Caymus Vineyards: The Wagner Family and Its Napa Cabernet

Caymus Vineyards is a family winery in Rutherford, Napa Valley, famous for rich, soft Cabernet Sauvignon and for Special Selection, its flagship bottling. The Wagner family opened it in 1972 with 240 cases and now runs a group of brands that sells far more. The Napa Valley Cabernet costs about $70 to $110 at regular US prices, and the 2020 Special Selection about $182 to $270. This guide covers the family, the wines, the style, what they cost and what critics have said.

Wine Blue Book is independent and has no affiliation with Caymus or the Wagner family.

The Wagner family story

The family’s own timeline starts long before the winery. These are its main dates:

Year	What happened, per Wagner Family of Wine
1906	Carl Wagner, an immigrant from Alsace, buys farmland in Rutherford
1915	The family builds a winery for bulk wine, later shut down by Prohibition
1934	Charlie Wagner marries Lorna Belle Glos, whose ancestors had made wine in Napa Valley since 1858
1941	Charlie and Lorna buy 73 acres near the family farm and plant orchards and wine grapes
1960s	Charlie replaces the orchards with vines, including Cabernet Sauvignon
1972	Charlie, Lorna and their son Chuck establish Caymus Vineyards
1975	Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon is introduced
1984	Chuck Wagner becomes director of all viticulture and winemaking

The name comes from Rancho Caymus, a 19th-century Mexican land grant. The winery’s website says the first release was 240 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon. Wine Spectator, in a November 2023 article, says the Wagner Family of Wines grew from 250 cases to more than a million cases a year.

Caymus describes itself as 100% family-owned and run, and says Charlie and Jenny Wagner, the next generation, now lead its farming and winemaking. That statement is from the winery’s site as we read it in November 2026.

The Caymus wines

The Caymus name appears on a small group of wines.

Wine	What the winery says	Appellation
Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon	Grown on low-fertility soils; “dark and concentrated,” with soft, fruit-driven character	Napa Valley
Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon	A smaller bottling of the best barrels, set aside each year	Napa Valley
Caymus California Cabernet Sauvignon	Introduced with the 2021 vintage, from sites across the state	California
Napa Valley Zinfandel	A limited bottling honoring Charlie Wagner Sr.	Napa Valley

Napa Valley Cabernet

This is the wine most people mean when they say “Caymus.” The winery’s description, as reproduced on Wine Library’s listing, says the grapes are farmed across Napa’s smaller areas from Coombsville to Calistoga. Valley-floor fruit brings lushness, it says, while hillside fruit gives the wine its backbone.

That makes it a blend of Napa districts rather than a single-site wine. Our Napa Valley wines guide explains those nested AVAs (American Viticultural Areas, the federal term for defined grape-growing regions). Calistoga is warm to hot according to Napa Valley Vintners, while Coombsville is moderated by San Pablo Bay.

The winery’s site labels the 2022 vintage as its 50th anniversary wine.

Special Selection

Special Selection is the wine that made Caymus famous. Wine Spectator named it Wine of the Year in 1989 and again in 1994, for the 1984 and 1990 vintages. The family’s timeline says it remains the only wine to win that award twice. In our view, that record explains much of the wine’s price and its reputation among collectors.

California Cabernet

The newest bottling takes a wider view. According to the winery, its fruit comes from sites ranging from Paso Robles to less-known areas in Lake, San Benito and Monterey counties. Caymus calls it drinkable on release or with age. We’d treat it as a way to try the house style at a lower price than the Napa wine, though we could confirm a current price at only one store, so we don’t quote one.

The Caymus style

Published descriptions suggest Caymus sits at the soft, ripe end of that range:

• The winery describes a dark color, rich fruit and ripe tannins, approachable when young or mature.
• Wine Enthusiast’s Virginie Boone, reviewing the 2014 Napa Cabernet, found it “slightly confected,” with vanilla and cherry flavors she said would please fans of a luxurious style.
• The same reviewer described the 2014 Special Selection as powerful and full-bodied, with big tannins, mild acidity and notes of chocolate and caramel.

Alcohol is on the high side: Wine Enthusiast lists 14.8% for the 2014 Napa Cabernet and 15.2% for the 2014 Special Selection. For comparison, Wine Folly gives 13.5% to 15% as the usual range for Cabernet. Vintages differ, so check the label on your bottle.

We found no residual sugar figure from Caymus. In our view, this is a wine for people who like plush, ripe Cabernet. If you prefer leaner, more savory reds, it may not be your style. Vanilla is a flavor often linked with oak, as our wine barrels guide explains.

What Caymus costs

We checked US retailers in November 2026. These are regular, non-sale prices for 750 ml bottles, counting only listings that state the vintage:

Wine	Regular price	Store
Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet 2023	$69.99	Binny’s
Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet 2023	$95.99	Millesima USA
Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet 2023	$109.95	BuyWinesOnline
Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet 2023	$109.95	Wine On Sale
Special Selection 2020	$181.95	Wine On Sale
Special Selection 2020	$225.00	Binny’s
Special Selection 2020	$225.95	Mid Valley Wine & Liquor
Special Selection 2020	$269.95	BuyWinesOnline

Prices vary by state and store, so treat these as a guide. In our view, the wide gaps make it worth comparing a few stores before you buy either wine.

What critics have said

We could open two Wine Enthusiast reviews, both of older wines:

• Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 (Napa Valley): 90 points on a 100-point scale, December 2017 issue, reviewed at $72.
• Caymus Special Selection 2014 (Napa Valley): 90 points, December 2017 issue, reviewed at $180.

Retailers quote other scores for recent vintages, but the reviews behind them sit behind subscriptions and we couldn’t open them, so we don’t repeat those numbers here. We also give no Blue Book Value verdict for any Caymus wine, because we have no opened review for a current release. Our how we rate wine page explains the rule.

If price is your main concern, our list of the best Cabernet Sauvignon under $20 is a better starting point.

How to read the label

• “Napa Valley”: this is an AVA, so under Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) rules at least 85% of the wine must come from grapes grown within it.
• “California”: a much broader appellation. The Caymus California Cabernet is a different wine from the Napa bottling, so check the label before you buy.
• “Special Selection”: the winery’s own name for its selected barrels.

Visiting Caymus

The winery is at 8700 Conn Creek Road in Rutherford. Its website, as read in November 2026, lists by-the-glass tasting from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and seated tastings by appointment. Seated tastings run about 1.5 hours and cost $50 per person, and they need a reservation. Check the site before you go, since details change.

We’d book the seated tasting if you’re planning a day in Rutherford, then fill the rest of it with other stops using the visiting tips in our Napa guide.

Other Wagner family wines

The family’s portfolio also includes Conundrum, Mer Soleil, Emmolo, Red Schooner, Sea Sun, Bonanza and Caymus-Suisun, a newer winery in California’s Suisun Valley. Each has its own style and price.

Joe Wagner, Chuck’s son, developed that Pinot Noir brand while he was a winemaker at Caymus, but Wine Spectator reported in 2015 that he was selling it to Constellation Brands, and Constellation said in June 2025 that it had sold Meiomi to The Wine Group. It isn’t part of the Wagner Family of Wine group’s list of brands.

Wine is for adults of legal drinking age (21 in the US). Please drink responsibly.