Finally got around to tasting the Caymus. The packaging put me off SO BAD, I resisted for years. Easily one of the densest, darkest impenetrable thick black Pinot Noirs I have ever seen. Just black and thick beyond belief. The black and thick carries into the nose, too–a sinus-clogging blast of deep concentrated ripe black cherry, broken woody stems, roasted spices, oak and alcohol.
The entrance blasts you with more massive ripe fruit, glycerin and ample oak. This would be the world’s most perfect Syrah if not for the sweet breath of pure flowery Pinot fruit which washes over the tongue and slowly fades into the sweet finish of soft tannins. The only thing more ostentatious than the packaging is the contents. Wait: the packaging still wins.
I see where Caymus is going with this, and if plonk like this converts JUST ONE MORE Pinot-freak to the fold by tasting something like this and going, “Wow, I really like Pinot!” and then going out and progressing to REAL Pinots, then it has done its job. Fat and ripe and sweet and gaudy and just enough vague liner-notes on the label to make the Wine Country Lifestyle crowd think they are intimately attached to the wine-making process.
2012 BELLE GLOS Pinot Noir Las Alturas Santa Lucia Highlands 14.7
Stephen McConnell 