Caymus Vineyards Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

A rich, showy style, with a very creamy texture to its mix of warmed vanilla, plum and boysenberry puree, and melted black licorice flavors. A mocha notes swirls around the fruit on the finish. Drink now through 2028.

77% Cabernet Sauvignon; 23% red Bordeaux varieties. Very polished, fully ripe and very well-fruited with a generous, but an always-complementary allocation of sweet oak fitting in seamlessly with its dominant themes of juicy black cherries and cassis, the 2019 Caymus Cabernet is surprisingly open and expressive for one of its age while still showing the fine tannic structure of a wine that has nowhere but good places to go. Slightly grippy, but never tough, it is all but certain to lure more than a few into too-early drinking, and, though we must admit that it does offer a great deal to like now and will elevate the coming Christmas dinner of prime rib, it is only with patience – three or four years at the least and, better yet, five or six – that it will fully come into its own.

Deep purple-black in color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon springs from the glass with lifted crème de cassis, violets and chocolate box notes plus hints of lilacs, raspberry leaves, anise and cardamom. The perfumed black fruit preserves and chocolate-laced notes completely pack the full-bodied palate, with soft, velvety tannins and just enough freshness, finishing very long and very spicy. Definitely one for hedonists seeking immediate gratification.Rating: 94+