Caymus house spotlight
Endless Exploration, the official Wagner Family of Wine film on the family that created Caymus, from the 1972 founding into its continuing search across California vineyards.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2021 Caymus Vineyards Zinfandel California across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $34.83 and the average is $38.84. Our slash is $33.00.
2021 Caymus Vineyards Zinfandel California, USA
Chuck Wagner's small Zinfandel for Charlie Sr., cherry and cocoa in the generous Caymus style at thirty-three dollars.
Caymus is famous for Cabernet, but this 2021 California Zinfandel is the family bottle that honors co-founder Charlie Wagner Sr. Cherry, pomegranate, cocoa, and spice, now $33.
Caymus's family story, told through Zinfandel
Charlie Wagner Sr. loved Zinfandel with dinner. The family still bottles a small amount in that memory, in the same ripe, polished Caymus register as the Cabernets. Cherry, pomegranate, cocoa, and a rustic edge. This is the proof that a famous name can pour something personal.
The house
Charlie, Lorna, and Chuck Wagner founded Caymus in 1972. The winery is still family-owned. This Zinfandel is the small bottling for Charlie Sr.
The wine
California fruit, including Napa, Lake County, Suisun, Lodi, and Monterey. Hand-harvested, then 21 months in French oak.
The glass
Cherry and pomegranate, cocoa, vanilla, cedar, a soft entry that turns rustic through the middle. Ripe, not heavy.
The drinker
Serve slightly cool, 60 to 65 F. Lamb stew or smoked-paprika vegetarian chili.
Dark fruit, warm spice, and a rustic streak
This is not a lean Zinfandel. It is ripe and broad, with enough earth and lift to keep the fruit from reading simple.
A generous California Zinfandel year in the Caymus style: ripe berry, warm spice, and a finish that wants a plate.
Cherry and pomegranate lead, joined by cedar, nutmeg, vanilla bean, and a faint pencil-shaving note.
A soft entry turns more rustic through the middle. Ripe but not heavy, 14.8% ABV, 21 months French oak.
Long, textured, lightly oaked. Pour slightly cool and let the glass open while dinner comes to the table.
California fruit, shaped in the generous Caymus style
Caymus builds this Zinfandel the way the family builds Cabernet: ripe fruit first, then oak for spice and roundness. The 2021 draws from several California regions so the berry stays layered. Chuck Wagner's cellar still wants the plush entry Charlie Sr. liked with dinner.
The 2021 draws from celebrated growing areas that include Napa Valley, Lake County, Suisun Valley, Lodi, and Monterey County, combining warm-day ripeness with cooler-night freshness.
Older and newer blocks include crown-pruned and dry-farmed vines. Grapes were hand-harvested, fermented under controlled conditions, and matured for 21 months in French oak, adding cedar, vanilla, and nutmeg without burying the cherry core.
From a Rutherford family table to California Zinfandel
The bottle remembers the grape Charlie Wagner Sr. loved and the farming life that shaped Caymus.
The Wagner family's California wine story begins with Napa farming roots reaching back to the 1850s. In Rutherford, generations learned vineyards by working them.
In 1972, Charlie and Lorna Wagner joined their nineteen-year-old son, Chuck, to turn admired home wine into Caymus Vineyards. They named the winery for Rancho Caymus, the historic Mexican land grant that once included their property.
Zinfandel was a favorite of co-founder Charlie Wagner Sr., so this small bottling is more personal than a portfolio extension. The 2021 California release connects that family memory to the Wagners' continuing search across the state's vineyard regions.
Give the fruit something savory to lean against
Lamb, root vegetables, beans, and smoked paprika meet the wine where it lives: ripe fruit, earthy depth, and warm spice.
Two plates. One lamb stew. One smoked-paprika vegetarian chili.
Serve slightly cool, around 60 to 65 F. A brief rest in the glass is enough to bring the cherry, cedar, and spice forward.
Lamb Stew With Root Vegetables
Slow-cooked lamb and sweet roots echo the wine's earthy depth while giving its cherry fruit a rich, savory frame.
Why it works: Lamb handles the body. Carrots, turnips, and potatoes pick up ripe fruit and warm oak spice.
View Recipe for Lamb Stew With Root Vegetables (opens in a new tab)
Vegetarian Chili With Smoked Paprika
Beans, tomato, and smoked paprika make a generous pot that can take ripe Zinfandel without meat.
Why it works: Smoke and spice meet cocoa and cedar, while bean richness matches the rustic middle.
View Recipe for Vegetarian Chili With Smoked Paprika (opens in a new tab)Bring Caymus to the table in a different key
Charlie Sr.'s grape, Chuck Wagner's cellar, cherry and cocoa. Thirty-three dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the Caymus bottling that feels personal, generous, and ready to pour.
