Search Results for "Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley" - Save This Search

Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments More...
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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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12/8/2022 - sirpat00 wrote: 95 points

Spottswoode tasting (Widder (Meilen ZH)): Spottswoode tasting with proprietor Beth Novak-Milliken with 10 vintages Spottswoode, 5 vintages Lyndenhurst, 2 vintages Sauvignon Blanc. All bottles were opened at 15.00 and briefly decanted for the event which started at 19.00. Main observations were: i/ The flagship Spottswoode was typically light and elegant for a Napa Cab with 2013 being the wine-of-the-night (closely followed by 2014, 2019 and 2020, ii/ the Lyndenhurst tends to be rather extracted and lacking mid-palate presence, although the 2019 broke this rule and was towering over the rest. Brief history, snippets from Beth and complete list of wines included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Ripe red currant, cassis and even a aromas of rhubarb. Despite its youth, also leather and herbal dimensions. Super fresh palate, in great balance with all building blocks already put in place. This id definitely one to watch.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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4/7/2024 - shaferguy91 wrote: 93 points

Wonderful young wine. Drinking very well right now.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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9/23/2023 - Philip67 Likes this wine: 94 points

Real power and intensity here but with enough charm to make this a pleasure to drink even so young. Dark fruit, good structure in balance with the medium to full weight fruit. Good length, straightforward. Can drink now but better to leave it for 5 to 10 years.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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6/10/2023 - RockinCabs wrote: 94 points

Nose: Classic notes from this site. Blackberry,, dark cherry, lavendar, sandalwood, loam and herbs. Complex and nuanced yet not explosive. Charming.

Palate: Enters dark berries, cassis, and black cherry. The stony mineral, herb de provence, loam and tobacco notes follow. Fresh and well balanced on the palate.

Finish: Perhaps not as regal as some vintages, but has length and great palate feel.

It has the breeding of a Spottswoode Estate wine, and showed clean for me at the estate. 94+ if you want a wine to mark 2020, this may be your best bet.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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11/15/2023 - RockinCabs wrote: 93 points

This really split the table. On the plus side there is a nice wine here in a very difficult vintage. However, you have to wait on it. Despite a 6-hour decant the tannins were very hard, and held back the vibrant cassis, blackberry and cherry fruit notes. Not as precise as other recent vintages.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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7/16/2023 - tomoem wrote: NR

What do you make of a wine picked literally the last day's before the start of the Glass Fires ? I have three and am excited to see what the dry vintage did for these rare surviving grapes from a doomed vintage.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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11/6/2023 - ungerlei Likes this wine: 96 points

Young, but I had to try it and it will age into another Spottswoode beauty. I imagine this reaching 98 or so in a few years as it softens and ages. Had for 74th BD with my darling wife.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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6/3/2023 - benjamin96 Likes this wine: 91 points

Bouche ample, belle texture, un peu maquille et boise, devrait sameliorer.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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10/13/2023 - Applewine Likes this wine: 91 points

2nd bottle of this vintage. Better than first Not the best vintage for them and probably not worth the price point

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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2/24/2023 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine: 95 points

Premiere Napa Valley; 2/22/2023-3/25/2023 (Napa, California): Brief tasting at Spottswoode, this being poured by Tony Soter, which felt pretty special. The grapes were picked the day before the Glass Fire and so no fire taint would be in this wine. Aromas of Dark blackcurrant, cassis, black cherry, tree bark, black pepper and cacao. The palate was medium-full bodied super well integrated with dark fresh tree fruit, plenty of stuffing in the mid-palate with an elegant yet firm structure, dusty tannins along with a long lingering finish. This is an incredibly strong vintage for Spottswoode and I am hoping to revisit this later in the year.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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9/29/2023 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 90 points

One of the very few Napa 2020's I bought. Just interested to see how it fares at his early date. Good fruit and obviously quite young. Not a lot of depth as you would typically see in the better years. I will plan to drink these over the next few years.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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10/4/2023 - d'Artagnan wrote: 94 points

Dégustation Spottswoode avec Beth Weber Novak: 96% cabernet sauvignon, Petit Verdot 3%, le reste en cabernet franc.

La bouche est pleine et de belle concentration, avec l’équilibre habituel de cette cuvée. C'est un authentique cab californien, mais rien qui ne dépasse, tout est en justes proportions, les tanins sont présents mais fins. Il possède une réelle structure tout en gardant le petit côté dodu et charmeur de la région, sans ses excès. Très beau vin, prometteur, agréable maintenant mais certainement trop jeune. À revoir dans 10-15 ans pour développer la finesse et la complexité dont il est capable. 94+

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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12/18/2022 - Cailles wrote: 95 points

17x Spottswoode (2x SB, 5x Lyndenhurst, 10x Estate Cab): Ten vintages of the flagship Estate Cabernet Sauvignon side-by-side. What makes these Spottswoode wines great is their weightless structure and feel as well as the absence of the excess ripeness or extraction that can be found in some Napa Cult Cabs. These wines are still distinctively Napa and not Bordeaux-esque but definitely on the more elegant, finesse-driven side of the spectrum. Still, not all vintages masked the alcohol perfectly. The best wines were the structured 2013 (96pts), followed by magical 2012 and a very promising 2020 (both 95pts).

TN: This was one of the highlights of the tasting. Singular, young, superbly fresh nose with intense, precise aromas of rhubarb, fresh red berries which continue on the palate along with more herbal, mineral notes. The elegance and finesse, the weightlessness are quite impressive with a good tannin structure, high freshness and a satin-like but full-blown airy texture. Superb showing.

Decanting: Opened 6 hours prior to the tasting. Quickly double decanted 3 hours prior to the tasting which seemed fine. No extensive decanting needed.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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9/15/2023 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 91 points

Spottswoode Tasting in London: This was very primary and one dimensional but did deliver smooth fruit.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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2/28/2023 - JustBreathe680 Likes this wine: 95 points

7 Hours In Napa: VHR; Roy Piper; Spottswoode; & MACDONALD (Napa, CA): 7 hours in Napa and tasted at the Spottswoode Estate, hosted by Virginia.The stems used for the tasting were Jancis Robinson x Richard Brendon Wine Glasses (JRxRB). The tasting included:

2021 Sauvignon Blanc
2019 Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon
2019 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
2020 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

The wine was not decanted and was opened sometime earlier in the day and poured into our glasses shortly before we arrived. I had a second pour to walk with on our tour that was a Corvin pour. I thought the Corvin pour came across fresher and more aromatic than the wine that was sitting in the glass prior to our arrival.

The wine is made up of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with 3% Petit Verdot and 0.5% Cabernet Franc. The wine came across fresh with floral aromas and red and black fruits, cigar box, hints of spice and minerality. The palate was primary with beautiful fruit of black cherry, blueberry, blackberry, minerality and baking spices. There was good medium acidity, medium tannins and a velvety smooth finish. The body was medium-full. It was an elegant wine.

I enjoyed this wine slightly more than the 2019 and the Corvin pour was better than the prepared pour before we arrived. It was one of the best 2020s I've tasted to date (edged out only by 2020 MACDONALD) and it's the only magnum I purchased from this difficult vintage, outside of a 2020 Ridge Monte Bello future I purchased 2 years ago as part of my annual allocation that I have concerns about today, The tannins were not overbearing like I've experienced on some other 2020s. I have no idea where this will end up in 1, 2 or 3 decades but it's definitely a promising effort for a historically age worthy wine.

My score is 94-96+ with maybe great heights if the concerns of the 2020 vintage don't creep in decades down the road.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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11/20/2023 - nukeman862 Likes this wine: 100 points

My method for rating wines was shaped by a comment from my local wine store owner. He said, in Italy, they have a system called “Tre Bicchieri” (Three Glasses) which rates each one “IN ITS RESPECTIVE CATEGORY” (my emphasis added). While I respect the points system, too often a “wow factor” is sought by winemakers to grab the attention of critics to capture those elusive 1 or 2 extra ones. Instead, my friend said Italy is turning back to making wines that represent the best the grape can be in the region they are grown without the “gimmicks” to chase points. I liked that…a lot. When I ask my wife, guests or just myself, “What are you in the mood to drink,” I don’t hear anyone answering, “Oh, I’d like a 95-point wine.” Instead, we think about a region, or a grape, or what goes best with a meal.

So here is Spottswoode Estate Cabernet and I ask myself, have I tasted anything better from a California Cabernet and the answer is no. We’ve been to Napa twice, finding some hidden gems there (boutiques) that are fantastic, along with the more recognizable stops. Spottswoode’s Cabernet simply has the extra touches of flavors, scents and fine tuning the balance of acidity, tannins, fruit, barrel influence, etc. that make you say “I just can’t think of any way to improve upon this.” It will age superbly. It’s a perfect California Cabernet. It may have some equals (and we’ve found a couple), but none better - so far.

Enjoyed it with a seasoned dry-aged porterhouse seared in olive oil, splash of truffle oil and butter then oven-finished. Perfect pairing! Went from one rich taste to flushing with the other! At the price point, you won’t find many equals.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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6/18/2022 - Hojun-na-Wine Likes this wine: NR

Barrel sample at the Spottswoode garden party.

Dark purple core, opaque with a bright purple rim.

Black currant, soft mint, red licorice on the nose.

On the palate blackberry, black cherry, crushed rocks.

Medium alcohol (14%?), full body, medium acidity. Firm, grippy tannins. This feels much more full throttled compared to the 2019, but in speaking to the wine maker, she feels the 2020 vintage will settle down to be softer overall compared to the 2019 vintage. She said the tannin levels are lower but since the samples came straight from the barrel this morning the oak tannins are more pronounced.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst

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4/23/2023 - GJVines Likes this wine: 89 points

Opened and decanted for 2 hours; decanted again for one more hour, decanted again right before drinking. Very sharp on the open; after the full decanting it had smoothed out, but it lacked depth, mouthfeel and complexity. Beautiful nose, but not much on the mid-tongue and very little finish.

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Red

2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst

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9/10/2023 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 91 points

Lyndenhurst is essentially the second label of Spottswoode, sourced from their Estate Vineyard as well as from family-owned, contracted vineyards within the St. Helena and Howell Mountain AVAs. The 2020 vintage bottling is an opaque crimson blend of 76.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.3% Cabernet Franc, 6.7% Merlot, 5.6% Malbec and 1.2% Petit Verdot. Flaunting an olfactory profile of black and red fruit that is accented with cocoa, bramble leaf and licorice, it is a medium-bodied, fresh, seamlessly alcoholic (13.6%) Cab with midweight, fine-grained tannins. The flavors are congruent with the aromas, adding complimentary notes of oak-influenced spice and vanilla. Solid in the middle and medium in length on the back end, this is a well-crafted red that shows no signs of smoke taint and is quite a joy to drink. Tasted from a bottle that had been decanted through a Vinturi aerator and allowed six hours in carafe, it probably does not require that much aeration (but will certainly not be harmed by it). Drink now-2035.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst

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9/15/2023 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 89 points

Spottswoode Tasting in London: This was much less approachable than the ‘19. Hold.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst

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10/4/2023 - d'Artagnan wrote: 90 points

Dégustation Spottswoode avec Beth Weber Novak: Un assemblage de 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 9% Merlot et 5% Malbec.

Nez expressif de fruits noirs bleuets. Jolie bouche ronde, il a un fruit pur à l’avant et une fraîcheur de bon aloi. Rien de sucré ici, c’est bien équilibré, facile à boire et très agréable. Finale un peu courte et simple, mais c’est délicieux. 90 pts

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst

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7/27/2023 - Cuellar's Cellar Likes this wine: 91 points

A very nice cab. Wanted to try this wine since 2020 was the fire year. Didn't seem effected.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst

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6/3/2023 - benjamin96 wrote: 90 points

Fruite, un peu assechant, barrique, va sameliorer.

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst

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8/5/2023 - crcarlson Likes this wine: 92 points

higher acid for a valley floor cab, very fine tannin, a very nice wine

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2020 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst

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6/10/2023 - RockinCabs wrote: 88 points

Nose: Florals up front, dark red raspberry, blackberry, eucalyptus and bark mulch notes. There are a lot of aromatics here, but it is a bit rambunctious right now.

Palate: Good entry with tart cherry, blackberry, florals and a bit of a waxy fruit note. Lacking depth as others have said, but not lacking for quality.

Finish: Moderate, and tannic at the moment. Not on the level of great vintages, but some of the harsh reviews out there seem over done.

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  • Tasting notes: 3,288 notes on 66 wines

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