PnP from a 375 and wow, just wow! Followed a badass ‘12 Buccella and this wasn’t much of a step down. Spice, red and black cherry, red currant, hint of medical eucalyptus, minimal tannins left, oak receded. Not a lot of time take extensive notes, but not needed the way this drank.
Rating this for current experience, which is outstanding, not future peak, which will surely be better. Guessing 10 years from now will be optimal. Still tannins to resolve and tertiary complexity to unfurl.
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I expected greatness but got less. Beautiful appearance and nose and feels all lush and seductive in the mouth but at the end of the evening this was a date with an incredibly beautiful but uninteresting woman. There just seemed as if there should have been more of everything. Nice flavors though slightly muted. It did have some elegance, at least compared to most Napa cabernet. I’m glad I received this as a gift and didn’t pay the $200+ price for it. Definitely not worth that.
Brilliant red color edge to edge. Lush nose of cherries and sweet tobacco. Smooth and elegant on the palate, cherries, plums, cedar, the barest hint of dark chocolate. Blueberry on the mid-palate. Smooth tannins, bright acidity, fabulous balance. Finishes long, gentle and dark fruited with a final touch of bitter-sweet chocolate. Fabulous wine. Will continue to develop for at least 5 to 6 years more. Drink for the next 15 years. Decanted 90 minutes before service.
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Definitely my favorite vintage of Spottswoode thus far. Only decanted for an hour, and it exploded from the bottle with bold aromas of black cherries, cedar, pencil lead and licorice. Full-bodied and packed with juicy red and black fruit flavors with grippy tannins and a 30-sons finish.
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2 of 6. Much bette than #1 from 9 months ago. Perhaps that bottle was defective or in dumb phase. This one is superb. Layered with beautiful acidity and long finish. What I expect from this wine and it didn’t disappoint
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Splash double decant. Very deep dark magenta color. Maple donut, blackberry, black cherry, and sage. Smooth, dry palate, with velvety acidity. Firm, full, medium intensity tannins on the long finish.
This is good, but drinks well below it’s price point. If tasting blind, I’d guess $100 entry level (second label) from a good maker (e.g, Adaptation or Double Diamond or Impetuous).
This is magnificent wine - fruit galore but exquisite balance with the tannins and acid. I have some 80’s Spottswoode which I drank recently and this was far more enjoyable.
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A wonderful wine for a special occasion. Double decant. Full bodied or perhaps medium-to-full. Dark red. Dark chocolate with ripe red cherries is the dominant taste. Hint of black tea, blueberries, blackberries — but it is a wine first and foremost, not a fruit compott. Elegant and refined. No sharp edges. Considerable length.
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Napa and a lone Kiwi (Casa de Sumoba): This Napa cult cab fell on the red fruited spectrum for me. Much better on Day 2 as this is still a baby, even at 7 years from vintage. Very elegant, refined and balanced. Had a bit of that feminine quality to it. If you wanted this to come around, you needed to woo her and show her why you deserved her attention. Round, mouth coating tannins that most definitely needs food at this stage. I won't open the last bottle for a long time but I know she'll be waiting for me...or will I be waiting for her?
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Don't tease me like that unless you mean it (Chateau de Brion): Rounded and soft red fruits on the nose, with a dominating but somehow soft oak. Flavors of deep red fruits, a padding of earth, bitter and dry oak. Surprising amount of elegance compared to the '19 I had at Inspire (in my head I scored it 95, never did actual notes). For some reason this seemed a little closed to me at the time but it's hard for me to think that since this is still so young. This might have required just a bit more time to open up.
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I opened based on the Spottswoode library notes which named this vintage one of the best in show.
While all the elements of a great wine are there, they were out of balance. Opened bottle 3 hrs ahead of drinking. Drank with steaks. Maybe better with a long decant? Will hold for 3-5 yrs before opening another one.
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: Intense fruity nose, slightly alcoholic. On the palate very fine but slightly closed showing elegant fruit, some minerality, tobacco. Slight heat again. Elegant and weightless, satin like tannins good acidity. This is quite consistent with previous experiences with this wine and with the 2016 vintage in general. Early on this vintage showed extremely well with so much fresh blue and black fruit but in the meantime lots of these 2016s have lost a bit of the fruit and freshness and the alcohol becomes more prominent. Still a good wine, just not in the 95+ pts category.
Decanting: Opened 6 hours prior to the tasting. Quickly double decanted 3 hours prior to the tasting. One or the other hour in the decanter would have probably been better.
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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: Very closed with low intensity. But diving in deep you’ll find a sexy and beguiling nose with sweet spices of vanilla, mineral layers of graphite, ripe and on balance more red berry type of fruit. The palate had a nicely soft texture, structural tannin and all in good balance. It felt like there was so much potential there - but I really, really struggled to identify much here. Have had a more open (and hence better) bottle about 1 year ago.
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Third time coming across this vintage of Spottswoode and prior impressions are confirmed: A) It’s still very young, and while not tight, it’s very primary, very fruit-driven with only a bit of minerality shining through. It will need many years to flesh out and gain complexity. And B) The ripeness levels, the freshness, the alcohol are well in check compared to many Napa Valley peers. While not Bordeaux-like in any way, this remains one of the cooler, fresher, expressions of Napa these days. This young, there still are some sweet, sugary notes there I don’t particularly like but there are so much more fresh and quite pure blue, black and red fruits too. C) The wines are quite structured with lots of fine tannins and an elevated acidity, not heavy or creamy, always on the fresher side. Overall, this 2016 is a well-made wine with a structural frame to age gracefully for a few decades (and it will likely not reach its peak before 2045). 93/94 pts with upside.
Decanting: Double decanted quickly two hours prior to consumption. It’s sometimes tricky to decant young wines. This, however, improved in the glass and probably could have used an hour or two in the decanter.
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Double decanted and left for 2 hours Loads of up front fruit with a long finish. Still some tannins to relive but can be drunk right now. No need to hurry though as there are years of life left. Drank along side tge 2015 which seems younger Not much to choose between the two vintages I suspect the 2015 will age better
Try both again in a year
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I’ve been a Spottswoode fan for a long time and was excited to open this 2016. To summarize, it just wasn’t very interesting. Very soft, no grip, pleasant tasting but not exceptional by any means. This #1 of 6 and I’ll wait a while to open #2. Maybe it’s in a dumb phase right now
We are members of Spottswoode, and love their wines. Our relatively low rating has to do with whether this wine is ready to drink. Also, it is influenced by our tastes in red wine. We tend to appreciate aged wines vs. young wines, but sometimes a younger wine pleasantly surprises us. Having several bottles, we enjoy periodically drinking bottles to see how the wine changes. We decanted for approx an hour. I took a small taste a few minutes after opening, and did not detect a huge difference when we poured into our glasses an hour later. More important, I did not hear any raves from the other folks at the table. I see all the tasting notes, and have to wonder if folks are overly influenced by the 100 point ratings and price point. At this stage, the 2016 is respectable, but, at least in our opinion, not yet a wine that deserves such raves. However, we certainly look forward to opening another bottle in a couple years.
(at Eddie V’s - Boston) this is pretty terrific. Medium weight yet still Napa sunny. There is red fruit, mocha and a stony edge that adds definition. Excellent now but will be better in ten years. I really like this wine. (94+)
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This bottle showed much better than a bottle almost two years back thanks to a higher complexity and precision. I always like the cooler/fresher fruit expression Spottswoode. This 2016 is great and starts drinking well. 94/95 pts today. When age will add a bit more lightness and some tertiary complexity, this could go higher.
TN: Dark and dusty nose, intense, cassis, intense minerality, smoke, all wrapped around a dark fruit core. On the palate this is very fine and round, tobacco and minerality, herbs and as always quite a cool fruit expression for a Napa. Fresh and round with some blue fruit mixed with the dark berries. Very round and fine tannins, medium+ acidity, round and well integrated, creamy and full-bodied with a medium length finish with dark berries and minerality.
Decanting: Needed a bit of air. Right after opening a bit closed. Two hours in the decanter, than back in the bottle and followed over 2.5 hours. Seemed to be the right choice.
From the get-go concentrated and deep, albeit at first surprisingly extracted for a 2016 at first, but the fruit profile quickly changed into a more cool type of showing. This is complemented by black coffee, black tea, spices and a mineral overlay. The palate was well-integrated, showed a good textured but was not super expressive. The fruit was fresher here than on the nose. This was fabulous and highly palatable, but with the Scarecrow 2016 being served next to it the Spootie had a tough standing.
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Tasted after opening. Opaque medium ruby. Vanilla, leather, stewed plum aroma. On the palate, bright red cherry greeted me then some pleasant tanginess. Medium tannins. Less structure than I expected. A bit of sour aftertaste.
A few hours later the finish was more pleasant and enduring.
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From a 375ml and followed a recalcitrant 2012 Checkerboard Kings Row to save the day. Nothing specific for notes but this is lovely and elegant, just right now from a 375! Saved the day! More structured and elegant than the 2015s I would not open a 750 anytime before 2024! But, I am optimistic this will go for ages and reward continued patience
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Two hour decant. Very deep magenta color. Browned vanilla cream cheese, blackberry, cherries jubilee, almond paste, and subtle graphite on the rich, decadent nose. Smooth, tongue drying palate, with soft, but persistent acidity. Firm, full, lower intensity tannins on the long finish.
This is certainly an easy drinker, but not a value at this price point. It’s so over the top that it comes across as being manipulated. It could also use more complexity. I enjoyed this, but won’t be buying more. I get very critical when paying more than $200/bottle.
Needs 30 minutes to open up but then is very good, especially with steak. Not the 100 point wine given by all the critics but pretty darn solid, would definitely drink again. $200 is a little pricey but not by much.
With 30 bottles, I felt compelled to try a first one now. First sniff and taste after PnP were very positive. Big, fresh blueberry flavors dominated. We then decanted and enjoyed over 2.5 hours. This is a very good wine now that, I believe, will become even better with time.
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I don't see the hype. Where's the density, concentration, and dryness like the old days/vintages of this wine? There's high toned and intense primary fruit, but that's about it for me. No layered fruit, no precision. I gave this days to evolve and impress but it failed.
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For old times sake: Red and dark berries in the bouquet plus a pleasant touch of vanilla. On the palate still a bit lactic, Juicy acidity, beautiful touch of sweetness. Complex, beautiful and juicy wine. Probably wise to wait another decade.
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While a very good wine, this was disappointing vs expectations. Usually, Spottswoode is more on the elegant side, although in no way old-worldish. But this bottle didn’t show as layered nor especially precise. I’m a fan of the property, but this bottle was quite far away from the best 2016s I’ve tasted so far (Dana, Morlet). Maybe the setting wasn’t right (summer, dining outside, served after some more aged wines). Anyway, I would let this vintage flesh out a bit and wait for more complexity to develop. 90/91
TN: Typical fresh forest berries along some baking spices and hints of minerality on the medium expressive nose and more so on the intense, fleshy palate. Fine tannins and medium- acidity with good length. Not on par with the best wines in terms of depth and freshness.
Decanting: Not decanted. Good from the go but maybe 3-4 hours would have unlocked more aromas.
14.5% abv. Dark crimson purple color. Whiff of heat initially on nose. Red and blue berries, kirsch, graphite, licorice root, loam, baked bread. Nice acidity, fine grained tannins. Med mouthfeel, quite smooth, long silky and sophisticated finish, quite layered, gives up many surprises as it unfurls.
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I'm almost reluctant to give this wine a score right now because it is so young, so this rating is based on how it was drinking today with an hour of air. Clearly an extremely well built wine, but mostly closed down to me. I still enjoyed drinking it, but you can tell that a lot of the secondary notes and flavors are just begging to come out, but are held back by a huge and finely tuned structure. Glad I have a second bottle of this... will ideally wait 5 years to try it again.
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(A night of socially distanced, outdoor winedrinking of cabs/Cal Bordeaux + 1 chard with Aaron Maxwell and Tiffany) One of 3 contributions from the extravagantly generous AM/T, this wasn't even on the original menu and wasn't decanted, but after AM coravined us small pours, we knew we had to break into this, and what a wine it was! Even ridiculously young, by my standards for a great cab, and without air, this jumped out of the bottle singing, with intense cherry, cassis, ripe berries, vanilla and tobacco. Deep, dark purple, full-bodied, thick legs. Medium acidity, medium+ but silky tannins, no heat. Off the charts persistence, intensity and complexity. Powerful but structured, slightly sweet but perfectly balanced with a savory note, this wine stuns; I have no other word for it, showing a maturity at 3 and a half which would be of note for a wine several times its age and which was as remarkable as the youthfulness of the 14 year old Verite. This was a close WOTN for me over the Verite because of the superior nose and just a trace more intensity, and that's saying something, as the Verite was an all-time top 5-10 wine. I don't know if this will/can improve, but it certainly has the structure to drink at this level for a looong time. Drank with cheese and charcuterie, but no reason to think this wouldn't be an awesome complement to something red and meaty. Can't evaluate the staying power over an evening since, despite drinking generally demurely over the evening with the other wines, we slurped this down in less than an hour, so it didn't have a chance to show development or fall off, although I wouldn't expect the latter. At the W-S price or something close, a great value for a top shelf cab. As I said with the Ovid, I'm unlikely to drink a Screagle, Harlan, or Promontory (although hopefully at some point, an Abreu or Colgin), but I can't imagine that something that's 2,3 or 10x the cost of this would be a relative value. In case you couldn't tell, I kinda liked this . . .
Drank a bottle earlier tonight with Tiffany_Kerry and SFWineLover1 — wow, what a wine.
Though young, it didn’t show any harshness or sharp edges. This was equisite. For me, this rang of vanilla, cassis, and pure happiness. Next to an ‘09 Opus an ‘04 Verite, this was the clear favorite.
Over an hour, I couldn’t discern much evolution. I’m eagerly awaiting a second tasting.
Amazing wine with awesome flavors. Well rounded on the palate with smooth, velvety tannins. But full of bright red fruit flavors with tobacco and a touch of leather. Delicious now or will cellar well.
Amazing wine!! Tasted this at the Vine Vault event in Jacksonville in Feb 2020. Drinkable now but has time to cellar. Decanted for about an hour. Amazing flavors of red cherry, leather and tobacco. Complex flavors and very soft tannins. Paired with filet mignon. Worth every penny!
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This is the best young cabernet sauvignon i've tasted in my life. A bright purple colour. Fantastic nose of graphite, cherry, licorice, peper, blackberry.Pronounced savoury tannins with smoothness ,plum with a finish of 1 minute . I insist on the word BALANCE !Everything is in place for a long, long,time.
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Very pronounced tannins with an underlying smoothness that is truly something special. Graphite and plum with a never ending finish, this wine is structured in a way to develop into a 98-99 point wine over time. Slow ox for 6 hours, yet the wine was still constrained by the dominating tannins that never eased up. This wine with patience is destined for greatness.
Close to perfect. Nose is insane, complex, with subtle toast, touch of sweet fruit. Flavors are gorgeous classic. Beautiful dark red fruit, supple tannins, super long finish showing dry herbs. Shows solid structure, a great candidate for long aging.
Dark purple and garnet wine that was decanted for 2 hours. No sediment in bottle which was interesting.
Drank over 2 days...
Day 1 - A nose of blueberries, a bit of forest and toasty oak. Tasting extremely well for a young wine after two hours. Wine got better as the night progressed. Wine felt nice and fleshy and the 14.5% alcohol was not as apparent as I would have thought. Nice medium long finish and left me wanting more. My Father absolutely loved this and I think I know what I am getting him for Xmas. Couldn't wait to see what it tasted like on Day 2.
Day 2 - Tannins were all about integrated and the blueberry, blackberry and dark cherry along with that light oak was pleasant to drink. This is going to be so good in 10 years and has led to my 97 score for today, but can easily see it getting more with age. I thoroughly enjoyed the 2-3 oz I had saved.
Unfortunately, I made the mistake of bringing this little bottle out early in the night on Day 1 and was left with drinking other wine that made me want to finish the last 3 oz I had saved. Clearly, the 16' Spottswoode was WOTN for me, but was in no way challenged. Alongside this was a 16' Decoy, a 17' Caymus, a 14' Silver Oak Alexander Valley, and a couple other "grocery store" wines which I didn't get their name that others had brought to dinner. I only shared a bit of this 375mL bottle with the ones I knew would appreciate it or were otherwise not already hammered.
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RP 100 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is still very tight and youthful, slowly unfurling to reveal a multifaceted wine with tons of black, blue and red fruit sparks—plums, cherries, black currants and red currants—with dark chocolate, cedar chest, black tea and red roses in the background plus wafts of pencil lead and prosciutto. Medium-bodied and firmly textured by superbly ripe, grainy tannins, it has a fantastic core of intense, complex layers, finishing on an edifying mineral note. Wow!
Blackberries, cassis, chocolate, cigar wrap, some flower notes. Medium mouthfeel with very long finish. Going to be a 100pointer in 7 years. Could age for 30 years easily.
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Spottswoode pairing at Pappas Steakhouse Houston. 2016 Estate 96+ a lot of upside. Very approachable for a such a young Cabernet. Very well made from what will be an iconic Napa vintage. 2016 Lyndenhurst 92+ Lovely nose that hit's the middle pallet with acid and tannins. Very nice wine for a 2nd label. 2015 Estate 95+ Very ripe on the nose. Floral with a boat load of Tannin. 2010 Estate 97 WOTN for me. This is a beautiful wine with room to develop more as I think the fruit is just starting to settle into that secondary window. 1996 NR- Not my style on the nose but I can appreciate how well this wine has aged.
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Much the same as last time but less obvious fruit but very complex and compelling. Drinking beautifully for such a young wine. Tasted along side the 2015 which had much more obvious fruit but also drank very well for such a yountwine. Give the nod by at least a point to the 2016
Plan to try the comparison again next year
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Trade tasting- pop and pour and enjoyed over about 45 minutes
deep purple black color, dark brooding nose, blackberries, chalk, cassis, black plums, a very evident presence of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, on the palate firm and grounded with serious structure- and yet there is a exciting and almost exotic character like one gets with a young Lafleur or Trotanoy, chocolate notes, long full finish, with time the tannins become almost burly in character but remained soft and silky around the edges, where the 2013 was a dark monolith- this has a lot of fire and life to it despite being similarly backward and primary, notes of new saddle leather, fine long finish with chalk notes, with time in glass a wild ripe cherry note appears underlying the deep pool of blueberry and cassis fruit on the middle, this is quite an exciting wine with the greatest potential, far too young to show its best- but giving some electric glimpses into what is to come, as good as it gets.
(*****), 2031++
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Complex aromas of rose petals, blueberries, tobacco, eucalyptus, licorice and some light overtones of cedar. On the palate, not as overtly open and fruit driven as the 2015, but shows the same unbelievably purity and superior focus. Medium to full bodied, showing lots of black cherry fruit laced with extremely fine grained but prominent tannins and loads of complex mineral driven flavors. Structured and ready for many years in the cellar, it finishes long and super fresh. A very nuanced wine and much more feminine than most from the valley floor in St Helena. It is coiled up at present but promises to age extremely well.
Spottswoode Dinner with Molly Sheppard & Ray Kaufman (Amuse Bouche, 22/F Hennessey Centre, Wan Chai, Hong kong): Almost totally opaque but welcomingly bright black-ruby. Nose is quite dense red/black fruit and also a sense of fresh-dawn plank wood. Palate is immediately very generous and welcoming..deep black and red berry fruit, umami, lots of softly well-integrated oak but with a still stiff tannic backbone. Very heady and hedonistic. Hard to fault except for the austerity of a drought year.
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Tasted at the winery. Aged for 20 months in 60% new French oak and made from 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. Opened and slo-Oxed over 6 hours or so before we tasted it. The wine is a dark garnet with a crimson/purple edge. This is an exquisite wine from the first moment you smell it... The nose explodes with complex scents of vanilla, cedar, leather, red, black and blue berries and after some time in the glass an explosion of eucalyptus. Pretty high in tannin and acidity but the tannins while mouth coating are supple and surprisingly smooth. This has that amazing hallmark I love in extraordinary wines... dense and rich in flavor yet light and elegant at the same time. Palate flavors include red and black plum, slightly under-ripe blueberry, red currant, black tea and stony minerals. Balanced to near perfection. It is another testament to what I believe is the best vintage (2016) from Napa in decades. The restraint and elegance, total balance and depth of flavor and complexity has been obvious to me in many recent tastings of California Cabs from the 2016 vintage. Those who prefer massive, powerful (over-)ripe wines may disagree, but these are reminiscent of how Cali/Napa Cabs tasted in the 1970’s and 1980’s and will age like the best of them...the 1974’s, 1978’s, 1984’s and 1987’s. Absolutely superb! BUT, infanticide to drink it now...at 10 years old this will start to show what it will really become and at 25 it will be one of the best wines from California you could drink.
Purple to the rim Wild flowers on the nose Huge black fruits up front full bodied tannins starting to kick in after a half hour open. Long finish Best young spottswoode since I tasted the 2007 Wonderful right now but going to wait another 5 years to try again
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3/28/2024 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 96 Points
PnP from a 375 and wow, just wow! Followed a badass ‘12 Buccella and this wasn’t much of a step down. Spice, red and black cherry, red currant, hint of medical eucalyptus, minimal tannins left, oak receded. Not a lot of time take extensive notes, but not needed the way this drank.
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3/22/2024 - Montesquieu Likes this wine: 95 Points
Rating this for current experience, which is outstanding, not future peak, which will surely be better. Guessing 10 years from now will be optimal. Still tannins to resolve and tertiary complexity to unfurl.
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3/17/2024 - randyjc wrote: 93 Points
I expected greatness but got less. Beautiful appearance and nose and feels all lush and seductive in the mouth but at the end of the evening this was a date with an incredibly beautiful but uninteresting woman. There just seemed as if there should have been more of everything. Nice flavors though slightly muted. It did have some elegance, at least compared to most Napa cabernet. I’m glad I received this as a gift and didn’t pay the $200+ price for it. Definitely not worth that.
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3/15/2024 - fdub Likes this wine: 97 Points
Brilliant
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3/12/2024 - Charlie C Likes this wine: 96 Points
Brilliant red color edge to edge. Lush nose of cherries and sweet tobacco. Smooth and elegant on the palate, cherries, plums, cedar, the barest hint of dark chocolate. Blueberry on the mid-palate. Smooth tannins, bright acidity, fabulous balance. Finishes long, gentle and dark fruited with a final touch of bitter-sweet chocolate. Fabulous wine. Will continue to develop for at least 5 to 6 years more. Drink for the next 15 years. Decanted 90 minutes before service.
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9/20/2023 - jcampano Likes this wine: 97 Points
Definitely my favorite vintage of Spottswoode thus far. Only decanted for an hour, and it exploded from the bottle with bold aromas of black cherries, cedar, pencil lead and licorice. Full-bodied and packed with juicy red and black fruit flavors with grippy tannins and a 30-sons finish.
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7/30/2023 - ptelgenh wrote: 95 Points
2 of 6. Much bette than #1 from 9 months ago. Perhaps that bottle was defective or in dumb phase. This one is superb. Layered with beautiful acidity and long finish. What I expect from this wine and it didn’t disappoint
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7/22/2023 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 94 Points
Splash double decant. Very deep dark magenta color. Maple donut, blackberry, black cherry, and sage. Smooth, dry palate, with velvety acidity. Firm, full, medium intensity tannins on the long finish.
This is good, but drinks well below it’s price point. If tasting blind, I’d guess $100 entry level (second label) from a good maker (e.g, Adaptation or Double Diamond or Impetuous).
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6/15/2023 - Ravi Deshpande Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is magnificent wine - fruit galore but exquisite balance with the tannins and acid. I have some 80’s Spottswoode which I drank recently and this was far more enjoyable.
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4/27/2023 - HU Likes this wine: 96 Points
A wonderful wine for a special occasion. Double decant. Full bodied or perhaps medium-to-full. Dark red. Dark chocolate with ripe red cherries is the dominant taste. Hint of black tea, blueberries, blackberries — but it is a wine first and foremost, not a fruit compott. Elegant and refined. No sharp edges. Considerable length.
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3/5/2023 - bsumoba Likes this wine: 95 Points
Napa and a lone Kiwi (Casa de Sumoba): This Napa cult cab fell on the red fruited spectrum for me. Much better on Day 2 as this is still a baby, even at 7 years from vintage. Very elegant, refined and balanced. Had a bit of that feminine quality to it. If you wanted this to come around, you needed to woo her and show her why you deserved her attention. Round, mouth coating tannins that most definitely needs food at this stage. I won't open the last bottle for a long time but I know she'll be waiting for me...or will I be waiting for her?
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3/4/2023 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 94 Points
Don't tease me like that unless you mean it (Chateau de Brion): Rounded and soft red fruits on the nose, with a dominating but somehow soft oak. Flavors of deep red fruits, a padding of earth, bitter and dry oak. Surprising amount of elegance compared to the '19 I had at Inspire (in my head I scored it 95, never did actual notes). For some reason this seemed a little closed to me at the time but it's hard for me to think that since this is still so young. This might have required just a bit more time to open up.
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3/3/2023 - chuckfr Likes this wine: 90 Points
I opened based on the Spottswoode library notes which named this vintage one of the best in show.
While all the elements of a great wine are there, they were out of balance. Opened bottle 3 hrs ahead of drinking. Drank with steaks. Maybe better with a long decant? Will hold for 3-5 yrs before opening another one.
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12/18/2022 - Cailles wrote: 94 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: Intense fruity nose, slightly alcoholic. On the palate very fine but slightly closed showing elegant fruit, some minerality, tobacco. Slight heat again. Elegant and weightless, satin like tannins good acidity. This is quite consistent with previous experiences with this wine and with the 2016 vintage in general. Early on this vintage showed extremely well with so much fresh blue and black fruit but in the meantime lots of these 2016s have lost a bit of the fruit and freshness and the alcohol becomes more prominent. Still a good wine, just not in the 95+ pts category.
Decanting: Opened 6 hours prior to the tasting. Quickly double decanted 3 hours prior to the tasting. One or the other hour in the decanter would have probably been better.
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12/8/2022 - sirpat00 wrote: 94 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:
Very closed with low intensity. But diving in deep you’ll find a sexy and beguiling nose with sweet spices of vanilla, mineral layers of graphite, ripe and on balance more red berry type of fruit. The palate had a nicely soft texture, structural tannin and all in good balance. It felt like there was so much potential there - but I really, really struggled to identify much here. Have had a more open (and hence better) bottle about 1 year ago.
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11/23/2022 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
Third time coming across this vintage of Spottswoode and prior impressions are confirmed: A) It’s still very young, and while not tight, it’s very primary, very fruit-driven with only a bit of minerality shining through. It will need many years to flesh out and gain complexity. And B) The ripeness levels, the freshness, the alcohol are well in check compared to many Napa Valley peers. While not Bordeaux-like in any way, this remains one of the cooler, fresher, expressions of Napa these days. This young, there still are some sweet, sugary notes there I don’t particularly like but there are so much more fresh and quite pure blue, black and red fruits too. C) The wines are quite structured with lots of fine tannins and an elevated acidity, not heavy or creamy, always on the fresher side. Overall, this 2016 is a well-made wine with a structural frame to age gracefully for a few decades (and it will likely not reach its peak before 2045). 93/94 pts with upside.
Decanting: Double decanted quickly two hours prior to consumption. It’s sometimes tricky to decant young wines. This, however, improved in the glass and probably could have used an hour or two in the decanter.
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11/10/2022 - bobh22314 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Double decanted and left for 2 hours Loads of up front fruit with a long finish. Still some tannins to relive but can be drunk right now. No need to hurry though as there are years of life left. Drank along side tge 2015 which seems younger Not much to choose between the two vintages I suspect the 2015 will age better
Try both again in a year
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10/31/2022 - ptelgenh wrote: 90 Points
I’ve been a Spottswoode fan for a long time and was excited to open this 2016. To summarize, it just wasn’t very interesting. Very soft, no grip, pleasant tasting but not exceptional by any means. This #1 of 6 and I’ll wait a while to open #2. Maybe it’s in a dumb phase right now
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8/13/2022 - jzebrack Likes this wine: 92 Points
We are members of Spottswoode, and love their wines.
Our relatively low rating has to do with whether this wine is ready to drink. Also, it is influenced by our tastes in red wine. We tend to appreciate aged wines vs. young wines, but sometimes a younger wine pleasantly surprises us.
Having several bottles, we enjoy periodically drinking bottles to see how the wine changes. We decanted for approx an hour. I took a small taste a few minutes after opening, and did not detect a huge difference when we poured into our glasses an hour later.
More important, I did not hear any raves from the other folks at the table. I see all the tasting notes, and have to wonder if folks are overly influenced by the 100 point ratings and price point. At this stage, the 2016 is respectable, but, at least in our opinion, not yet a wine that deserves such raves. However, we certainly look forward to opening another bottle in a couple years.
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5/27/2022 - Carl W. Likes this wine: 99 Points
Love it
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5/4/2022 - dbkitc wrote:
(at Eddie V’s - Boston) this is pretty terrific. Medium weight yet still Napa sunny. There is red fruit, mocha and a stony edge that adds definition. Excellent now but will be better in ten years. I really like this wine. (94+)
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4/17/2022 - AaronMaxwell Likes this wine: 98 Points
Another stellar bottle.
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4/3/2022 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
This bottle showed much better than a bottle almost two years back thanks to a higher complexity and precision. I always like the cooler/fresher fruit expression Spottswoode. This 2016 is great and starts drinking well. 94/95 pts today. When age will add a bit more lightness and some tertiary complexity, this could go higher.
TN: Dark and dusty nose, intense, cassis, intense minerality, smoke, all wrapped around a dark fruit core. On the palate this is very fine and round, tobacco and minerality, herbs and as always quite a cool fruit expression for a Napa. Fresh and round with some blue fruit mixed with the dark berries. Very round and fine tannins, medium+ acidity, round and well integrated, creamy and full-bodied with a medium length finish with dark berries and minerality.
Decanting: Needed a bit of air. Right after opening a bit closed. Two hours in the decanter, than back in the bottle and followed over 2.5 hours. Seemed to be the right choice.
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4/1/2022 - sirpat00 wrote: 96 Points
From the get-go concentrated and deep, albeit at first surprisingly extracted for a 2016 at first, but the fruit profile quickly changed into a more cool type of showing. This is complemented by black coffee, black tea, spices and a mineral overlay. The palate was well-integrated, showed a good textured but was not super expressive. The fruit was fresher here than on the nose. This was fabulous and highly palatable, but with the Scarecrow 2016 being served next to it the Spootie had a tough standing.
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1/20/2022 - Glenn228 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tasted after opening. Opaque medium ruby. Vanilla, leather, stewed plum aroma. On the palate, bright red cherry greeted me then some pleasant tanginess. Medium tannins. Less structure than I expected. A bit of sour aftertaste.
A few hours later the finish was more pleasant and enduring.
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1/8/2022 - mischwine wrote: 98 Points
Cut 432 with the Landa's - another WOW!! followed a JL Chave Hermitage -- wonderful contract of two blockbuster wines!!
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12/29/2021 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 94 Points
From a 375ml and followed a recalcitrant 2012 Checkerboard Kings Row to save the day. Nothing specific for notes but this is lovely and elegant, just right now from a 375! Saved the day! More structured and elegant than the 2015s I would not open a 750 anytime before 2024! But, I am optimistic this will go for ages and reward continued patience
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8/10/2021 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 95 Points
Two hour decant. Very deep magenta color. Browned vanilla cream cheese, blackberry, cherries jubilee, almond paste, and subtle graphite on the rich, decadent nose. Smooth, tongue drying palate, with soft, but persistent acidity. Firm, full, lower intensity tannins on the long finish.
This is certainly an easy drinker, but not a value at this price point. It’s so over the top that it comes across as being manipulated. It could also use more complexity. I enjoyed this, but won’t be buying more. I get very critical when paying more than $200/bottle.
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3/3/2021 - msf6msf6 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Needs 30 minutes to open up but then is very good, especially with steak. Not the 100 point wine given by all the critics but pretty darn solid, would definitely drink again. $200 is a little pricey but not by much.
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12/15/2020 - Montesquieu Likes this wine: 96 Points
With 30 bottles, I felt compelled to try a first one now. First sniff and taste after PnP were very positive. Big, fresh blueberry flavors dominated. We then decanted and enjoyed over 2.5 hours. This is a very good wine now that, I believe, will become even better with time.
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10/6/2020 - wineotim wrote: 92 Points
I don't see the hype. Where's the density, concentration, and dryness like the old days/vintages of this wine? There's high toned and intense primary fruit, but that's about it for me. No layered fruit, no precision. I gave this days to evolve and impress but it failed.
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9/26/2020 - Zweder wrote: 96 Points
For old times sake: Red and dark berries in the bouquet plus a pleasant touch of vanilla. On the palate still a bit lactic, Juicy acidity, beautiful touch of sweetness. Complex, beautiful and juicy wine. Probably wise to wait another decade.
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8/6/2020 - Cailles wrote: 91 Points
While a very good wine, this was disappointing vs expectations. Usually, Spottswoode is more on the elegant side, although in no way old-worldish. But this bottle didn’t show as layered nor especially precise. I’m a fan of the property, but this bottle was quite far away from the best 2016s I’ve tasted so far (Dana, Morlet). Maybe the setting wasn’t right (summer, dining outside, served after some more aged wines). Anyway, I would let this vintage flesh out a bit and wait for more complexity to develop. 90/91
TN: Typical fresh forest berries along some baking spices and hints of minerality on the medium expressive nose and more so on the intense, fleshy palate. Fine tannins and medium- acidity with good length. Not on par with the best wines in terms of depth and freshness.
Decanting: Not decanted. Good from the go but maybe 3-4 hours would have unlocked more aromas.
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6/7/2020 - dclaggett Likes this wine: 95 Points
14.5% abv. Dark crimson purple color. Whiff of heat initially on nose. Red and blue berries, kirsch, graphite, licorice root, loam, baked bread. Nice acidity, fine grained tannins. Med mouthfeel, quite smooth, long silky and sophisticated finish, quite layered, gives up many surprises as it unfurls.
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6/3/2020 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 95 Points
I'm almost reluctant to give this wine a score right now because it is so young, so this rating is based on how it was drinking today with an hour of air. Clearly an extremely well built wine, but mostly closed down to me. I still enjoyed drinking it, but you can tell that a lot of the secondary notes and flavors are just begging to come out, but are held back by a huge and finely tuned structure. Glad I have a second bottle of this... will ideally wait 5 years to try it again.
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5/31/2020 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 99 Points
(A night of socially distanced, outdoor winedrinking of cabs/Cal Bordeaux + 1 chard with Aaron Maxwell and Tiffany) One of 3 contributions from the extravagantly generous AM/T, this wasn't even on the original menu and wasn't decanted, but after AM coravined us small pours, we knew we had to break into this, and what a wine it was! Even ridiculously young, by my standards for a great cab, and without air, this jumped out of the bottle singing, with intense cherry, cassis, ripe berries, vanilla and tobacco. Deep, dark purple, full-bodied, thick legs. Medium acidity, medium+ but silky tannins, no heat. Off the charts persistence, intensity and complexity. Powerful but structured, slightly sweet but perfectly balanced with a savory note, this wine stuns; I have no other word for it, showing a maturity at 3 and a half which would be of note for a wine several times its age and which was as remarkable as the youthfulness of the 14 year old Verite. This was a close WOTN for me over the Verite because of the superior nose and just a trace more intensity, and that's saying something, as the Verite was an all-time top 5-10 wine. I don't know if this will/can improve, but it certainly has the structure to drink at this level for a looong time. Drank with cheese and charcuterie, but no reason to think this wouldn't be an awesome complement to something red and meaty. Can't evaluate the staying power over an evening since, despite drinking generally demurely over the evening with the other wines, we slurped this down in less than an hour, so it didn't have a chance to show development or fall off, although I wouldn't expect the latter. At the W-S price or something close, a great value for a top shelf cab. As I said with the Ovid, I'm unlikely to drink a Screagle, Harlan, or Promontory (although hopefully at some point, an Abreu or Colgin), but I can't imagine that something that's 2,3 or 10x the cost of this would be a relative value. In case you couldn't tell, I kinda liked this . . .
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5/30/2020 - AaronMaxwell Likes this wine: 98 Points
Drank a bottle earlier tonight with Tiffany_Kerry and SFWineLover1 — wow, what a wine.
Though young, it didn’t show any harshness or sharp edges. This was equisite. For me, this rang of vanilla, cassis, and pure happiness. Next to an ‘09 Opus an ‘04 Verite, this was the clear favorite.
Over an hour, I couldn’t discern much evolution. I’m eagerly awaiting a second tasting.
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5/23/2020 - Mds319 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Amazing wine with awesome flavors. Well rounded on the palate with smooth, velvety tannins. But full of bright red fruit flavors with tobacco and a touch of leather. Delicious now or will cellar well.
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5/22/2020 - Mds319 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Amazing wine!! Tasted this at the Vine Vault event in Jacksonville in Feb 2020. Drinkable now but has time to cellar. Decanted for about an hour. Amazing flavors of red cherry, leather and tobacco. Complex flavors and very soft tannins. Paired with filet mignon. Worth every penny!
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5/9/2020 - worldwidewine Likes this wine: 100 Points
This is the best young cabernet sauvignon i've tasted in my life.
A bright purple colour. Fantastic nose of graphite, cherry, licorice, peper, blackberry.Pronounced savoury tannins with smoothness ,plum with a finish of 1 minute . I insist on the word BALANCE !Everything is in place for a long, long,time.
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5/6/2020 - WhiteyBordeaux Likes this wine: 96 Points
A gorgeous representation of California at its best. Smooth can be consumed now without regret. Reminds me a bit of Bevan EE but better.
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4/11/2020 - TXRDW wrote: 97 Points
Very pronounced tannins with an underlying smoothness that is truly something special. Graphite and plum with a never ending finish, this wine is structured in a way to develop into a 98-99 point wine over time. Slow ox for 6 hours, yet the wine was still constrained by the dominating tannins that never eased up. This wine with patience is destined for greatness.
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1/8/2020 - AlexHop Likes this wine: 98 Points
Close to perfect. Nose is insane, complex, with subtle toast, touch of sweet fruit.
Flavors are gorgeous classic. Beautiful dark red fruit, supple tannins, super long finish showing dry herbs. Shows solid structure, a great candidate for long aging.
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11/29/2019 - bsumoba Likes this wine: 97 Points
From a 375mL bottle.
Dark purple and garnet wine that was decanted for 2 hours. No sediment in bottle which was interesting.
Drank over 2 days...
Day 1 - A nose of blueberries, a bit of forest and toasty oak. Tasting extremely well for a young wine after two hours. Wine got better as the night progressed. Wine felt nice and fleshy and the 14.5% alcohol was not as apparent as I would have thought. Nice medium long finish and left me wanting more. My Father absolutely loved this and I think I know what I am getting him for Xmas. Couldn't wait to see what it tasted like on Day 2.
Day 2 - Tannins were all about integrated and the blueberry, blackberry and dark cherry along with that light oak was pleasant to drink. This is going to be so good in 10 years and has led to my 97 score for today, but can easily see it getting more with age. I thoroughly enjoyed the 2-3 oz I had saved.
Unfortunately, I made the mistake of bringing this little bottle out early in the night on Day 1 and was left with drinking other wine that made me want to finish the last 3 oz I had saved. Clearly, the 16' Spottswoode was WOTN for me, but was in no way challenged. Alongside this was a 16' Decoy, a 17' Caymus, a 14' Silver Oak Alexander Valley, and a couple other "grocery store" wines which I didn't get their name that others had brought to dinner. I only shared a bit of this 375mL bottle with the ones I knew would appreciate it or were otherwise not already hammered.
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11/15/2019 - emilchua wrote:
RP 100
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is still very tight and youthful, slowly unfurling to reveal a multifaceted wine with tons of black, blue and red fruit sparks—plums, cherries, black currants and red currants—with dark chocolate, cedar chest, black tea and red roses in the background plus wafts of pencil lead and prosciutto. Medium-bodied and firmly textured by superbly ripe, grainy tannins, it has a fantastic core of intense, complex layers, finishing on an edifying mineral note. Wow!
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10/26/2019 - fat.metheny Likes this wine: 97 Points
Blackberries, cassis, chocolate, cigar wrap, some flower notes. Medium mouthfeel with very long finish. Going to be a 100pointer in 7 years. Could age for 30 years easily.
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10/16/2019 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine: 96 Points
Spottswoode pairing at Pappas Steakhouse Houston.
2016 Estate 96+ a lot of upside. Very approachable for a such a young Cabernet. Very well made from what will be an iconic Napa vintage.
2016 Lyndenhurst 92+ Lovely nose that hit's the middle pallet with acid and tannins. Very nice wine for a 2nd label.
2015 Estate 95+ Very ripe on the nose. Floral with a boat load of Tannin.
2010 Estate 97 WOTN for me. This is a beautiful wine with room to develop more as I think the fruit is just starting to settle into that secondary window.
1996 NR- Not my style on the nose but I can appreciate how well this wine has aged.
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9/28/2019 - bobh22314 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Much the same as last time but less obvious fruit but very complex and compelling. Drinking beautifully for such a young wine. Tasted along side the 2015 which had much more obvious fruit but also drank very well for such a yountwine. Give the nod by at least a point to the 2016
Plan to try the comparison again next year
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9/28/2019 - dmwilsondvm Likes this wine: 98 Points
Uh, yeah. Nicely done. Coiled tightly yet, but a 2 hr decant was key. This absolutely has 100 pt potential.
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9/17/2019 - Elpaninaro Likes this wine:
Trade tasting- pop and pour and enjoyed over about 45 minutes
deep purple black color, dark brooding nose, blackberries, chalk, cassis, black plums, a very evident presence of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, on the palate firm and grounded with serious structure- and yet there is a exciting and almost exotic character like one gets with a young Lafleur or Trotanoy, chocolate notes, long full finish, with time the tannins become almost burly in character but remained soft and silky around the edges, where the 2013 was a dark monolith- this has a lot of fire and life to it despite being similarly backward and primary, notes of new saddle leather, fine long finish with chalk notes, with time in glass a wild ripe cherry note appears underlying the deep pool of blueberry and cassis fruit on the middle, this is quite an exciting wine with the greatest potential, far too young to show its best- but giving some electric glimpses into what is to come, as good as it gets.
(*****), 2031++
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6/16/2019 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Complex aromas of rose petals, blueberries, tobacco, eucalyptus, licorice and some light overtones of cedar. On the palate, not as overtly open and fruit driven as the 2015, but shows the same unbelievably purity and superior focus. Medium to full bodied, showing lots of black cherry fruit laced with extremely fine grained but prominent tannins and loads of complex mineral driven flavors. Structured and ready for many years in the cellar, it finishes long and super fresh. A very nuanced wine and much more feminine than most from the valley floor in St Helena. It is coiled up at present but promises to age extremely well.
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6/11/2019 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 93 Points
Spottswoode Dinner with Molly Sheppard & Ray Kaufman (Amuse Bouche, 22/F Hennessey Centre, Wan Chai, Hong kong): Almost totally opaque but welcomingly bright black-ruby. Nose is quite dense red/black fruit and also a sense of fresh-dawn plank wood. Palate is immediately very generous and welcoming..deep black and red berry fruit, umami, lots of softly well-integrated oak but with a still stiff tannic backbone. Very heady and hedonistic. Hard to fault except for the austerity of a drought year.
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6/10/2019 - oldwines Likes this wine: 99 Points
Tasted at the winery. Aged for 20 months in 60% new French oak and made from 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. Opened and slo-Oxed over 6 hours or so before we tasted it. The wine is a dark garnet with a crimson/purple edge. This is an exquisite wine from the first moment you smell it... The nose explodes with complex scents of vanilla, cedar, leather, red, black and blue berries and after some time in the glass an explosion of eucalyptus. Pretty high in tannin and acidity but the tannins while mouth coating are supple and surprisingly smooth. This has that amazing hallmark I love in extraordinary wines... dense and rich in flavor yet light and elegant at the same time. Palate flavors include red and black plum, slightly under-ripe blueberry, red currant, black tea and stony minerals. Balanced to near perfection. It is another testament to what I believe is the best vintage (2016) from Napa in decades. The restraint and elegance, total balance and depth of flavor and complexity has been obvious to me in many recent tastings of California Cabs from the 2016 vintage. Those who prefer massive, powerful (over-)ripe wines may disagree, but these are reminiscent of how Cali/Napa Cabs tasted in the 1970’s and 1980’s and will age like the best of them...the 1974’s, 1978’s, 1984’s and 1987’s. Absolutely superb! BUT, infanticide to drink it now...at 10 years old this will start to show what it will really become and at 25 it will be one of the best wines from California you could drink.
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4/18/2019 - bobh22314 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Purple to the rim
Wild flowers on the nose
Huge black fruits up front full bodied tannins starting to kick in after a half hour open. Long finish
Best young spottswoode since I tasted the 2007
Wonderful right now but going to wait another 5 years to try again
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