Aging Cain Five Wines

Many people ask, “How long should I hold onto the wine before I drink it?” While there is no definitive answer, here are our suggestions for the aging potential for all releases of Cain Five.

1985 This was our first vintage, and a great one to start with. Amazingly dense, with aromas of ripe fruit, this wine is now fully mature, round, soft and silky, and it flows to an elegant finish. To enjoy now!

1986 More Bordeaux-like in style, the 1986 Cain Five has developed slowly and may still have a way to go. It has notes of tobacco, cedar, and black currants with a hint of mint. Very good today.

1987 A round, ripe vintage, this wine has tasted great from the start, and it is still wonderful today. Black cherries, tobacco, and green peppers are some of the notes you'll find in this wine. This wine seems to be peaking. It might be good for a while yet, but it is so good today, why wait?

1988 No Cain Five was made in this year.

1989 No Cain Five was made in this year.

1990 Our first wholly estate harvest, 1990 was a warm year associated with low yields, giving an extremely concentrated, ripe, soft, and rich wine. Aromas of truffles, cigar leaf, and cocoa make this wine unique among all the Cain Fives. Because of exceptional maturity, the wine has always been luscious and soft. Now, with substantial bottle age, it seems to be ready to drink—and, with all of it's stuffing, it should hold for several years still.

1991 This classic Cain Five is somewhat Bordeaux-like in style. Definitely, the cooler harvest has given us a wine that is aging slowly but gracefully. The 1991 has complex fruit and floral aromas built on an elegant, firm structure. This is a wine for connoisseurs. Just beginning to drink well, it has a long future ahead of it.

1992
A warm year, 1992 gave us a wine of moderate depth that is round and smooth. This Cain Five is drinking among the best of any vintage at this time. The tannins have softened, and a mature bottle bouquet of plums, cedar, and tobacco is just opening up.

Bottle age will change and, up to a point, soften the '92 and especially the '91 Cain Five. Both have a lot of life ahead. Try the '91 between 1996 and 2005, and the '92 between 1996 and 2002

1993 The rather hot summer gave us a small yield of an intriguing and aromatically complex wine. The structure seems a little bit “tight” or closed in at this time. It's probably best to wait and let the wine soften and open out in the next few years. Will evolve slowly, with a 5–10 year window (1998–2008).

Six Vintages of Cain Five:
Updated October 2006 Tasting Notes compiled by Francois Bugué and Chris Howell

1994 A classic year for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 1994 gave us deep, complex wines from our own vineyard with which to compose our blend for Cain Five. Along with the 1991 (not offered at this time), the 1994 has been the slowest to come around, and it is perhaps the Cain Five with the greatest potential for aging. It’s a complex wine that is slow to give itself up: one needs patience—at the table, you need hours; in the cellar, you can easily give it another decade, if you have the staying power.

1995 This very complex Cain Five shows the benefits of aging. The beguiling nose and silky entry can be had only with this much bottle age, and sometimes ten years is not enough. Here, faded roses combine with leather and tobacco to become the definition of bottle bouquet. This bouquet, layered upon the sweet, fine, delicate palate, creates a quintessential “old wine” moment. (Drink it now or within five years.)

1996 The 1996 Cain Five has just been coming around in the past year. We’re beginning to see it relax and display its “Peacock’s Tail” bouquet, which is the signature of a nicely aged bottle. Like the 1995, you can see that an old wine is not “all about the fruit.” The wine has become infinitely more subtle and more complex. If you drink the wine now, give it time to open up. If not, you can still easily wait another five years or more.

1997 Like the most popular girl in school, this wine seems always to have been everyone’s favorite. From another classic year for the Napa Valley, the 1997 Cain Five has been delicious from the start, leading one to believe that it might fade early. In fact, after nearly ten years, it hasn’t—the wine is just beginning to show signs of some age polishing off the edges, while the sweet mid-palate carries through to a nice finish. Some popular girls grew up to become very nice people. (Drink it now or anytime in the next ten years)

1998
This year was k nown as a “difficult” vintage because harvest began late and was cut short by a cold, rainy October. 1998 was our chance to demonstrate both the quality of the vineyards with which we’re working and our commitment to quality. Obviously, we used only fruit that was truly ripe, and we may have bent over backwards to create a wine that was bigger and more concentrated than one would expect from this vintage. The result was a Cain Five that has been slow to come around, but just in the past year, has been drinking beautifully. (Drink it now or in the next five years)

1999 This was a relatively cool and late year overall. Nonetheless, for us the best fruit came in before October 27, when a hard rain marked the end of the warm fall weather. The 1999 Cain Five is a nicely structured and balanced wine exhibiting the signature Cain Five aromatic notes: exotic spices, Douglas-fir, citrus, and complex herbs. The 1999 is not only the youngest in the Cain Five series, it is also clearly the most youthful and the wine with the longest future ahead. Give it a few more years, and it will evolve in the direction of the delicious 1995.

These wines change markedly in the first couple of years. Even six months can make a noticeable difference.

Ultimately, the changes due to bottle age result in a loss of bouquet and midpalate fullness, leaving only a residual drying sensation on the finish. At that point, the wine is over the hill.

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Many people ask, “How long should I hold onto the wine before I drink it?” While there is no definitive answer, here are our suggestions for the aging potential for all releases of Cain Five.
1985	This was our first vintage, and a great one to start with. Amazingly dense, with aromas of ripe fruit, this wine is now fully mature, round, soft and silky, and it flows to an elegant finish. To enjoy now!
1986	More Bordeaux-like in style, the 1986 Cain Five has developed slowly and may still have a way to go. It has notes of tobacco, cedar, and black currants with a hint of mint. Very good today.
1987	A round, ripe vintage, this wine has tasted great from the start, and it is still wonderful today. Black cherries, tobacco, and green peppers are some of the notes you'll find in this wine. This wine seems to be peaking. It might be good for a while yet, but it is so good today, why wait?
1988	No Cain Five was made in this year.
1989	No Cain Five was made in this year.
1990	Our first wholly estate harvest, 1990 was a warm year associated with low yields, giving an extremely concentrated, ripe, soft, and rich wine. Aromas of truffles, cigar leaf, and cocoa make this wine unique among all the Cain Fives. Because of exceptional maturity, the wine has always been luscious and soft. Now, with substantial bottle age, it seems to be ready to drink—and, with all of it's stuffing, it should hold for several years still.
1991	This classic Cain Five is somewhat Bordeaux-like in style. Definitely, the cooler harvest has given us a wine that is aging slowly but gracefully. The 1991 has complex fruit and floral aromas built on an elegant, firm structure. This is a wine for connoisseurs. Just beginning to drink well, it has a long future ahead of it.
1992	A warm year, 1992 gave us a wine of moderate depth that is round and smooth. This Cain Five is drinking among the best of any vintage at this time. The tannins have softened, and a mature bottle bouquet of plums, cedar, and tobacco is just opening up. Bottle age will change and, up to a point, soften the '92 and especially the '91 Cain Five. Both have a lot of life ahead. Try the '91 between 1996 and 2005, and the '92 between 1996 and 2002
1993	The rather hot summer gave us a small yield of an intriguing and aromatically complex wine. The structure seems a little bit “tight” or closed in at this time. It's probably best to wait and let the wine soften and open out in the next few years. Will evolve slowly, with a 5–10 year window (1998–2008).
Six Vintages of Cain Five: Updated October 2006 Tasting Notes compiled by Francois Bugué and Chris Howell
1994	A classic year for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 1994 gave us deep, complex wines from our own vineyard with which to compose our blend for Cain Five. Along with the 1991 (not offered at this time), the 1994 has been the slowest to come around, and it is perhaps the Cain Five with the greatest potential for aging. It’s a complex wine that is slow to give itself up: one needs patience—at the table, you need hours; in the cellar, you can easily give it another decade, if you have the staying power.
1995	This very complex Cain Five shows the benefits of aging. The beguiling nose and silky entry can be had only with this much bottle age, and sometimes ten years is not enough. Here, faded roses combine with leather and tobacco to become the definition of bottle bouquet. This bouquet, layered upon the sweet, fine, delicate palate, creates a quintessential “old wine” moment. (Drink it now or within five years.)
1996	The 1996 Cain Five has just been coming around in the past year. We’re beginning to see it relax and display its “Peacock’s Tail” bouquet, which is the signature of a nicely aged bottle. Like the 1995, you can see that an old wine is not “all about the fruit.” The wine has become infinitely more subtle and more complex. If you drink the wine now, give it time to open up. If not, you can still easily wait another five years or more.
1997	Like the most popular girl in school, this wine seems always to have been everyone’s favorite. From another classic year for the Napa Valley, the 1997 Cain Five has been delicious from the start, leading one to believe that it might fade early. In fact, after nearly ten years, it hasn’t—the wine is just beginning to show signs of some age polishing off the edges, while the sweet mid-palate carries through to a nice finish. Some popular girls grew up to become very nice people. (Drink it now or anytime in the next ten years)
1998	This year was k nown as a “difficult” vintage because harvest began late and was cut short by a cold, rainy October. 1998 was our chance to demonstrate both the quality of the vineyards with which we’re working and our commitment to quality. Obviously, we used only fruit that was truly ripe, and we may have bent over backwards to create a wine that was bigger and more concentrated than one would expect from this vintage. The result was a Cain Five that has been slow to come around, but just in the past year, has been drinking beautifully. (Drink it now or in the next five years)
1999	This was a relatively cool and late year overall. Nonetheless, for us the best fruit came in before October 27, when a hard rain marked the end of the warm fall weather. The 1999 Cain Five is a nicely structured and balanced wine exhibiting the signature Cain Five aromatic notes: exotic spices, Douglas-fir, citrus, and complex herbs. The 1999 is not only the youngest in the Cain Five series, it is also clearly the most youthful and the wine with the longest future ahead. Give it a few more years, and it will evolve in the direction of the delicious 1995.
These wines change markedly in the first couple of years. Even six months can make a noticeable difference. Ultimately, the changes due to bottle age result in a loss of bouquet and midpalate fullness, leaving only a residual drying sensation on the finish. At that point, the wine is over the hill.