Caymus The Walking Fool Red Blend 2019

With the birth of Caymus, Meomi, Quilt and others, the newest generation of Wagners has helped a small empire become a much larger more diverse and formidable empire with Charlie and Jenny even launching their own major brands that have enjoyed incredible success beyond Napa Valley. With Belle Glos, Elouan, and Mer Soleil as proofs of concept, the entire family began sussing out additional land just beyond Napa’s borders.

To the southeast, they discovered the Suisun Valley – a tiny AVA just ⅙ the size of Napa that boasts ample sun to pair with its soils which can be slightly richer than Napa’s, making it the ideal pairing for big red grapes like Cabernet, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. Still mainly family farmed but with similar weather, it very much has the feel that Napa Valley did back in the 60’s.

They locked in, made their plans and got to work. In early 2022, the Caymus’ forward thinking venture into the Suisun Valley will commence with the grand opening of a new state of the art winery right in the heart of the tiny AVA.

Until then, I’ve got a small allocation (pre-release) of the inaugural vintage of what will likely be the new estate’s flagship wine – The Walking Fool. It’s an homage to Chuck’s grandfather, who in the late 1800’s would walk the five miles from the family’s homestead up on Howell Mountain down into the valley for work. Just like Belle Glos, this homage to the generations before it looks to be a big, big hit.