Rutherford · Napa Valley · The Heart of California Cabernet

There Is No Substitute for the Right Piece of Earth.

Why Rutherford produces Cabernet Sauvignon that no other place on earth can replicate

Rutherford sits at the very heart of Napa Valley — and within it, Caymus sits at the very heart of Rutherford. This is not a coincidence the Wagners stumbled into. It is the result of four generations choosing to stay in a place they understood, farming soil they had learned at the level that only time and devotion can teach. The Rutherford bench is defined by its deep, well-drained alluvial soils — gravelly loam over volcanic subsoil — that drain quickly after rain, concentrate heat during the day and release it gently through cool nights. The result is a growing environment of rare precision: long, warm growing seasons that ripen Cabernet fully, without the heat stress that produces jammy, overblown fruit.

Caymus farms both the valley floor and the surrounding mountain soils, selecting low-fertility ground that forces the vine to reach deep, produce less and deliver more. High-density planting — some blocks as close as metre by metre — limits each vine's yield and pushes every cluster toward greater intensity. This is the ground that gives Caymus Cabernet its particular character: dark, concentrated, rich with ripe fruit — and yet structured, complete and built to age. Rutherford made it possible. The Wagners made it exceptional.