“He who hesitates is a damned fool.” - Mae West

Certified FACTS, Mae!

Hesitate and you might miss this one. After all, we’re talking about CAYMUS!

Everybody knows Caymus is the poster boy for the IPOB (in pursuit of balance) crowd. Thin slumgullion wines, with lightweight fruit and delicacy…

KIDDING, of course.

They lead the IPOP (in pursuit of POWER) movement - for those who want UNRESTRAINED fruit - throbbing pleasure bombs.

And that’s sort of what you have here.

Combine Zinfandel & Petite Sirah and normally you get a hair-raising slugfest of ripeness and hedonistic displays of fruit debauchery. If you like The Prisoner or other similarly styled blends, you’ll surely go mental for this youthful pioneer.

James Laube for Wine Spectator saw it coming: “Suisun Valley is a 30-minute drive east from Napa Valley. For vintner Chuck Wagner it is a new frontier to conquer and a pleasant reminder of the past and the freedoms his native Napa Valley once possessed… At the valley’s northern end, the climate simmers like a summer day in Calistoga. To the south, the feel is reminiscent of breezy Carneros, sitting on the bank of the Sacramento River. The owner of Caymus Vineyards, one of Napa’s bedrock Cabernet houses, is embracing Suisun in a big way.”

Chucks Wagner’s daughter, and heiress to the Caymus throne, Jenny Wagner put some finesse on this one. It’s actually… restrained. Well, relatively. It’s like a tactical warhead, not a full-blown “Tsar Bomba”. It packs enough power but doesn’t go full tilt into the jammy, syrupy mess.

It packs a core of deep, dense, and luxuriously warm red fruits but also comes with a complete ensemble of supporting notes. A strong undertow of cherry cola and raspberry coulis, plus purple Damson plums, sweet spices, cigar box, and some Madagascar vanilla pulls you out and there’s no coming back once you crack it open. It’s all held together by a lavish blend of American and French oak, along with lively, juicy acidity that makes it all the more mouthwatering. A wine to drink with utter abandon!

And the name? It comes from her great-great-grandfather Johannes Glos who arrived in Napa Valley in the 1800s. He earned the nickname “The Walking Fool” for his good-natured personality and easy grin as he walked down into the Valley from his homestead on Howell Mountain.

We stacked a lot of cases in the warehouse but they’re going to FLY outa here.