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You Voted This Wine the 'Most Overrated' - So I Tasted It Blind
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You Voted This Wine the ‘Most Overrated’ – So I Tasted It Blind

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In this video I blind taste the most overrated wine – as voted by you – Caymus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

**WINES TASTED IN THIS VIDEO:
🍷 2021 Ridge Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/ridge+estate+cab+sauv+santa+cruz+mnt+st+francisco+bay+central+coast+california+usa

🍷 2021 J. Lohr Estates Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/j+lohr+estate+seven+oak+cab+sauv+paso+robles+st+luis+obispo+county+central+coast+california+usa/

🍷 2017 Grgich Hills Estate Yountville Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/grgich+hill+estate+old+vines+cab+sauv+yountville+napa+valley+county+north+coast+california+usa/

🍷 2022 Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/caymus+cab+sauv+napa+valley+county+north+coast+california+usa/

🍷 2018 Beaulieu Vineyard BV Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/beaulieu+bv+cab+sauv+napa+valley+county+north+coast+california+usa//

**LET’S CONNECT:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blancdenoir/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blancdenoir
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nosediment

**CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO:
0:00 Tasting The Most Overrated Wine According to My Viewers
2:52 The Tasting
16:21 The Reveal

#winetasting #wineeducation #wine

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

48 Comments

  1. @grantspencer

    I work at a tasting room in Napa, and we're a neighbors to of 3 of your blind tastes. I knew right away that #4 was Caymus…. it was almost too obvious. Over the years the Caymus brand has focused on a specific American demographic: buyers in the southern states. Almost specifically, Texas, where there are large incomes from the oil industry, BBQ food is commonplace, and the weather is hot & humid. In my opinion, there are much better wines at better prices within 1/2 miles of Caymus, but their client base is truly loyal, and it fits that type of palate πŸ™‚

  3. @pdxwino

    Excellent, excellent video! The other Wagner brand for Pinot Noir (Belle Glos) has the same reputation as the Caymus. The bigger problem are the California rules, allowing mandating only 75% of the varietal on the label to be in the bottle. Here in Oregon it is 90%.

  5. @skandarc2810

    Thank you for this wonderful and entertaining video. I 100% agree with you and your viewers about Caymus. I remember being seriously disappointed a few years back when my sister and I had tried a bottle of it finally. Not BAD, but definitely not worth the price. What’s funny is that I’ve never tried the J. Lohr cab before and I’ve seen it, even at the 7-11 convenience store and for some reason, never picked up a bottle. And if I have tried it, I was too drunk to remember lol. Thanks again for the new wine knowledge, gonna try some of those other bottles too! Cheers

  6. @PaulEHill928

    I haven't even gotten to #5 or the reveal yet and know Caymus is the #4. It wasn't always that way. Been selling wine since the late 80s. The first caymus I had was the '84 (both the Napa – for $11.99 and Special Selection) and most vintages for a couple decades and they were great wines for a while. The residual sugar and price is nuts on both counts now. Sadly Mike Grgich passed in Dec 2023at 100 years old. The vines for the Yountville OV cab were planted in 1959, so were 58 years old for your cab.

  7. @hottuna2006

    Caymus changed some time in the early 2000's. Pre-2000 Caymus were well made and tasted more like Bordeaux wines. I've had some from the 80s and 90s and although I'm sure the aging helped, they were really lovely wines. I wish you would have tried the Caymus Special Selection. I've heard they are completely different from the regular cuvee and are well made. I have not tried them.

  8. @daliborpozar189

    I think you should try and taste some wines from Serbia and Croatia like Kozlovic Malvazija or Erdevik's winery Stiffer's mom and Omnibus lector πŸ˜„

  11. @MrRufusRToyota

    Almost all California wines are produced like Coca-Cola. The overriding concern is merely to maintain a consistent taste profile. They are, from planting to harvest to fermentation to bottling and sale, designed to be consumer beverages. They are products of the marketing department.

  14. @WineWorldTV

    Caymus clocks in at 10 g/L of β€œRS.” So, yeah, it’s sweeter than the others. It appeals to the American palate for sure.

  16. @peterlue9274

    Watching your teeth change colour is making me want to drink all my Cab Sauv in private and Pinot Noir in public. I do love your videos <3

  17. @Txwhitacre

    I can see the wine label through the bag. So I know you could. Hard to image this was truly unbiased. That said I’m not a cab fan anyway.

  18. @Psoals

    I don't know if you can find it where you are, but Lewelling Vineyards makes a stunning Napa Cabernet On any given year somewhere around 10% of the grapes in Caymus Napa come from their ranch. The wine Lewelling makes is much more representative of the best of St. Helena.

  20. @Cdnprairieboy68

    An overpriced wine (which used to be good) is the Prisoner. Since Dave Phinney sold it to a big producer (Gallo wines, I think). It has gone downhill big time!

  22. @navarra4

    This was a really fun video

    I love blind tastings it reveals the truth, but unfortunately, when I looked at the rest of your videos, you don’t do many of these I think you should do this on a more regular basis
    For example, opus one is always last in blind tastings, but cost a lot and his overhyped

  24. @dangareau3143

    You hit the nail right on the head from the very beginning. These wines (caymus) are not β€œbad” wines but come on let’s be honest caymus is not the only one out there gouging prices. There’s ALOT of Bordeaux and Burgundy out there guilty of the same and EXTREMELY overrated price wise. Not all together bad wine but way too over hyped. Great video/tasting as always. You’re the best!! Cheers!!

  26. @smacfe

    Considering Caymus and Silver Oak are from Napa and cost about the same, there is no excuse for Caymus to be so inferior to the Silver Oak. That being said there are a number of truly outstanding cabs for substantially less money than either. For me the whole fun of the hobby is discovering those value wines.

  27. @dkk4751

    Thanks for your very enjoyable videos and knowledge. I am a big fan of Caymus and I must admit that I do not enjoy the regular Caymus Cabernet as much as did in the past.
    However, I think it is a little unfair to compare the Grgich cabernet at $250 , one of their premium wines with the $78 Caymus (what I normally pay here in CA) which is at the bottom of Caymus cabernet wines. Maybe you can do a head to head tasting of the Grgich cabernet and the Caymus Special Selection wine.
    Keep up the good work, really very pleasant and relaxing to see your videos, tastings and recommendations.

  28. @andrewmitchell7483

    J.Lohr is generally disappointing wine. Red juice with limited nuance IMO. May as well buy Apothic or some other high ABV red juice. For the J.Lohr price, there’s better wines from other countries

  29. @ccyccyccy20001

    oh, I thought the Caymus Vineyard has sth to do with Mayacaymas Vineyards or mayacaymas the place. Turns out it is actually from Rutherford.

  30. @TedMandesSr

    Clearly stating the obvious. I have been collecting and tasting since 1970. Unfortunately this wine has gone backwards. The farming has improved tremendously and therefore so have the wines from all over the world. The Coca Cola remark is a bit elitist.

  33. @philliplee5822

    The Caymus 50 is not a good representation of the vineyard. I do however, agree with your assessments. Great job!!!!!

  34. @pme1691

    Blah, I've never had a Grgich that I didn't think was utterly mediocre. I really don't get what people see in that vine.

  35. @jeffbrassard1268

    Americans (I am one) pay way too much for wine, especially in restaurants where the mark up can be 2-3 times cost. I live near Nashville and it is difficult to get a decent bottle of wine for less than $80. When I am in Europe (France, Italy, Spain or Belgium) it is easy to get great wines in a restaurant for half this amount and there is no tip required! Americans need to stop paying stupid wine prices.

  36. @DrDaveB

    As a Californian, there are so many wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon options. Caymas is usually fairly decent, however, the 50 year anniversary release was disappointing. I’m not surprised that it came in last in your tasting. Unfortunately, I have been spoiled by their higher end, reserve releases.

  37. @jimaguilar4028

    I’ve never been disappointed with Caymus Special Select from any year. The Regular Cab has varied in quality each year, but never bad.

  38. @jamesdangg

    Thanks Agnese, in your other video bv cab sauvignon has 93 point, but vintage 2019, what is the different compare to 2018 vintage ? It seem like you like 2019 a bit more.

  40. @peterdenhartog8757

    Great video with an very exciting line up with famous names. I know all these wines and never had this 'sweetness' associated with Caymus, but now I will obviously pay attention. I do think Caymus is easy accessible for the general public, which maybe causes the problem is more wine enthusiasts taste it and are disappointed. I think I have all bottles except for the Lohr in my celler and might redo the tasting with some of my wine friends to discover if we come to the same conclusion. Thanks again and keep up the lovely content. Peter

  42. @dannoble8662

    Just starting to watch this video, but just to make folks aware of the great price reset on Caymus Napa Cabernet. Pre-1997 or 1998, the Caymus Napa Cab was a very respectable $25 or $30 bottle of wine. Back in 1997 or 1998, Wine Spectator voted the Napa Cab as β€œWine of the Year”. This occurred pre-release of that years vintage. It also coincided with Caymus deciding the crop was not of a quality to produce a Caymus Special Selection Cab, so none of that was produced that year, and the Special Selection grapes were mixed in with the Napa cab blend. Now, fair to say, the Special Selection grapes were of a somewhat higher quality than the regular Napa grapes, raising significantly the quality of the Napa Cab of that year. The Wine Spectator tasted and judged the Caymus Napa Cab as wine of the year, fully a month or more prior to when the wine was released to the public. In the Wine of the Year issue, the Napa Cab price was listed at $25 or $35/bottle. Given the WS hype, once released, I don’t believe a single bottle was sold to retail at that price. It was more like $75 or $80 in the Canadian market. Next year, when the Napa Cab reverted to the usual blend of grapes, and the Special Selection was also released, the Napa Cab price stayed ~$75-$80/bottle, and the Special Selection was repriced to more like $150/bottle. IMO, The Caymus Napa Cab was historically (early -mid-1990’s) similar to a Beringer Knights Valley in quality and sold at a similar price to the Knights Valley. Today,it remains a similar quality to a $40 decently made California Cab. But is nothing special. For full disclosure, prior to this event, I had a dozen bottles in my cellar from 1990 to 1995 years in my modest collection because I truly thought it was really great value. I have not purchased a bottle of Caymus Napa or SS since.

  43. @982spyder5

    I'm always amused by the "earthiness" of Euro wines. No one ever calls a spade a shovel though, … it tastes of manure until it fully opens.
    Your mileage may vary.

  45. @jonathangelderman5714

    From your descriptions when drinking I knew immediately which one was Caymus because you nailed it. I have always said it is over sugared to cover up all of its faults and appeal to the masses and I do not know how so many people get fooled into thinking its price is justifiable. All I can think of is those people want to appear like wine connoisseurs because they have a lot of money. Sorry, but that's my opinion. Also buy my own grapes from the exact same vineyard Chuck Wagner gets his from, and I could tell you those grapes are capable of making a much better wine than caymus. The amount of filler they must put in there. Plus sugar is unbelievable.

  47. @MG-iu9yj

    Great tasting and your descriptions are amazing. None of these wines bar one are worth the money, just totally over priced , if these wines are not priced over the top then the β€œmarket” wouldn’t take them seriously, this goes for a lot of Bordeaux by the way in my opinion

  48. @astcal

    I live close to Napa Valley in the Bay Area. I tried Caymus and tried very hard to like it, but I simply gave up. It's a shame!

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