($110; blended with 4% cabernet franc) Full ruby-red color. Very ripe aromas of cassis, minerals, bitter chocolate, graphite, cedar and menthol. Sweet, lush and fruity; quite fat for a Spottswoode cabernet. A bit youthfully disjointed today but then this has not yet recovered from the bottling. Suppler than the '03-and not at all rustic or over the top. (On my most recent retasting of the '03, I found a bit more alcohol than the wine displayed last spring and rated the wine 90 points.)

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The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon was a much smaller crop at Spottswoode and the wine is relatively open but does not have the richness or mid-palate of the 2003 or their compelling 2002. Nevertheless, this is still a pretty wine with a deep ruby/purple color and a sweet nose of blueberries, black raspberries, and cassis with subtle oak and floral notes. The wine's purity, symmetry, and medium to full-bodied palate are supple and ideal for drinking now and over the next 15 or so years.

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Elegant and stylish, with pure, rich, vibrant and focused black cherry and blackberry fruit that's supple and polished. The aromas capture the ripe berry fruit, adding a pretty floral array, and the tannins are firm yet fine-grained. Long and persistent on the finish. One of the best from Spottswoode in recent memory. 1,532 cases made.

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Really. bad.