2014 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting Notes
Spottswoode 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is striking. Black cherry, plum, graphite, spice and menthol are some of the signatures. Intensely mineral and savory, the 2014 comes across as a slightly restrained version of the 2013. The flavor and tannin profiles are both quite similar, but the 2014 is a bit smaller-scaled in all of its dimensions. That is not a bad thing, as the 2014 will be ready to drink sooner. This is an impressive showing. (Oct 2016) www.vinous.com
Critic Scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The last wine in the vertical, the 2014, had been bottled two weeks before I tasted it, and it is the highest production year for Spottswoode (4,922 cases), since the 5,713 cases made in 1992 and the 5,852 produced in 1991. The wine is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. This wine shows oodles of fruit, blackcurrants, blueberries, black raspberries, charcoal, subtle oak and a full-bodied, inky, intense mouthfeel with a boatload of tannin, but the fruit is present to balance it out. This wine needs another several years of bottle age and, while not up to the levels of 2012 and 2013, it is a highly successful effort and capable of lasting 30-35 more years. Aug 2016, www.robertparker.com