Freddy R. Troya

9.5

Caymus Vineyards – Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Napa Valley, California – USA 🇺🇸

Overview
Caymus Special Selection is the flagship Cabernet, crafted only in exceptional years. The 2018 vintage stands tall among recent releases, showing why Chuck Wagner’s vision continues to shape Napa’s most recognized “luxury Cab.” 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from prime valley-floor vineyards, it strikes the perfect balance between Caymus’ signature ripe, fruit-forward style and an added layer of structure from a long, balanced growing season.

Aromas & Flavors
A powerful bouquet of ripe blackberries, cassis, and dark cherries, layered with cocoa nibs, espresso, and baking spices. Subtle hints of licorice, cedar, and vanilla lift the complexity, while a core of lush fruit drives the palate. The oak integration is seamless, giving a supple sweetness without overwhelming the fruit.

Mouthfeel
Rich, opulent, and velvety—yet with surprising finesse. The tannins are silky and well-structured, giving length without heaviness. The finish lingers on black fruit and mocha, balanced by just enough acidity to keep it vibrant.

Winemaking Notes
Meticulous fruit selection, long maceration for concentration, and extended aging in new French oak (18+ months). The Wagner hallmark: generous fruit expression wrapped in polished oak for immediate pleasure but with aging potential.

Food Pairing
An indulgent pairing with ribeye, prime rib, or braised short ribs. For a decadent twist, try it with dark chocolate truffles or roasted lamb with rosemary.

Verdict
One of the most impressive Caymus Special Selection vintages in recent memory—showing both lush Napa Valley opulence and refined elegance. A wine that thrills now but promises to shine for years.

Personal Pick Highlight
This 2018 stands as my favorite Caymus of the modern decade—a true benchmark that captures everything people love about Napa Cabernet at its richest and most expressive. Cheers!
— 9 months ago

Erica Gamble

9.2

Velvety smooth. Notes of blackberry, plum, full bodied. Very nice. — 6 years ago

Ashley Alexander

9.5

Delicious and smooth as always. Young wine, but full of velvety tannins, legs for days, and ripe cherries. — 7 years ago

Ron Lear

9.1

Spectacular fruity back finish with lovely tannins. Soft and velvety throughout! — 7 years ago

MaJ CappS

9.2

Crushed velvety leaves from alpine flowers. A wondrous bouquet of a nose, and floral in the right way, not your grandmothers bathroom kind of a way.

Seemed fitting to picture this with our urban garlic harvest. As garlic take such a long time to mature, then even after picked, must be stored properly, to get the fullness of flavor.

Sweet blackberry tar is what this well crafted wine shows up front, subtle mint, eucalyptus, river stone. A perfect tango of tannins and acids, complete with the heel in the air - or maybe that’s my heel, enjoying this wine completely.
Decanted for the usual 3-4 hours. — 8 years ago

Amanda Thomas

9.3

Gorgeous color, dark and rich, with velvety dark fruit flavor. Moderately tannic. Great right out of the bottle. — 8 years ago

with Tim

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

No formal notes . Medium deep ruby . This seems a bit more advanced . This is a bit harder and more structured on the palate , more tannin , less velvety and a bit more astringent . More spicy , drier on the palate . This needed more time to open . This was quite difficult to judge , I wasn’t 100% convinced about this bottle as it just seemed a little oxidative, however it did actually seemed to come together better after an hour or so , but still quite hard and astringent in comparison to the others (especially La Mission) . Showed a touch more mineral and grafite on the finish too after a while. This needed time , and I would imagine another bottle might tell a different story . — a year ago

KDU Wine Club

9.3

Earthy and berry aroma. Smooth and velvety with tastes of black currant, plum, and cherry. Dusty and chalky with a mouth coating feel. Slightly dry and spicy with a lingering finish. — 6 years ago

with KDU

Pablo Cetlinski

10

What a beautiful blend! Ripe black currant with velvety notes — 7 years ago

Erica Skoglund

9.4

2/20/19: velvety texture, lighter Bordeaux with brighter fruits, truffle nose. Good but liked 2005 better — 7 years ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.2

On this Saturday night I have opened the 2014 Réserve De La Comtesse. 59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot the second wine from Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de la Lalande.

On the nose there is sumptuous dark fruit, blackberry, black cherry, black currant, stewed plums, chocolate, a bit of meatiness and tar.

On the palate the dark fruit continues with blackberry, black cherry, black currant, licorice, cedar, smoky oak, mocha and an earthiness.

This wine has a velvety mouth feel an is medium to full bodied with medium + acidity and medium + fine rounded tannin that leads to a delicious lingering finish. Stay safe and continued enjoyable weekend. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 8 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.2

Everything you want out of St Estephe (even though the chateau is famously close to Pauillac from a terroir perspective...) Black currant, plums, leather, green tobacco, iodine, olive tapenade, but velvety soft so the austerity doesn’t extend to the tannic structure. — 8 years ago

Lucky Palmer

9.5

Velvety full bodied but balanced — 9 years ago

Adam Gäfvert

9.6

2011 might be a forgotten vintage but this CB is really memorable. Did a pop and pour and it had great aromatics straight away. Medium to full bodied. Velvety. Layered. Dark berries, herbs, black tea, licorice, bay leaf. First wine on the trip to France. Great start! — 2 years ago

Dan Michael

9.1

What a joy to taste well aged, well made Napa Cab. From a tasting of ‘98s from benchmark producers (Phelps, Clos du Val, Burgess) this was a favorite. Soft and velvety texture, very elegant, complex nose, long finish, this wine is what I wish more folks got to experience for the varietal and appellation. There has been a bunch of challenging press lately on Napa and Cab in particular, tasting this will remind us of what we are aiming for in this valley. — 4 years ago

Steve Medbery

9.5

Classic Chateauneuf from an excellent year. Bright red fruit, lots of spice and a velvety long finish. — 7 years ago

Brian Blaney

9.6

Really great cab. Smooth and velvety, rich — 7 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.6

I can already tell that my palate is going to need a breather when I get back home: so many big boy reds 😅 Tonight’s pour is luscious and supple with velvety dark fruits, moistened tobacco, smoke, graphite, lavender, and eucalyptus. Looking forward to this opening up. Excellent craftsmanship right here. — 8 years ago

with Krystal

Chris England

9.2

When first tried this 2011 $95 🇺🇸 Cab was not showing well but since a few years ago it has evolved into a yummy 😈 drop - reminds me of the non overpowered 🇺🇸 Cabs of old 😉

4.25 ⭐️ / 92-93

🍇 95% Cab S, 3% Pet V, 1% Malbec, & 1% Cab F

🍷 Opaque dark ruby

👃 Chocolate covered blackcurrant w/ minerals, blueberry, plum, red berry, lavender, light oak & gravel

👄 Med+ body of rich warming dark berry & plummy damson fruits in creamy chocolate w/ blueberry & purple blackcurrant ooizing through

🎯 Long smooth velvety full flavoured dark fruit in gooey choc — 8 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.5

2004 Vintage. From Double Magnum. At Harry's Bar. Dark purple hue. On the nose high concentration of stewed black fruits, Black Forest cherries, kirsh liqueur, almond paste. Primary and youthful, but layers of complexity starting to show. Alluring. On the palate, velvety and rich, whilst maintaining class and elegance. Tannins are lush and ripe. Medium plus alcohol, medium acidity and a long finish. This is a big Sass, but none the worse for it. It's perfectly drinkable now but in this format, could last another decade or two as it sheds its puppy fat. Excellent. Drink now until 2035+ — 9 years ago