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97 Points - Wine Enthusiast Magazine:
So delicious now, you can hardly keep your hands off it. Blackberry tart, ripe blueberry, cassis, milk chocolate, licorice and sweet, smoky cedar flavors flood the mouth, dramatically huge and memorable, and lasting long into the finish. The tannins are obvious, but sweetly ripe and soft. A brilliant evocation of Napa Cabernet, despite a high production level of nearly 30,000 cases, which is about the same size as a Bordeaux first growth. Shows the class and potency this bottling has exhibited for many years, and believe it or not, the price is a is a relative bargain these days. Drink now -2020. S.H.

93 Points - Wine Spectator Magazine:
"Temptingly rich and layered, with complex mocha, plum and wild berry fruit that’s spicy and aromatic. Full-bodied, gaining depth and turning ever more elegant and detailed, with tannins that give this traction. Drink now through 2019."—J.L. (Sept 2011)

98 Points - James Suckling (2008 vintage):
"This is mind-blowing on the nose with sweet tobacco, chocolate, cedar, cigar box, and licorice. Full-bodied and round with a bright and velvety tannin structure. Starts off slow, but then flies away. This is fabulous. Intense finish. Delicious today, but will be even better after 2013." - (June 15, 2011)

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2008 vintage):
"The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection is the first example of this cuvee to include Merlot (about 14%) in the blend. The Merlot component has given the wine a cocoa/chocolate nuance to its black currant, licorice-infused fruit. The tannins are velvety soft and the wine is beautifully textured and full-bodied. It is ideal for drinking now and over the next 15 years.

From one of Napa Valley’s historic winemaking families, these are two very strong back to back vintages for Caymus. The good thing about these two cuvees is that they are widely available as nearly 20,000 cases of each were produced." - Robert Parker (12/2010)

94 Points - Wine Spectator Magazine (2008 vintage):
"Beautifully crafted, rich, intense and powerful, yet supple, grace¬ful and polished, offering a generous core of spicy blackberry, black licorice, wild berry and light cedary notes. Full-bodied and expressive, this is both approachable now and sure to improve for several years. Drink now through 2020. From California."—J.L.

93 Points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (2008 vintage):
"Bright, full medium ruby.  Black raspberry, bitter chocolate and licorice on the nose.  Lush, sweet, concentrated and mouthfilling; not nearly as porty as the basic cabernet, with seamless dark fruit flavors showing more energy and depth than the regular bottling.  The finish is smoothly tannic, chocolatey and very long.  Like a liquid confection, even at this early stage:  this really saturates the mouth.  This is so sexy now that it's hard not to wonder whether the wine's potential flavor complexity has been compromised by its uncanny early sweetness.  But it certainly has the stuffing to age." - Stephen Tanzer (May/June '11)

92 Points - Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine (2008 vintage):
"In the full-blown style adopted by this wine some time ago, this newest version is rich, deep, full of concentrated black cherry and currant aromas and filled out at every stop by creamy, caramelly oakiness that might have been a bother if the fruit were not so very convincing. Full in body, fleshy in feel, viscous to the max on the palate, this wine is no shrinking violet, and while there will be those who find it somewhat over the top, it will be welcomed as a first-rate success by those who like a little heft in their wines. It is sure to reward years of cellaring."Reviewed: April 2011

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Wine Spectator Magazine: Napa's Top 50 Cabernets - Rank #1 Caymus Special Selection:
Vineyard Location: Napa Valley
Source: Blend
Average Score from 1990-2003: 94.6
Price: $136
Case Production: 9,800
Anchored by its Rutherford estate and one winemaker, Chuck Wagner. Rich with plum and cherry fruit. Price has hardly changed in 10 years.

"So who makes Napa's best Cabernets year in and year out?

Caymus Vineyards, whose Special Selection topped our list, has long been one of our favorite Napa producers. In 1987, Wine Spectator featured the wine on its cover and dubbed it, "The Best Damn Cabernet in California." The winery's owner at the time, Charlie Wagner, who passed away in 2002, didn't lay claim to that title, but he said he thought his Rutherford-grown Cabernets were Napa's most consistent.

Caymus' story includes many of the qualities that go into making great Cabernet. For years, the Special Selection and the regular estate-bottled Cabernet came from the winery's 70-acre vineyard in Rutherford. Since its first vintage, the wine has been made by the Wagner family, with the current owner and winemaker, Chuck Wagner, the chief architect. Randy Dunn was also part of the winemaking team for many years before leaving in the mid-1980s to start Dunn Vineyards.

Caymus has evolved over the years and has moved away from producing only estate-bottled wines. The regular bottling was made with purchased grapes beginning in the late 1980s, and for the past few vintages, the Special Selection has also included grapes grown elsewhere in the valley. That reflects Chuck Wagner's belief that he can make complex Cabernets by blending from different vineyards and appellations, rather than relying solely on his own vineyard. But Caymus grapes go into both wines and provide an anchor of quality and consistency. Of note, both the Caymus Special Selection and the regular Caymus are on our Top 50 list. The winery produced more than 43,000 cases total in 2003."