Bonanza Cabernet Sauvignon

About this wine

Bonanza Cabernet Sauvignon is made by Chuck Wagner, best known for Caymus Vineyards, and it is bottled as a multi vintage California Cabernet. It is sourced from multiple vineyard sites across the state, which allows the blend to be adjusted for a consistent house style. The aroma typically leans toward ripe blackberry and black currant, with notes of vanilla, toasted oak, and dark chocolate, and some lots also show a subtle floral lift like dried rose. On the palate it is medium to full bodied, with dark berry and plum flavors, cocoa and sweet spice accents, and a smooth, silky tannin feel. Oak aging adds a gentle toast character and helps round out the texture rather than making the wine feel overly firm. Bottlings are commonly listed around 13.8 to 14 percent alcohol, giving it a warm but balanced finish with lingering cassis and unsweetened chocolate notes.

About the grape

Cabernet Sauvignon was born in Bordeaux as a natural crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, and DNA work associated with UC Davis later confirmed that parentage, helping explain its thick skins and reliability in the vineyard. In California it became the flagship red grape, widely planted across many counties because it can keep good acidity while still ripening well in warm, sunny sites, and it is commonly farmed to deliver consistent fruit for both blends and varietal wines. Bonanza Cabernet Sauvignon uses 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with a broad California appellation, and it is built as a multi vintage wine so the Wagner team can blend lots from different years and regions to keep a steady Cabernet based style from bottling to bottling.

Quick facts

• 🏆 Bonanza is made under Chuck Wagner, the same winemaker behind Caymus and the famed Caymus Special Selection Cabernet.
• 🧩 It’s intentionally a multi vintage (non vintage) Cabernet, blended across multiple years to keep a consistent “house style” rather than reflecting a single harvest.
• 👶 Many drinkers nickname it “Baby Caymus,” because it’s a Wagner family Cabernet built to be an everyday, pop the cork and pour kind of bottle.
• 🗺️ Bonanza isn’t a single vineyard or Napa only wine, it’s California appellated and can pull fruit from multiple regions (with sources often pointing to Lodi as a key contributor).
• 🏷️ You may see “Lot” designations (like Lot 3), essentially batch style releases that help track different multi vintage blends under the Bonanza label.

Palate profile

Producer

The Wagner family traces its Napa Valley farming roots back to the 1850s, and in 1906 Carl Wagner bought farmland in Rutherford that became the foundation for later generations. In 1972, Chuck Wagner and his parents, Lorna and Charlie Wagner Sr., founded Caymus Vineyards, starting a family run winery focused on Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Over the decades the business grew beyond Caymus, with the family developing additional labels that explore different California regions and styles, including projects led by the next generation. Today Wagner Family of Wine remains centered on estate farming and hands on winemaking, with Chuck working alongside his children to continue expanding the portfolio while keeping it family owned.