2018 Spottswoode, Cabernet Sauvignon, St Helena, Napa Valley, California,USA
Critics reviews
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is stunning, just as it was last year. A dark, ample, brooding Cabernet, the 2018 offers up the essence of black cherry, plum, mocha, spice, graphite, leather and incense. The 2018 has shut down considerably since I tasted it last year. That won't be a problem in a few years' time, but today the 2018 is decidedly brooding. Even so, it shows tremendous finesse and tons of pure breed. It is without question one of the epic, present-day wines for the estate.
Drink 2026 - 2048
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (January 2022)
Composed of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot.
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon from Spottswoode explodes from the glass with bombastic notes of crushed blackcurrants, fresh blackberries and wild blueberries with hints of cardamom, lilacs, incense and fragrant earth, leading into wafts of pencil shavings and crushed rocks.
Medium-bodied, elegant and yet so, so intense, it has layers of bright crunchy fruit and mineral sparks galore, framed by exquisitely ripe, finely pixelated tannins, finishing very long and energetic. Wowsers.
Drink 2023 - 2060
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (November 2020)
One of the wines of the vintage, as well as a legendary Napa Cabernet that will compete with anything out there, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate reveals a deep purple hue as well as extraordinary notes of pure crème de cassis and blackberry-scented fruits intermixed with lots tobacco leaf, lead pencil, spice, and hints of flowers.
Reminding me of the 2016 with its purity as well as its balance, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless texture, and a blockbuster of a finish. Based on 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, this is a wine you don’t want to miss!
It’s going to take 7-8 years to hit its early drinking plateau and cruise for 30-40 years in cold cellars.
Drink 2028 - 2068
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (January 2021)
About this WINE
Spottswoode Estate
Spottswoode is a historic, family-owned Napa vineyard and winery renowned for its exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon. Established in 1882 by George Schonewald, the estate is distinguished by the pre-Prohibition Victorian building depicted on the wine label. Spottswoode was named by Mrs. Albert Spotts in 1910, and it was acquired by Mary and Jack Novak in 1972. Mary released Spottswoode’s first Cabernet Sauvignon in 1982, exactly one hundred years after the estate was founded.
Situated on the western edge of St. Helena at the foot of the Mayacamas Mountains, the Spottswoode terroir is ideal for growing fine wine grape varieties. The forty acres are given primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon, with small blocks of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Sauvignon Blanc. The estate has been farmed organically since 1985, and the vineyard was certified organic in 1992.
Today, Mary’s daughters are at the helm: Beth Novak Milliken manages the winery, and Lindy Novak oversees national marketing.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.
It is adaptable to a wide range of soils, although it performs particularly well on well-drained, low-fertile soils. It has small, dusty, black-blue berries with thick skins that produce deeply coloured, full-bodied wines with notable tannins. Its spiritual home is the Médoc and Graves regions of Bordeaux where it thrives on the well-drained gravel-rich soils producing tannic wines with piercing blackcurrant fruits that develop complex cedarwood and cigar box nuances when fully mature.
The grape is widely planted in California where Cabernet Sauvignon based wines are distinguished by their rich mixture of cassis, mint, eucalyptus and vanilla oak. It is planted across Australia and with particular success in Coonawarra where it is suited to the famed Terra Rossa soil. In Italy barrique aged Cabernet Sauvignon is a key component in Super Tuscans such as Tignanello and Sassicaia, either on its own or as part of a blend with Sangiovese.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
There is great freshness on the nose translated through menthol and herbaceous notes alongside a subtle salinity and wet stone. The fruit is also very present and ripe, lovely notes of ripe cassis, blueberry and gooseberry. There is also a hint of vanilla that is detectable. All in all, a very complex and intense nose that is well balance.
On the palate, the tannins are very fine and the balance with the acidity and wood integration are very well done. The black and red fruit are vibrant, almost crunchy. You also find herbaceous notes such as garrigue alongside a great freshness and salinity that were evoked on the nose.
A very well balanced 2018, one of the best Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon I have tasted.
Drink 2027 - 2050+
Yoan Bernard, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd (November 2021)
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee