2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
Mature now, yet seemingly capable of continuing on in this vein for at least another decade, Spottswoode's 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon is a terrific example of the sort of wine this picture-book estate can turn out. Always stylish and elegant, with terrific integration of fruit and oak, this vintage is lightening in color a bit, but it's so complete, offering complex aromas of cedar and vanilla that have indelibly melded with the black cherries, cassis and loam notes characteristic of the property. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it finishes long, with softly dusty tannins that will serve it well at the table the next time you can find a worthy piece of lamb or beef.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Another perfect wine from this team, the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a deep, concentrated, incredibly pure Cabernet with incredible crème de cassis fruits as well as complex notes of sandalwood, cedar, sappy flowers, and graphite. This puppy is still young and exuberant, with an inky purple color, yet it still has remarkable complexity. Full-bodied, concentrated, and balanced, it has sweet tannins giving it ample drinkability today yet will no doubt cruise for another 30 years. I wouldn’t put it past evolving for another 40+, and it might be one of the longest-lived wines from this estate out there.
Good bright ruby. Huckleberry, blackberry, violet and licorice on the scented nose; became increasingly floral with air--a real essence of its St. Helena site. Enters the mouth suave, silky and floral; wonderfully pliant in spite of its acid-driven energy, precision and youthfulness. The wine's perfume and definition pique the taste buds in the middle palate and on the very long, rising finish, where the noble tannins play a supporting role without impinging. This wonderfully youthful, floral wine appears to be at the beginning of a long plane of peak drinkability. Really fills the mouth with perfume, but not at all weighty or overly fleshy. Finishes with great sappy, rising length and grip. My sample was even better after 72 hours.
A rich, exotic beauty, Spottswoode's 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon is one the most representative wines from a cold vintage that was marked by heat spikes at the end of the growing season. That contrast makes for a viscerally thrilling wine endowed with magnificent complexity and pure class. Powerful and unctuous, with tremendous depth and tons of character, the 2010 is a total stunner. Dark plum, cherry, chocolate, spice and new leather all flesh out in this vivid, utterly breathtaking wine. There is so much to love here.
About the producer
Spottswoode is one of those rare Napa estates whose reputation rests less on volume or spectacle than on persistent exactitude. Set on the western edge of St Helena, where the Mayacamas rise and afternoon breezes temper the valley’s warmth, the vineyard occupies a favoured pocket of the appellation.