1987 Caymus Cabernet Napa

For readers lucky enough to find any, the dark ruby/purple-colored 1987 Cabernet Sauvignon offers an intensely fragrant, vanillin-scented, cedary, rich, curranty, sweet nose. The wine is expansively flavored, rich, medium to full-bodied, with soft tannins, admirable length, and a sense of balance. The style of this deliciously forward, round, tasty Cabernet might be fairly compared with Bordeaux's Pichon-Lalande. Drink it over the next 4-6 years. Few wineries in the world can boast such an enviable record of consistent excellence as that of Caymus. There is no doubting that Cabernet Sauvignon is King at Caymus. For nearly twenty years this winery has excelled at producing boldly-flavored, ripe, concentrated regular bottlings and lavishly-oaked, big, spicy, luxury-priced Special Selection offerings. The regular bottling went through a shaky period with the so-so years of 1988 and 1989, but based on barrel samples of the 1992 and 1991, Caymus has two winners for this reasonably-priced, rich, oaky, cassis-scented, medium to full-bodied, supple-textured wine.