Bonanza Lot 5 Cabernet Sauvignon California

A couple of days ago I was touching base with Charlie Wagner & Co. to make sure we had enough Caymus on order (a challenge in and of itself these days) to get us through the Spring. I was lamenting my recent challenges and expecting mutual commiseration, when Charlie simply replied – “Dad’s got a Cabernet close to that price, I’m sure he’d be willing to work something out for you, Nicholas.”

When the samples arrived, I was shocked by the quality of what’s in the bottle. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a wine that is dead center in the style of Caymus and Quilt, etc… so if you like your Cabernets lean, look elsewhere. BUT if you’re a fan of big, plump, Cali Cab with muscle, you’ve just found your fave.

The story is pretty interesting. Chuck has been hunting Cabernet sources for over 50 vintages now and has a short list of extremely interesting and high quality vineyards that are a bit off the beaten pack. Here he’s taken a master blender’s approach – deftly mixing sources and then running them through the Caymus winemaking machine – somehow, defying the odds with a big, bold Cabernet (that with our special pricing) clocks in under twenty bucks.