9/21/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote:

The black raspberries and garrigue in the nose start the show. But it is on the full, lush, deep, spicy, opulent palate that you find the wines true, black raspberry, pepper, jam, licorice and herb filled character. There is length, freshness and complexity found here. This should age quite well. The wine is made with 100% old vine Grenache.

6/28/2019 - Cailles wrote:

Like most 2009 CDPs this is in a very good drinking spot right now. Not so hot, ripe and extracted as 2001, 2005 or 2007s and more ready than the 2010s which need more time to soften and open up. Perfectly fine example dominated by the softness of Grenache along tertiary and some brett aromatics (which you have to like). Still quite some aromatic pressure but embedded in a very fine frame.

TN: Lots of barnyard funk, earth, leather and red fruit on the nose. On the palate additional aromas of herbs and savoury meaty notes but with a strong core of red fruit. Not to sweet or fruity, not to ripe, dominated by the grape and terroir expression. Nice intensity, medium+ delineation, very good length and lots of very fine tannins. Wonderful harmonious and a treat to drink right now.

Decanting: From double magnum. No decant needed. Was singing from the get-go.

8/21/2018 - henryd1 Does not like this wine:

This was a big let down. Served with friends who expect me to bring decent wine and no one paid this any attention at all. It may just be closed but no other tasters seemed to have come to that conclusion. In any case, as it stands, it's really quite non-descript. Quite full bodied, dark colour for a CNDP, generally quite mute... My recommendation would be HOLD, but without any great hope it'll ever turn into a decent wine. I seriously hope my 2015 is a step up as this is at present much worse than my 2012 bois du boursan at less than 1/3 the price. 89+

5/1/2018 - YankeeRobio Likes this wine:

Great GSM. Blueberry, anise, cassis. Rutherford dust mouthfeel. Decadent wine

3/16/2018 - SAS54 Likes this wine:

It is the olive finish. No one but JW does it right.

12/10/2017 - Double-A wrote:

Ruby colour. Fruit-centric, dark berry nose. Med-full-bodied palate; dark, ripe berry finish.
3/5

*sampled from 375mL bottle as a vertical tasting: 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2012

12/18/2017 - CMz Does not like this wine:

The 2014 The Boy Grenache Syrah blend was the first disappointing entry in an otherwise stellar series of the new 2014 releases. A light ruby in the glass that portends the emerging overall perception of thinness and lack of substance on the palate. The nose is a lovely Grenache varietal montage of red berries, smokey Prime Rib, leather and flowery notes that continue into a light but distinct mix of berries and smokey meats on the palate. The wine seems almost too light to support the sense of high alcohol and acidity which disrupts any finesse to this bottle. The finish is smooth and lingers - perhaps the only part of this wine i actually enjoyed - unfortunately delivering only on the finish is not enough to swing my score into the 90's - it's just not there now. Perhaps with some age in the cellar this one will come into it's own. If you already own it, lay it down; otherwise move on to some of the other stunning K 2014 releases.

5/19/2017 - WineWimpie wrote:

An explosion from what we call in Belgium 'cuberdon candy' smell: a mix of raspberry and menthol (pharmaceutical) aroma. The complexity on the nose increases with time in the glass/decanter to include more spices. Beautiful soft tannins and enjoyable acidity are intermixed with nice fruit flavours. Wow! Already very enjoyable but will improve further ...cuvée Laurence seems to be the Top cuvée in the off-Da Capo years and I like this, because the price is much more accessible!

2/23/2017 - bablues wrote:

Finally had the opportunity to open this and I was amazed. Such a deep concentrated nose and palate. The grip on the finish is truly outstanding. Hopefully more will become available and very sorry I didn't pull the trigger on multiples of this when they were available.

2/14/2017 - shleepy Likes this wine:

Dark ruby (but not super dark or with any orange tinging at the edges that I can see). Fresh dill on the nose. A lot more dill and vanilla in the taste. I think Rioja Alta's policy is that there can never be enough American oak. Ever. The mouthfeel is very smooth, somehow. For an oak bomb, it somehow feels... light bodied? Maybe all this dill is just making me crazy.
EDIT: About an hour or two after opening, I noticed that the wine gained quite a bit of complexity, with dark berry/fruit notes. I recommend keeping it open for a little while.

10/1/2016 - bonedoc wrote:

Perfect pairing for grilled ahi tuna, ponzu, fried rice.

1/16/2016 - Bam_Man Likes this wine:

Brought with us to Seared 1200 Chophouse in St. Pete Beach ($10 corkage). We gave this almost an hour of air time and that seemed to be enough. Shows a pretty - though subtle nose of crushed dark berries, earth and a hint of cassis. An attractive dark crimson in color, right up to the edge. Full-bodied and rich, but not over done. So incredibly velvety in texture. Bursting with delicious, mouth-watering plum, boysenberry and dark currant fruit, backed by a moderate acidity. Displays excellent depth and intensity, without an excessive amount of weight. Finishes extremely long, with loads of ripe, sweet fruit, and hints of oak, violets and spice. The tannins are fully-integrated and silky smooth. Big, rich and delicious - yet so balanced and refined. Mostly Carmenere, but drinks very much like a fine Bordeaux. A gorgeous wine that paired beautifully with our Porterhouse for two. 94+
50+5+12+18+9=94

11/29/2015 - Mech-E Likes this wine:

Decanted 4 hours. Poured inky black and viscous. Drank next to the 2012 Mount Veeder.

Nose is more impressive than the palate but the mouthfeel is insane here. Oak is present and maybe too in the forefront, similar to the Veeder, but is more in balance than the less expensive Veeder.

Fruit is more upfront here as well. Tannins are also less severe but certainly could get this puppy through till 2020 and beyond.

11/26/2015 - rustyRudy Likes this wine:

Blind Syrah tasting followed by retasting after being open for several hours. Big wine, filled with some red fruit, but more blueberry and dark fruit, black olive, cinnamon, and desperately needing the extra time to open up. Decant if you drink now. Was my favorite in the blind tasting.

11/6/2015 - tfharris Likes this wine:

Very young and needs some time in bottle. However, day 2, it had mellowed and was delicious. This is a great wine.

9/27/2015 - Cow Town wrote:

Corked. Ugh.

8/19/2015 - WineGuyFL Does not like this wine:

I bought 6 bottles of this late last year and have been watching the bifurcated reviews with interest. I had a glass of this wine at a dinner from a bottle brought by another guest to a party a few months back. That glass merited a rating of 93-95. The bottle I had tonight was syrup.....awful stuff. If the cause is my wine room, how do you explain that I opened a bottle of top cabernet a couple of nights ago, and it was terrific? That bottle has been in my wine room for years, not months. I have also had at least 3 other bottles of various reds over the past ten days from my wine room that have been up to expectations. Only one of those bottles have been in my wine room for less time that the bottle of Caymus I opened tonight. The source for my bottles is a reliable retailer from which I have purchased countless bottles without incident. I find it hard to blame their storage or shipping based on this past experience. I have had my share of wine that tired before the time forecast by the pro reviewers. I have had bad corks (in fact had one over the past couple of weeks with a French white Burgundy). I have kept a few bottles too long that were tiring when I drank them.......my fault. My experience tonight was none of the above.....what I drank was not really wine. I can conjure up a handful of explanations of how this all happened, but they all center on Caymus, storage of a large part of the production before shipment, and, possibly the transportation of a large part of the 2012 production. I do not believe the bad reviews come from people who mistreated the bottles, are bad reviewers, or just do not really like the style of cabernet associated with Caymus. I hope that Caymus is trying to understand what got off the rails here.

8/11/2015 - MatthewVino Does not like this wine:

Finally got to drink a bottle and I now understand the see-saw of opinions about this wine. Personally, I hated the wine, but I can see why some people love it! "artificial" would be the best word I can use to describe this wine. Felt like I was drinking a glass of Welchs grape juice mixed with root beer. Going to age my other bottle to see if somehow magic happens and it becomes worthy of it's anniversary tag.

5/8/2015 - napasoutherner Likes this wine:

This wine underperformed in my opinion. I know 2003 was a very hot vintage but the wine was almost an Amarone style wine. Deep, very hot, very grape-y, chewy, brooding wine. You could almost taste the texture of the grape skins in this wine. While other 2003 Pegau's were wonderful, this one wasn't as pleasing as I'd hoped. Opened for 30 minutes before drinking then after 1 hour after tasting it started to mellow out and take it's full stride.

3/14/2015 - Steve20 wrote:

Still very young and very good. Used aerator into a decanter a complex silky wine that could use a little more time in the bottle. But the prim rib said why wait.

1/27/2015 - Bam_Man Likes this wine:

Very pretty and aromatic, with gorgeous notes of spice, flowers and pine forest on the nose. Full-bodied and rich, but silky in texture. Big and chewy, offering a tangy mouthful of ripe cherry and strawberry fruit, with plenty of chocolate, oak and licorice on the long, mouth-puckering finish. A big, powerful Barolo that manages to display a surprising sense of elegance. Still needs a bit more time though for the tannins and oak to fully integrate. Paired very nicely with Kerry's pork ragu.
50+5+13+17+8=93

1/24/2015 - Sifu111 wrote:

Inky black. Nose dark wet earth, A heavy, volatile aroma that cleared with 1hr decanting. Palate has minimal fruit (black currant?) and cedar/woodsy. Great structure, powerful tannins, lovely balance. Long finish. Impressive.

1/12/2015 - jviz Likes this wine:

Best bottle I've had in a while. This has great depth and body. Long legs and a crimson rim. Just incredible concentration of fruit, but not so subtle notes of clove, vanilla, blackcurrant, cheese rind. Unreal QPR. 94+ and can see it getting 1-2 pts better once it settles down. At this point, I didn't find it as hot or syrupy as some described, but probably would still hold a while longer.

12/3/2014 - Decanting fool Does not like this wine:

Very aggressive big style warm weather Syrah with gobs of fruit and beastly animal. I don't like it at all. While it's clearly well made and will satisfy many, and at a very attractive QPR, I just find it too much of everything, and lacking restraint and elegance. The mineral quality which syrah requires for balance is just missing, or buried deep underneath the fruit which is brash and top heavy.

11/20/2014 - Hamersly wrote:

Sweet, pruney and simple with virtually no structure. I can't see this wine going anywhere positive, it just doesn't have the stuffing to evolve. A sad showing from this splendid winery. Parker's 96 rating is inexplicable and very worrisome. Tasted three times from three different cases over a five week period with consistent results.

11/12/2014 - Didman wrote:

Cork in perfect condition. The wine was all it should be. Was stored since release in my controlled cellar. Over the years I have had a lot of the '63s as it is our wedding year, as well as other vintages. We often have a glass of Port on cold winter evenings, living in the north woods. This is the most impressive Port among many in my recollection, although it is also our first of the '94 vintage to be opened. Very hard not to give this "100", but who knows, maybe some day something better will come along.

10/1/2014 - Normann Likes this wine:

A young but lovely wine. Understands that 2012 is a great year, and this does not disappoint. Fresh nose and taste of rich spices and black berries, good balanced, but maybe a little young. Goas very well with lamb with port wine sauce. Looking forward to the next bottle!

9/25/2014 - topher2411 wrote:

Delicious wine. This needs some air right now, but really opens up with dark blue fruit, stemmy notes, and pepper. Well balanced, slightly dry tannins. Medium long finish. Another great 2012 for Melville.

6/29/2014 - wineotim wrote:

I had to weigh in on this wine as it seems so many others on CT are giving it varying reviews.

Give this wine at least 30 minutes of air time. I agree with some who said this vintage does not have the tannic structure of previous vintages. On the other hand, to me it did not seem over the top on vanilla or coconut. The tannins and finish do feel relatively sweet, but It's still in the traditonal Caymus style/flavor profile. Drink sooner rather than later. This wine had only been in its bottle 6 weeks. Very enjoyable with a juicy steak.

6/27/2014 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine:

Magic in a bottle and an utterly compelling Pégaü. This 2003 Cuvée Réservée displays an array of the classical Grenache fruit with kirsch, raspberry, blackberry and sun warm strawberries. The nose is clean (quite impressing for this producer) and there is a secondary layer of cinnamon, the classical Asian spice box and tea leaves. The palate is stunning with perfect integration and subtle signs of maturity. Acidity is there as are the velvety tannins and a length on the finish which lasts for more than a minute. This is a profound wine and I wish all wines from this producer and appellation could show the same complexity, elegance and power. Yet, if all wines were this good we would get totally spoilt! (score is 98+)

Please note that the above tasting note is for the first bottling of this wine. According to my understanding, the second and third bottlings are not as good.

(Tasted in a flight with 2003 Domaine de la Mordorée Cuvée de la Reine des Bois, 2003 Domaine du Pégaü Cuvée Réservée, 2004 Malleolus Valderamiro and 2007 Château de Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin.)

6/21/2014 - Crunge wrote:

When I drink a Caymus, I usually know what to expect. Caymus is one of the in-your-face, oaky fruit bombs. There's nothing wrong with this style, and when you're in the mood for power over subtlety, Caymus is usually a safe choice.

For me, the 2012's fruit is hidden by oak at this point. On a pop and pour, the nose and flavor were all vanilla. I like vanilla and don't mind it in my wine as one of the flavors, but I don't care for it as the dominant flavor. Over the course of an hour, the vanilla changed to coconut. Strong, unpleasant coconut.

After a night sealed with a Vacu Vin, the vanilla had faded ever so slightly. It was still the dominant flavor, and fortunately the coconut didn't reappear.

There is an undercurrent of black cherries and plum, but the vanilla is far too strong at this point for my tastes. The rest of my bottles will sit for a year or more to see if it mellows out.

6/22/2014 - Yack Man Likes this wine:

As many have stated, you pretty much know what your are getting with Caymus, so..... If you don't like this style, don't drink it (no offense). I say, if you drink it now you should give it a long decant. There are certainly some very dominant quality / sensual aspects to this 2012 vintage, but I think it get better with some aging and the point score will ascend with time. 90 points for now.

5/12/2014 - HaraldS Does not like this wine:

Oh Boy; A disclaimer first of all, I do like structured wines where large fruit is balanced with acidity and finishes off with some substantial but well integrated tannins. So keep in mind, Caymus is not quite up my alley! However, I still like previous Caymus Cabs- they were typically fruit forward with a mellow mid palate but pretty balanced overall.
I usually don't post my tasting notes and never post such low scores. However, we had this at a wine tasting with 6 or 7 other people. It was totally out of balance. The smell of vanilla and cheese cake was overpowering. It tasted just like it smelled. None of us could get over the candy sweetness, vanilla taste and the utter lack of mid palate. Others called it over extracted, reeking of melolactic fermentation. Most of us poured the wine down the drain.
In short, this is more like a bad dessert wine. If you normally like Caymus, dont waste your money. If you have bought it, drink it soon, because it doesnt have enough acidity or tannins to make this an aging wine. Sorry!

1/11/2014 - Philippe_C wrote:

Black as ink, impenetrable, loads of black fruit, lead pencil, black characoal... loads, tons of silky tannins and black fruit, 60 seconds finish

8/24/2013 - sandwich Likes this wine:

Damn fine wine. Damn, damn fine. Sun ripened summer blackberry and a long, long, long, dusty finish. This damn fine wine is damn good. Silky, smooth, and damn fine.

7/20/2013 - spatchmo2 wrote:

Had this wine at a Grenache tasting. It didn't do well vs the competition but that's not to say its not an outstanding wine. Opened up nicely after 6 hours in decanter. Just the right amount of a funky barnyard like nose. Not overdone like in the case of the cayuse Grenache

7/5/2013 - Crunge wrote:

Much better than my previous bottle. This one had more depth to it. Still not heavy but a great summer red. It has an interesting mix of dark red fruit, sweet orange, and plenty of oak. A medium finish this time.

7/4/2013 - Eric wrote:

Mmmm, deep, bloody, plummy, spicy. Classic Pegau. Wild, gamey, screaming with white pepper, starting to open up and get ready to play. This is definitely a 2003 but a raging success for sure. All of the vintage challenges (lots of alcohol, very roasted and sweet) and yet all of the successes (deep, tannic, insanely spicy and pleasurable). This is Châteauneuf-du-Pape on steroids, but this one works oh so well.

6/23/2013 - Anonymous wrote:

Notes consistent with others -- out of the gate, it appeared more like a new world syrah than a CdP. With time, it started to open up and with some goat cheese even more -- still not tasting like a CdP (lack of true garrique profile) but became enjoyable.

6/8/2013 - conga523 wrote:

2nd bottle 6 months later and doesn't seem to have calmed down much at all. Very hot. This one needs a few years to mellow out

5/25/2013 - Crunge Likes this wine:

I clearly like this more than most people, but both bottles I've had have been excellent. On a PnP, the nose was a perfect balance of fruit, spice, and alcohol. Upon tasting, the wine is not at all a fruit bomb. The dark fruits are there but elegant. A bit of pepper underlies the fruit and makes it interesting. The alcohol is in perfect balance and the tannins are present without overwhelming. While I normally like more fruit (I'm a big fan of some Howell Mountain cabs), the balance and harmony of this wine really impress me. Not cheap, but something I truly enjoy.

3/23/2013 - ttzhaott wrote:

Opened 3hours earlier. Too much sense of animals! But not pleasant at all. 5 persons at table all don't like it. Half the bottle was undrinked. Decanted for one more day, and all the same. So we Opened it too early?