The Perfect Match

Caymus Vineyards

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2023

As always, a perfect pairing with steak. — 4 days ago

Sagee and Robin liked this

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend 1988

Super clean and still quite youthful, this is a GREAT example of a 1980s CdP from a vintage of little surmaturite, so awesome balance and perfect acidity suggests this vintage will easily last another 5-10 years!! — a month ago

Jim Powers
with Jim
Scott@Mister, Tom and 5 others liked this
Tom Casagrande

Tom Casagrande Influencer Badge

What a triumvirate of CDPs!
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@Tom Casagrande, another example of a great bottle outperforming critical reviews — of the 3 CdPs, the ratings given years ago would have been higher for the ‘89 Beau and ‘90 Pegau!!

Louis Roederer

Cristal Brut Champagne 2008

Fantastic fruit and balance. Vivid and crystal clear. Perfect balance and acidity — 5 months ago

David Schachter
with David
Neil, Jeroen and 6 others liked this

Beaulieu Vineyard

Private Reserve Georges de Latour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1994

Dried red fruits, baking spices, cedar, Price Albert tobacco, coco nibs, stewed tomato and leather. Maintains good acidity with softened tannins. A bit past its prime but still drinking well.

Perfect wine for watching the Las Vegas Grand Prix!
— 7 months ago

Andrew and "Odedi" liked this

Marchesi Antinori

Tignanello Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 2015

Sweet and Smokey. Loved this. Perfect mix of ripe dark fruits and kick. Great length. Half bottle. Awesome! — 8 months ago

Dave, Jean-Philip and 22 others liked this
Audrey Nadeau

Audrey Nadeau

Wine Glory!

Caymus Vineyards

Special Selection Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Caymus Vineyards – Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Napa Valley, California – USA 🇺🇸

Overview
Special Selection is Caymus’ flagship bottling, the only wine to twice earn Wine Spectator’s “Wine of the Year.” The 2013 vintage comes from a benchmark Napa year—warm, consistent, and producing deeply concentrated fruit. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from prime valley-floor sites, this wine showcases the Caymus hallmark: bold, plush, and fruit-driven Napa opulence.

Aromas & Flavors
Opulent blackberries, cassis, and baked blueberries, wrapped in layers of cocoa, espresso, and toasted vanilla. Secondary notes of licorice, sweet tobacco, and graphite add depth. With time in the glass, hints of cedar and leather start to show, signaling the early stages of graceful evolution.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied and richly textured, almost velvet-like, with powerful yet polished tannins. The 2013 vintage delivers intensity and weight, but with balance—long, lingering finish loaded with ripe dark fruit and spice.

Winemaking Notes
Meticulous cluster selection, long maceration for depth, and extended aging in new French oak barrels (18+ months). Chuck Wagner’s hallmark style: unapologetically ripe fruit, creamy oak integration, and a seamless, approachable structure even in youth.

Food Pairing
A natural match for grilled ribeye, braised short ribs, or herb-crusted lamb. For a more indulgent pairing, try it with aged Gouda or truffle-infused dishes.

Verdict
A monumental vintage of Caymus Special Selection—ripe, hedonistic, and still showing youthful vigor more than a decade later. Built for aging, yet already a crowd-pleaser. A benchmark expression of Napa Cabernet’s luxurious side.

Personal Pick Highlight
2013 stands out as one of Napa’s greatest modern vintages, and tasting it now is like catching Caymus in its prime sweet spot: power meeting polish. Cheers!
— 10 months ago

Ted liked this

Château La Mission Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 1994

Classic La Mission nose that is in a perfect spot showing red & black fruits, cedar, leather, earth, graphite, spice box along with sweet tobacco — 11 days ago

Joel, Jean-Philip and 5 others liked this

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1995

Opened 5 hours ahead and decanted for 2. Absolutely delicious. Still quite youthful but singing nicely so no need to wait in my opinion. Perfect hot dog wine 😉 — 2 months ago

Jay, Tom and 3 others liked this

Taittinger

Comtes de Champagne Grand Crus Brut Blanc de Blancs 2007

Somm David T
9.5

Just really starting to hit its perfect drink window. Really excellent Blanc de Blanc. Green apple, lime pulp with zest, amazing freshness & acidity. — 3 months ago

Jay, Scott@Mister and 12 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2002

Classic bordeaux flavours. Highly elegant and layered. Perfect drinking window for me — 4 months ago

Tom, Peter and 23 others liked this

Château Gruaud Larose

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1996

Pretty deep ruby garnet , medium wide garnet rim . Aromatic and really classic with a mix or red and dark fruits , tobacco , grafite and cedar . On the palate this is quite linear , again with the red and dark fruits from the nose, cedar and grafite and quite rounded resolved tannins . Fresh acidity , good cedar with grafite length , very classic in style . Enough density and fruit to cover the rest of the structure. In a perfect place now at least in this format , and probably will be over the next 10 years . This was from an Imperial , at BBR in London . — 5 months ago

Bob, David and 11 others liked this

Krug

Brut Champagne Blend 2002

Gorgeous. Perfect balance of ripeness, acidity, and clarity. Delicate yet powerful. Just gorgeous. — 7 months ago

Bex Green
with Bex
Ira, Juan and 9 others liked this

Château Cheval Blanc

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 1955

Vandermeulen. Perfect bottle! — 9 months ago

John, Thijs and 17 others liked this

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

Jan A
9.9

Peak, flirting with perfection. Others called out farm/barnyard notes, I thought it was more hansaplast plasters. Anyways, this was very Bordeaux for a napa wine and very napa for a Bordeaux blend. Catching the perfect balance between sweet napa generosity and cooler bdx notes. — a month ago

Peter, Sharon and 11 others liked this
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego Premium Badge

Yah...jelly. Always wondered about how those completely sealed wax tops fared as the wines aged. I suspect we are finding out exactly noww...such a favored producer.

Château Lafite Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

In perfect condition and drinking much more youthful than nearly 40 years!! Paired with grilled chicken thighs which went very well given the tannin structure has mostly receded. Acid still very much keeping things together and in check. Nice balance - still some good fruit, great earth, long finish. Hard to argue! — 2 months ago

Tom, Joel and 11 others liked this

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

The cool 88 vintage is in a great spot—gamey and savory, a perfect food wine, particularly with the aged duck! — 3 months ago

Ted, Tom and 8 others liked this

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2015

Showing amazingly, in a perfect place. Open one tonight if you have it! — 5 months ago

Ted, Ray and 7 others liked this

Château Margaux

Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

So, my long time wine group buddy brought this bottle from his cellar, absolutely stunning 36-year-old Bordeaux, but honestly, it tasted like a 10-year-old wine, so fresh and so amazingly long on the finish, honestly needs another 25-30 years in the cellar, nigh perfect!! — 6 months ago

Jim Powers
with Jim
Andrew, Jonathan and 22 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@Dave, that Palmer and Margaux were opened in part due to two of my wine group guys and our wives being present — one of the wives is unfortunately having quite serious medical issues, and I said to my buddy who brought the 1989 Margaux that I was bringing the Palmer for her to taste, so he one-upped me (which I was thrilled with), so just a special occasion. Some of the other recent special bottles are my response to pulling older bottles these past 3-6 months that have disappointed me, I figure it’s better to drink some of these a few years too early than keep being disappointed.
Dave

Dave

Sounds like a special time!
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@Dave, it was, and I’ll always be glad for it!!