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My wife and I have birthdays two weeks apart, and we always try to have a wine from our birth year at one of our birthday meals. This year we had a 1980 Caymus Cab from the halcyon days when Randy Dunn was the winemaker. It is the era that put Caymus on the map.

Notes

13% alcohol. (It was a different time)

Nose: Cherries, old wine (iykyn), black tea and a touch of forest floor

Really tight, took and hour+ to open up

High acidity

Primary flavors: Bright and tart without being jucy, pomegranates and cherries

Mid-palate: there is some funk and some vague warm spices… Maybe allspice or a hint of clove.

Finish:A little dusty on the back end with some floral/potpourri notes

It presents more like a Bordeaux than a modern Napa Cab.

At the end of the day it has held up amazingly well. I think the biggest surprise is the lack of leather, tobacco, and dried/stewed fruit notes.

8.5/10. I would definitely drink again.

by wine-and-watches

8 Comments

  1. Ahhh back when Caymus actually made wine and not fruit juice. Bet it’s smokin good. ’92 special selection was one of the first wines that gave me the wine bug. It’s a shame whar the winery has become.

  2. bluegillbill

    ‘80 Camus was my first case purchase. I still have a couple bottles left, actually.

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