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Caymus Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
RedUnited States2017
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-02-09 · Published 2026-09-20 · Updated 2026-09-20
At a glance
In one line
4.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.6 average · world avg price US$151 · Founded in Napa Valley in 1972 by Charlie Wagner and carried on by son Chuck Wagner.
No critic scores are listed on Vivino for this wine.
Market note: This Cabernet Sauvignon is Caymus's core-tier bottling, a different tier from the Special Selection released since 1975. Vivino reviews sometimes note that it tastes similar to the Special Selection.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“처음 마주하면 누구나 인생와인이라 말할 그 특유의 향과 맛. 스테이크랑 함께 하면 더이상 바랄것이 없는 맛. … 마지막 와인이어서 그랬나. 배불러서. 그래도 저는 스테이크랑 너무 맛있게 먹었어요.”
Show original
“vanilla oak blackberry leather cassis raspberry cocoa earthy 처음 마주하면 누구나 인생와인이라 말할 그 특유의 향과 맛~ 스테이크랑 함께 하면 더이상 바랄것이 없는 맛. […] 마지막 와인이어서 그랬나^^ 배불러서~~ 그래도 저는 스테이크랑 넘 맛있게 먹었어요~”
One thing I learned today: boredom doesn't come from inside the bottle; it comes from a full stomach and the order you drink in.
Monday, the first day of my year-end vacation. I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep, and when I woke the sun was high. It's my first Monday ever without going to work. I made toast for a late breakfast and looked out the window for a long time with a blanket around my shoulders. In the evening I went to the bar early and turned on the sign earlier than usual.
When Minjae came in, Master Seo opened a bottle of red. Vanilla came first. Then blackberry, cassis, cocoa, leather. A smell anyone would love at the first sip. When he heard the bottle's name, Minjae acted like he knew all about it.
The leather hiding behind the vanilla brought back the tail end of an evening. From one smell I can recall how many glasses were left on the table that day. February when I was twenty-one, a Sunday evening with a cold wind. Father had guests over that day, and they grilled steak. This was the last bottle of the night. After the guests left, I went out to clear the table and found every glass still half full. I held each leftover glass to my nose, one by one. All the same vanilla. Only Father had emptied his glass, and he was slowly eating one last cold piece of steak. I don't know the bottle's name.
Father's note that day is long. He lists eight smells, talks about the steak, and talks about the company. How everyone said it tasted the same as the higher bottle, lost interest, and left a lot behind. And the last line: "Still, I enjoyed it so much with the steak~" Four stars. The bottle was Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. I stuck a wine-name Post-it into the notebook. Maybe Father wrote with a little smile about himself, happily finishing a bottle everyone else had tired of.
Near closing, Minjae emptied his glass to the last drop and said, "Well, I think it's delicious." The same words as Father's last line. One thing I learned today: boredom doesn't come from inside the bottle; it comes from a full stomach and the order you drink in.
What this wine is
In 1972, Charlie Wagner founded Caymus Vineyards in Napa Valley. Hiring Randy Dunn as winemaker in 1975, he released the flagship Special Selection — made only "in better years" — for the first time. That Special Selection went on to set a record no other wine has matched: it won Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year" twice, for the 1984 vintage (awarded 1989) and the 1990 vintage (awarded 1994). Caymus remains the only winery ever to win it twice.
Son Chuck Wagner has led winemaking since 2015, expanding beyond Cabernet Sauvignon into Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and growing the company into Wagner Family of Wine — brands including Conundrum, Mer Soleil and Emmolo — from 250 cases a year at the start to more than a million cases today. The Cabernet Sauvignon covered here is not the Special Selection but Caymus's core-tier wine, made every vintage.
What makes this wine interesting shows up directly in my own note — I called it a wine "anyone would call the wine of their life" on first encounter, while the friends at the table with me shrugged it off as tasting "the same as the Special Selection," with a hint of having lost interest. Caymus's identity sits right on that tension: a crowd-pleasing polish that appeals to nearly everyone, paired with the exact same trait reading, to a more jaded palate, as predictable and no longer interesting.
What the world says
This 2017 vintage has been rated by 13,787 people on Vivino, averaging 4.6 — exactly matching the Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon label overall (196,403 ratings). No critic scores are listed.
The flavor keywords lead decisively with vanilla, oak and chocolate (10,778 mentions), followed by blackberry and plum (7,533), and leather and cocoa (2,818). Structure: intensity, at 4.7/5, is the highest of any Cabernet Sauvignon covered in this magazine, while tannin, at 3.1, leans soft.
"First Caymus I've had, and I see what all the fuss is about. Rich aroma of dark fruits and oaky notes. Dry, full-bodied, smooth tannins." — Vivino review, Aug 2020, 4.8 stars
"Best wine I had on this trip. Bold, powerful yet elegant. Crushed berries, cassis, leather, dark chocolate, vanilla." — Vivino review, Aug 2019, 5.0 stars
Vivino's own description echoes the same language — "bold yet smooth, rich and complex" — which points to why Caymus has become one of the community's go-to crowd-pleasing Cabernets.
How I drank it
9 February 2020, 4.0 stars. "Vanilla, oak, blackberry, leather, cassis, raspberry, cocoa, earthy. On first encounter, anyone would call this the wine of their life~ Pair it with steak and there's nothing left to ask for. My friends kept saying it tasted just like the Special Selection — the same crowd-pleasing scent and flavor — with a slight hint that it wasn't interesting to them anymore, and a lot of glasses got left half-full ㅜㅜ Maybe because it was the last wine, or because we were full~~ Still, I enjoyed it a lot with the steak~" That same night I gave Masi Costasera Amarone 2013 a 4.5 — this Caymus came out lower of the two.
The tension running through this note is between crowd-pleasing appeal and the connoisseur's boredom with exactly that appeal. I myself wrote that I enjoyed it "a lot" with the steak, but the friends at the same table — full, and drinking it last in the lineup — left a lot in their glasses. The note itself already hints that this might be about the context of the evening (fullness, order, mood) rather than a flaw in the wine.
This is the first time on this site that the Korean expression "wine of my life" (인생 와인) shows up — though that's purely how the friends at that table reacted that night, and has nothing to do with domestic pricing or distribution. The 4.0 I gave, half a point below the community average of 4.6, reflects exactly the tension the wine itself carries — broadly polished enough to please a crowd, predictable enough to bore a connoisseur.
Where this wine shows up
Caymus's flagship Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon won Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year" twice — the only winery ever to do so. Worth noting: this page covers Caymus's core Cabernet Sauvignon, not the Special Selection itself.
Wikipedia — Caymus Vineyards · Wine Spectator — The Story of Caymus: Past, Present and Future
Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.
Vivino community data
2017 vintage rating distribution (13787 ratings, average 4.6)
| 5★ | 6658 (48%) | |
| 4★ | 6321 (46%) | |
| 3★ | 607 (4%) | |
| 2★ | 101 (1%) | |
| 1★ | 100 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | 10778 | vanilla 3303 · oak 2756 · chocolate 2065 · tobacco 708 · dark chocolate 277 |
| Black fruit | 7533 | blackberry 2077 · plum 1528 · dark fruit 948 · black cherry 565 · cassis 560 |
| Earth | 2818 | leather 975 · earthy 482 · cocoa 433 · smoke 349 · mushroom 82 |
| Red fruit | 2660 | cherry 1569 · red fruit 358 · raspberry 345 · strawberry 186 · cranberry 41 |
| Spices | 1323 | pepper 392 · licorice 324 · cinnamon 158 · anise 102 · mint 73 |
| Dried fruit | 461 | raisin 180 · fig 118 · prune 117 · dried fruit 19 · black raisin 11 |
| Yeast & cream | 390 | cream 252 · cheese 94 · oil 17 · banana 11 · yogurt 5 |
Structure: Acidity 3.3/5 · Intensity 4.7/5 · Tannin 3.1/5 · Sweetness 2.0/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 196403 ratings, average 4.6)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4.3 | 831 |
| 2022 | 4.4 | 3271 |
| 2021 | 4.4 | 3913 |
| 2020 | 4.5 | 11389 |
| 2019 | 4.6 | 16776 |
| 2018 | 4.5 | 17600 |
| 2017 | 4.6 | 13787 |
| 2016 | 4.6 | 15560 |
| 2015 | 4.6 | 16388 |
| 2014 | 4.6 | 17685 |
| 2013 | 4.6 | 15699 |
| 2012 | 4.5 | 17237 |
| 2011 | 4.5 | 6178 |
| 2010 | 4.5 | 3430 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 2017?
A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Wagner family in Napa Valley, California — Caymus's core-tier bottling, a step below the Special Selection. 14.4–14.8% ABV. Vivino: 13,787 ratings averaging 4.6, with no listed critic scores.
How much does it cost?
US$151 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026) (Wine-Searcher).
What food pairs well with it?
Vivino users suggest beef, lamb, poultry, game and mature hard cheese. My own note emphasizes how well it paired with steak.
How is it different from the Special Selection?
This Cabernet Sauvignon is Caymus's core-tier wine, made every vintage; the Special Selection, released since 1975, is made only in "better years" as the house's flagship. The Special Selection holds the unique record of winning Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year" twice, for the 1984 and 1990 vintages. Vivino reviews sometimes note the two taste quite similar.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Wikipedia — Caymus Vineyards
- Wine Spectator — The Story of Caymus: Past, Present and Future
- Wagner Family of Wine official — History
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