January 22, 2024 - With Lamb chops…..
Interesting bottle….seemed Dead upon opening and very thin but what an hour decant will do.
Mild cassis, mint, slight earth, rhubarb,cinnamon and a beautiful sweetness that surprised me. Whisky/sauternes note shows it’s age though still can seem fresh from a slightly colder sip. Decent acidity and strong finish. Probably best to drink up.
Range from 88-93 points
At 3 hour mark it is showing black cherry, crushed rocks and licorice. Match sticks? Very fresh. Crazy time with this wine.
January 20, 2024 - In my cellar since release, decanted at 5pm and tasted over several hours. The wine looks quite youthful with medium dark garnet and little to no bricking. Very old-school, Cali cab (thankfully) with a very Bordeaux-like funky nose, as well as cassis, pencil lead, lots of earthy notes and some chocolate, cedar and tobacco the\at emerge with a little air. Palate is less expressive than the nose at least in the first hour, but I suspect will open with more time (I’ll update later). Finish is quite long. Tannins are barely present with a silky texture to the wine. Still bright with acidity, certainly not flabby. I know there have been a number of bad reviews of this wine but this bottle seems very close to pristine with no obvious flaws like VA or Brett as others have experienced.
Update- no improvement with more time in the decanter. I hoped it would open up some more but it didn’t. 93–>92
November 17, 2023 - The prior negative reviews are accurate! There is something very wrong with this wine. Pure VA. I mistakenly thought I bought the Estate when I recently purchased this at auction. Had I accurately read the reviews I would not have wasted my money!
December 12, 2022 - Same bottle as EC and I was on the fence about marking this as flawed, but looking at the notes this is just a wine with good or terrible reviews, and this reflects the poor end of the spectrum.
Not sure if there was a stuck fermentation in 1990, or other winemaking challenge, but the degree of VA and prune is astounding. The cork was perfect, no sign of heat damage, just a load of espresso bean, charred wood and volatile acid.
December 11, 2022 - Awful; a little volatile, slightly raisiny, seemingly marked much more by a hot vintage than its terroir. A huge disappointment. Pristine cork and fill. Same bottle as RockinCabs and I agree with his score, which I won't duplicate here so as not to skew the stats with regard to % of awful bottles.
July 31, 2022 - Beautiful, elegant, feminine strong showing from Spottswoode. Still holding up after 32 years. Amazon blue/black fruit and long finish as this wine stilll has 2-5 more years to it.
December 14, 2021 - Still holding up strong! Popped and poured immediately. Wet/damp earth on the nose. Fading red fruit still had some strength to it but it's mellowness really completed the steak we had. Medium finish. Overall a wonderful wine.
December 10, 2021 - A solid example of a mature, full-bodied, classic California Cabernet with ample notes of blackberry, black currants, tobacco, spice, earth and cigar box. Round textured and filled with fruit in the finish, there is no need for decanting, or further development.
December 9, 2020 - Went bad
March 31, 2020 - Nose of black cherry, red cherry, and black currants, the same on the palate, old style Cabernet Sauvignon, medium/big body, rich, elegant, very tasty, time to drink up as flavors are fading, especially the second night, my last Spottswoode and it brings back a lot of memories being on the list years ago, a long, flavorful finish, and elegant aftertaste. Uploaded photo showing label and sediment on the bottle from cellar age.