February 26, 2024 - Decanted 2ish hours. 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot.
Bakers chocolate, cherry, leather, coffee beans, graphite, pipe tobacco, blackberry. Nearly a year since I last tried this wine, and it keeps getting better & better.
February 2, 2024 - Last night at our monthly CWG we had a couple canceled so we were going to be only 2 couples for the tasting and we decided to do it double blind. So my girlfriend picked from my cellar, double decanted it for about 30 min and went to the restaurant.
The wine is dark ruby, medium to medium plus body, nice aromatic nose, a pit high in acidity with plenty of rounded tannins, fairly complex but not much secondary notes (just yet) and a silky finish.
I will give this wine another 2-5 years in the cellar to archive its peak and then should last at least 10 years drinking great. I have 2 375ml and 2 750ml left, so the splits will go down in a year or so and the remaining ones after 2027…
93+ drink or preferably HOLD!
December 25, 2023 - Still young. Bomb
November 23, 2023 - Magnum, decanted 2 hours, thanksgiving dinner.
Bold, high acid, ripe tannins, long finish, young and fruit forward. Blackberry, plum, high alcohol. Will hold minimum 5 yrs for another bottle, but pennaly 10+ years to balance out.
October 4, 2023 - Dégustation Spottswoode avec Beth Weber Novak: Nez suave, un peu chocolaté. En attaque, c’est élégant, plus léger que le 2020, avec une structure et des tanins qui sont proéminents en finale, car il a perdu son gras de bébé. La texture racée évoquerait des grands crus de la rive gauche. Il garde une belle fraîcheur, le fruit est toujours là derrière les tanins, gardiens de sa longévité. Moins agréable maintenant, il faut lui laisser une autre décennie à mon avis pour révéler son plein potentiel. 93++ pts
September 24, 2023 - Still young, quite sharp and a touch lean. Obviously after they made the shift from a fuller style in the 2000's. I am sure it will soften and perhaps fill out with time but will remain a restrained wine.
September 15, 2023 - Spottswoode Tasting in London: Dark brooding fruit but reasonably open.
September 2, 2023 - Very open initially but shuts down a bit after 20 minutes of air
July 28, 2023 - I’m waiting to taste the magic here. Drank over three hours after a two hour decant. Lots of sediment, needs to be filtered. Full body with long legs. Good dark ruby color, and tannins were nicely smoothed out. But it was kind of flat and simple, and didn’t seem to evolve. With this reputation and price, I was hoping for a lot more. I’ll revisit in a year or so.
April 9, 2023 - Decanted 3h.
Pencil lead, red currant, subtle cedar, a dash of minerality, cocoa powder, lavender, freshly roasted coffee beans, herbaceous, blackberry liqueur, baking spice.
Quite lovely acidity & structure that paired perfectly with prime rib & potatoes au gratin. No doubt this has another 10+ years to it.