Opened tonight with a dinner of roast lamb rib chops:

1998 Caymus Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
nose: a huge whack of cassis when first opened, followed by pencil lead,
cedar (increasing as it stayed open), chocolate and later soy sauce
palate: initially, a bit of a let down from the nose, medium body,
resolved tannins, good acidity, developing more cedar character with
time, good fruit

This was probably the last Caymus Cab I'll ever own, given the changes
in their winemaking and pricing. There was a time in the early-to-mid
'80s when I'd routinely buy their Estate Cab and I fondly remember a
visit to the winery when Charles Wagner sat imposingly behind the
counter pouring wines for this poor, intimidated 24-year-old
protooenophile. Fortuunately, the wine in question was neither too soft
nor too forward and so hearkened back to the monster wines of
yesteryear. My wife Jean was heard to remark "I'd forgotten how good
California Cabernet can be." I suspect that the less-favored year of '98
worked to our advantage wih this wine, keeping it from any hint of
overripeness or softness. While it will not displace the '79 from my
memory, I'll cherish the memories of this wine for all that it evoked in
my own memory.

Mark Lipton