacies of fine wine, but IMO, it should be to a reviewer.

Second, it’s all simple gravy, nondescript fruit tarted up with heaps of vanilla – no complexity, none even cited in the review. In fact, even the RS and vanilla was missed, somehow, in the first tasting, which is pretty amazing. How does a simple wine loaded with vanilla garner such a high score? Because it’s exciting? Wow. Ding Dongs might be hedonistic and exciting, too, but they are not fine pastry.

The fruit is over-ripe. To me, this is a flaw. Not cited in review.

There is not enough acid to bring the wine into balance. This makes the wine very easy to understand and enjoy by casual wine drinkers, but IMO it is not snobby, just an opinion, that this is the type of flaw that should disqualify the wine from consideration as fine wine.

No shame in drinking it, liking it, thinking it’s fun, but IMO, negligent to call it fine wine.

Guilty pleasure? Ok. Give it an 88 and admit you sometimes like to eat Ding Dongs – and warn your audience that this is one of those guilty pleasure wines you like. Some self awareness would be nice.

If it were $12 a bottle, I’d buy a few cases and serve it at large cocktail gatherings to non-wine-geeks. I wouldn’t shame anyone for enjoying it, but I wouldn’t call it fine wine.

[Scott_Brunson]

^
snob

[RS_Beck]

But with a lower case “s?”

[Scott_Brunson]

my apologies
It should be ALL CAPS

[Joe_B]

We really need a “like” button on this BB

[dteng]

@Craig G

@Scott Brunson

People who disapprove of simple, over-oaked, over-sugared, out of balance wines are snobs?

As long as I never have to drink this crap again, you can call me anything you want.

Oh come on Craig…
This is you bidding, right??

http://www.klwines.com/Auction/Bidding/AuctionBidDetail.aspx?sku=1199095

[Wes_Barton]

@dteng

@Craig G

@Scott Brunson

People who disapprove of simple, over-oaked, over-sugared, out of balance wines are snobs?

As long as I never have to drink this crap again, you can call me anything you want.

Oh come on Craig…
This is you bidding, right??

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No, but this is: 2012 Caymus "Special Selection" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - SKU 1171100

That’s the 2012 Caymus “Special Selection” Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Pre-Arrival) Price: $159.00 for people who don’t know how to click links…

More than twice the price, it’s gotta be at least twice as good, right?

“…following on the heels of the regular 2012 Caymus Napa bottling which (while celebrating the winery’s 40th anniversary) was the most popular wine we’ve sold in 2015. We are awaiting reviews and scores on the wine, but given the quality of the 2012 vintage of Napa, and the fact that the regular bottling received 96 points from Robert Parker, it’s a safe bet to assume this is going to be incredibly well received by the press.”

I think I threw up in my mouth…a lot.

[Craig_G]

@dteng

Oh come on Craig…
This is you bidding, right??

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In fact I seem to be bidding against myself.

[Bdklein]

So I have 1 bottle of this. For those of you who would actually drink it, do you suggest cellaring it a bit or drink soon? Decant or no decant?
Assuming the primary complaint is the fact that the wine is too sweet, does cellaring and/or decanting normally help/hurt a CA Napa cab that is on the sweet side?

[RS_Beck]

I’d serve it now…over ice cream.

[Alan_Rath]

Bruce,
Drink it now, it’s not going to improve with age. You could decant it for an hour or two, but it’s not really the type of wine that needs it, or that will change much with air. The bottle I had tasted the same the next day as it did the night we opened it.

[Steve_Crawford]

I would combine this 1/2 and 1/2 with a Corison or Dunn to make a somewhat decent combo.

[Nick_Ryan]

Maybe make frozen wine popsicle sticks out of it?

[Jim_Anderson]

I recently weirdly had the chance to taste the 2009 Special Select. Trimpi and Nellens are doubled over in laughter reading that sentence. I was at a dinner and the folks there didn’t know my palate so well (as far as red wine goes it is Pinot and Nebbiolo almost exclusively) and they were being generous. It was a nice gesture on their part for sure to break something out of their cellar they appreciated.

I gave it the good college try. Really. I just couldn’t do it. It was like drinking a Slurpee in the middle of the summer and doing it much to quickly. I had to give my portion back to them. It is not poorly made it is just so far out of my range and capacity that I couldn’t deal with it. I am aware that in no way does that make me correct about that wine.

[Alan_Rath]

Frankly, the Special Select is typically riper and “sweeter” than the 40th anniversary bottling (though I haven’t tried the 2009 SS).

[Bdklein]

@Alan Rath

Bruce,
Drink it now, it’s not going to improve with age. You could decant it for an hour or two, but it’s not really the type of wine that needs it, or that will change much with air. The bottle I had tasted the same the next day as it did the night we opened it.

Alan,

Thanks for answering. Cheers!!

Bruce

[Scott_Brunson]

@Steve Crawford

I would combine this 1/2 and 1/2 with a Corison or Dunn to make a somewhat decent combo.

That would make a mag and you could have it with sushi

[jcoley3]

@Alan Rath

Frankly, the Special Select is typically riper and “sweeter” than the 40th anniversary bottling (though I haven’t tried the 2009 SS).

So the 40th regular is Kabinett Sauvignon, while the SS is Cabernet Spatlese?

[Alan_Rath]

LOL, that sounds about right!