2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
Made in the blessed vintage after the 2020 wildfires. Closer to the upper end of the usual production of 2,500 to 4,000 cases. Mature, well-melded nose with Napa richness. Balsam finish keeps it appetising but it’s still settling down. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent
More reviews and scores
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon needs a fair bit of shaking to wake up notes of blackcurrant jelly, black raspberries, and mulberries, leading to hints of cinnamon stick, red roses, and pencil shavings. The medium-bodied palate is tightly knit with bold red and black fruit notes and provocative mineral sparks, supported by firm, grainy tannins and fantastic tension, finishing long and layered. It's another WOW vintage for Spottswoode! The blend includes 9% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot.
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is a wonderfully classy, polished wine. Today, the 2022 comes across as a bit soft, but it is such a charmer. Rose petal, bright red cherry/plum fruit, cedar and mocha build nicely in the glass. This comes across as a bit quiet, but all the estate signatures are present. It's an exquisite wine from Spottswoode. (AG)
This offers a gorgeous display of pure, unadulterated mulberry, boysenberry and plum fruit puree flavors that glisten as they move along, throwing off light accents of anise, violet and hibiscus along the way. Inlaid with an underlying fine-grained structure in the form of sleek threads of iron and alder, this shows tensile strength while extending through the long, refined finish. Drink now through 2045. 3,739 cases made.
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.