Winemaker Notes
Blend: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
My #1 Wine of the Year: The 2014 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon may be one of the best wines of the vintage. On this day, I tasted nearly 100 of some of the best Cabernets from the Americas, and this wine stood alone as if there were no other wines in the room. This wine opens up with delightful and distinctive aromas of red to black fruits, a dusting of cocoa powder to capture me under its spell. Its palate is layered and superbly structured. The sweet tannins keep it all together before its crescendo of a long, lasting, and memorable finish. (Tasted: October 30, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
This remarkable wine from the famed familyfarmed, organic estate impresses immediately in its depth of concentration and stately grace, imparting a wealth of rose-garden compost and wild truffle on the nose. Within the vibrant range of sensual flavor is salted caramel, black cherry and chocolate, alongside a twist of saddle and campfire coffee. Its grip of focused tannin suggests years of aging potential; enjoy best from
Cellar Selection -
Decanter
Under winemaker Aron Weinkauf, Spottswoode is producing more classical wines than ever, and the 2014 is one of the most tensile, tight-knit benchland Cabernets of the vintage. A classy bouquet of crushed cassis, damson, graphite and spice, subtly framed by new oak, is followed by a taut, firm palate with a serious chassis of fine but abundant tannins, and a lovely line of acidity that lends this Cabernet amazing length. Great concentration and incipient complexity; this just needs time. Drinking Window 2024 - 2060
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James Suckling
Amazing burnt-orange and currant aromas with tar and lead pencil. Blackberries, too. Changes all the time. Mesmerizing. Full-bodied and powerful with super-polished tannins and a long and intense finish. The polished and fine tannins coat your mouth. Glorious. Needs three to four years to soften.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is another elegant, yet powerful wine from this estate. Made from 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, its saturated purple color is followed by classic Cabernet notes of crème de cassis, violets, hints of tobacco leaf, bouquet garni, and a beautiful minerality that develops as the wine sits in the glass. Full-bodied, concentrated, and impeccably balanced, it lacks the Wow factor of the 2013 and 2015, yet is a classic and textbook as they come. Drink it anytime over the coming three decades.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Dark ruby in color, with just a bit of lightening at the rim, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon offers up striking aromas of damp moss, loam and black cherries, framed by hints of cedar and vanilla. It's medium to full-bodied, rich and velvety in feel, with a long, complex finish redolent of dried spices. It should drink well for at least another decade, probably more. Best After 2018
Spottswoode is an historic, family-owned estate vineyard and winery located on the western edge of St. Helena in Napa Valley. The estate was established in 1882 by George Schonewald, whose historic Victorian home is depicted on the label. Spottswoode was christened by Mrs. Albert Spotts, whose family owned the property from 1910 until its purchase in 1972 by Mary Weber Novak and her husband, Dr. Jack Novak. After Jack died unexpectedly in 1977, Mary carried out their shared dream, and Spottswoode’s debut Cabernet Sauvignon was produced in 1982, exactly one hundred years after the estate’s founding.
To ensure the highest quality, Spottswoode is dedicated to producing a handful of wines in very limited quantities: Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Lyndenhurst, and Field Book. The winery's goal is to produce exceptional, well-balanced, structured wines that exhibit texture, elegance, consistency and the ability to age well.
The 40-acre Spottswoode Estate Vineyard is an ideal terroir for growing wine grapes. Situated on the apex of the Sulphur Creek fan, the alluvial soils comprised primarily of sandy clay loam provide superb drainage. The gap between the Mayacamas Range and Spring Mountain admits cooling maritime breezes that temper the sun’s heat, creating an ideal microclimate for winegrowing. Among the first to introduce organic farming practices in the Napa Valley in 1985, Spottswoode is proud to have enjoyed the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) certification since 1992 and Demeter Biodynamic Certification since 2020. Spottswoode is also Napa Valley’s first Certified B-Corp winery.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.