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1999 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley (10/19/2023)
From my late father’s cellar.
This is not in any way a caricature of California Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s not over the top, though it does still show ripe red/black fruit, and a healthy dose of oak spice. It’s just an easygoing, very drinkable, and satisfying Cabernet that soothes the ills of corporate meetings, and bridges the gap from happy hour to bedtime. I’m happy to have a few more, even if it isn’t my usual poison. It’s mindlessly pleasurable to drink, and Thursdays often need that.
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I’ve heard old Caymus can be really nice, though never had it myself. When did it go from decent to its current incarnation of “caricature of CA Cabernet Sauvignon”?
My answer is not about the wine itself, but the marketing and brand philosophy. With the 1995 vintage they doubled the price of the regular Cabernet. If I remember correctly they said it was a deliberate shift to another segment of the market. Once you care more about marketing than quality of the product, it’s not a big step to compromising the product itself.
On the other hand they seem to have catered to a large audience with the change, and people seem content to pay the price. It may be that I’m like the folks who resist changes in the dictionary.
Looking at the price stickers on wines from my dad’s cellar doesn’t endorse 1995. Looks like 1997, which doesn’t surprise me as 1997 is when almost everything shifted in Napa.
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Yes, they did shift price somewhere in the second half of the 90’s; the $20 regular bottling used to be a great deal. In my recollection, which could be shakey, that did not coincide with the change of style. Though I stopped buying when the price went up, I recall in the early 2000’s tasting at a wine shop with one of their reps and I could not believe the difference–hit in the head with overripe blueberry, oak and nothing else. Charlie Jr taking over from Sr might have caused the shift.
Pesky facts 
The 1991 was a killer wine and could hold its own against any of the top tier Napa cabs from that vintage even the Special Select.
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1997 is when Caymus really started to change. My 97 Special Select went downhill after 10 years. The 91 regular (all Estate fruit) was one of the best values, $17, that ever came out of Napa.
Wondering about wine changes when this 1999 was still in fine form last night.
I suspect the truly intentional changes were in the 2001 time frame as Caymus and pretty much everyone else in Napa tried to recreate 1997.
I looked it up because I was bummed about the price increases. I could buy bottles of Caymus Cab for $50 at business dinners & then all the sudden it was $150!
‘93 Caymus was $24 a bottle.
‘94 Caymus released at $36 and Wine Spectator gave it 95 pts and a spot in its top 10 wines of the yr.
Then ‘95 jumped all the way to $62/bottle.
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I loved every bottle of that case of 94 I bought on Pensacola Beach. I know I last had the 07, sort of glop with blue/black fruit. With the right steak maybe…
That was what I thought I remembered. @David_Bu3ker, what prices did you see on your dad’s bottles?
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The '99 was $55. The '94s he bought on release were $42. I can dig around for '95 and '96.
Not in any way a crippling increase - especially for a wine that skyrocketed in popularity.