California Classics

wines

1991 marked the last vintage with Tony Soter and Mia Klein. The year was the most abundant in Spottswoode’s history, producing 5,852 cases of a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc. Interestingly, this was also one of the great early stars in the tasting, showing that high yields can (when conditions are perfect – and they were in 1991, with a long growing season with plenty of sunshine, but no real extreme heat waves). This wine still has a dense, ruby/bluish-purple color, full body, a stunning nose of black raspberry, blackcurrant, licorice and camphor. The wine has fabulous intensity, full body, sweet tannin and a long, long finish. It is easy to say this has reached full maturity, but it still has a youthfulness and vibrancy that belies that notion. Look for this to continue to drink well for another 20 years. This is a great vintage for Napa Bordeaux blends.Robert Parker | 96 RPWonderful balance and orchestration of flavor. Ripe, rich currant, black cherry, plum and berry flavors are vivid and well-defined. Hints of olive, cedar, sage and anise fill out a very complex and sophisticated finish.--’81/’91 California Cabernet retrospective. Drink now through 2009. 5,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

A blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 1997 is just short of perfection from this great vintage in Napa Valley. A spectacular wine, it was the first made by Rosemary Cakebread. Production was quite high, as the new plantings started to fully produce, with 4,800+ cases declared. This is wine that fills the olfactory senses with gorgeous ripeness, blueberries, black raspberries, blackberries and cassis, while spring flowers and a touch of oak still lingers in the aromatics. When the wine hits the palate, the extraordinary intensity, purity and multi-dimensional complexity all seem to converge with a cascade of fruit, glycerin and richness. Like most Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignons, it is only 13.8% alcohol. This is a magnificent wine, a young adolescent in the scheme of its potentially fascinating evolution and should have a good 25-30+ years left in it – although it’s strutting its stuff at present. Certainly in the first two decades of Spottswoode wines this is clearly one of the most compelling efforts.Robert Parker | 98 RPDeep, bright ruby. Very ripe but reduced nose shows a chocolatey ripeness to the primary flavors of cassis, blueberry and licorice. Densely packed and powerful, conveying a tactile texture to the sweet flavors of black fruits, tobacco and spice cake. Firm acidity gives clarity and definition to the middle palate of this very concentrated wine. Finishes savory, deeply spicy and firmly tannic, with terrific length and grip. Considerably fresher and better balanced than a bottle I tasted for my Spottswoode vertical last year.Vinous Media | 94 VMElegantly framed, with rich, appealing herb, currant, chocolate and black cherry flavor that’s complex and concentrated, finishing with firm, well-integrated tannins. Best from 2002 through 2010. 4,826 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

I was blown away by the 2002 Cariad (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc). Aromas of Asian spices, soy, black cherries, creme de cassis, roasted coffee, new saddle leather, and game emerge from this black beauty. Again, seamlessness, exquisite balance, a taste of balsamic vinegar in the deep, concentrated black fruit flavors, and a monumental finish that lasts nearly 70 seconds are found in this incredible effort. It may be slightly more evolved and forward than the 2001, but will last just as long ... 2-3 decades.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPColgin's 2002 Cariad has aged exceptionally well. A gorgeous, Old World bouquet laced with graphite, smoke and incense melds into layers of dark red fruit. The 2002 gets better and better in the glass as the aromatics continue to open up and the tannins soften. Readers lucky enough to own the 2002 can look forward to another 5-10 years of superb drinking, perhaps more. This is a stellar showing.Vinous Media | 97 VMFabulous aromas of melted chocolate and brownie fold in with dark berry, cedar, sage and loamy earth flavors, rich and intense. They gain velocity and depth, firming nicely on the finish where the tannins give this structure and have a cedary tobacco leaf presence. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.--2002 California Cabernet blind retrospective (May 2012). Drink now through 2022. 500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

I was also able to taste a barrel sample of the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon, and it’s clearly one of the deeper hued 2022s I was able to taste for this report. Darker currants, hints of cassis, scorched earth, and tobacco all emerge on the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, has a classic, elegant Spottswood texture, building tannins, and outstanding length.Jeb Dunnuck | 94-96 JDThe 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon, tasted as a barrel sample, is deep purple-black in color. Intense scents of plum preserves, blueberry pie, and creme de cassis give way to wafts of dried roses, star anise, and powdered cinnamon. The medium-bodied palate is velvety and lively, with bags of juicy black and blue fruit preserves leading to a long and spicy finish on this impressive wine.The Wine Independent | 94-96+ TWIDark, layered and imposing, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is a promising wine for the year. Dark red and purplish fruit, spice and rose petals open gradually, wrapped together by firm, large-grained tannins for this site. This core blend represents about 40% of the eventual final blend.Vinous Media | 92-95 VM

The 2010 Proprietary Red Cariad reveals great intensity along with abundant notes of unsmoked tobacco leaf interwoven with blueberry, blackberry and cassis fruit, charcoal and coffee bean nuances as well as a Pauillac-like lead pencil shaving character. This blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 14% Cabernet Franc is one of the finest wines I tasted over the 12 days I spent tasting in Napa Valley in late August and early September. This remarkable 2010 should drink beautifully for 20 or more years.Robert Parker | 100 RP(a blend of 48% cabernet sauvignon, 28% merlot, 14% petit verdot and 10% cabernet franc): Saturated, bright ruby-red. Deeper and darker on the nose than the Tychson Hill cabernet, offering vibrant scents of blackcurrant, graphite minerality and bitter chocolate. At once round and delineated in the mouth, with dark berry and mineral flavors displaying outstanding depth without excess weight. With its very firm tannic structure, this typically Medoc-like wine will need a good eight to ten years to evolve in bottle and may ultimately merit an even higher rating. These vines in Madrona Vineyard in St. Helena were planted on an alluvial fan in the 1980s.Vinous Media | 95+ VMLots of ripe fruit, chocolate and iron. Full body, with loads of velvety tannins and a round and rich palate. It is round and mouthfilling yet fresh and beautiful. Delicious already but will improve with age.James Suckling | 95 JSNotable for its charcoal and graphite woodiness, along with its edgy entry into the core of dark berry fruit. Keeps you at arm’s length, with the flavors both concentrated and nuanced. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2024. 550 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 2013 Cappella is dense, young and full of energy. Black cherry, plum, chocolate, new leather and licorice are front and center. Still young and vibrant, the 2013 is seriously impressive. It can be enjoyed now, but another few years in bottle will help soften the tannins further. What a stellar wine it is. The 2013 is a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot and 6% Merlot. At this stage, this is the most approachable 2013 in the range.Vinous Media | 97 VMThe Cappella, which usually has at least 35-30% Cabernet Franc in it, looks absolutely fabulous now that the 2013 Cappella is finally in bottle. They only made about 206 cases of it, so it’s a small cuvée from this vineyard on the back streets of St. Helena. It displays sweet espresso notes, loads of white chocolate, blackberry, Asian spice and incense. It is full-bodied and opulent, with the tannins surprisingly silky and well-disguised, which is somewhat unusual in this vintage of extraordinary power and density. This is a 35- to 50-year wine.Robert Parker | 96 RPThis has the broad-shouldered persona of the vintage, but its muscular physique is deftly cloaked in velvety structure, with loam, warmed cassis, alder, steeped plum and sweet tobacco notes that are seamlessly layered. The long finish shows latent drive as a graphite underpinning plays its role, giving the fruit the support for a lengthy encore. There’s plenty of life ahead for this too. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Blind 2013 California Cabernet retrospective (February 2023). Drink now through 2040. 239 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

The 2013 Cariad Proprietary Red Wine, a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 9% Petit Verdot, shows great intensity, with a slightly more burning ember and scorched earthiness to it, giving it a more Graves-like character compared to the purity of the Tychson Hill. The wine is full-bodied, rich, layered and possibly slightly more tannic and backward than the Tychson Hill, but that could be because it had recently been bottled. It should evolve over the course of 30+ years.Robert Parker | 98 RPThe 2013 Cariad is fabulous. Pliant, expressive and nuanced in the glass. Here, the tannins are suave and supple, which makes the wine unusually accessible today. There is plenty of delineation in the dark, mineral-laced flavors, but the 2013 impresses for most of its superb textural depth. Cariad is made mostly from fruit sourced from David Abreu's Madrona Ranch vineyard in St. Helena.Vinous Media | 98 VMSuperb aromas of black fruits, black truffle and leather. Black olives. Full body, fabulous soft and velvety tannins, and superb length. The texture to this is so luxurious and sexy. Cardamom, game, earth and intense fruit. Yet poised. A blend as always of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, and petit verdot. Hard not to drink now.James Suckling | 97 JSExhibits a tight bundle of rich, extracted dark berry, mocha, licorice, savory herb and underbrush flavors, with accents of smoky oak. A tour de force that is best served after a long decant or some cellar time. The finish is deep and extracted. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2020 through 2032. 900 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS