2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
Lots of eucalyptus, mint, currants, cedary spice, and tobacco notes emerge from the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate, which shows lots of ripeness on the nose yet pulls back nicely on the palate with wonderful purity and elegance. More smoky, chocolatey notes as well as ample black fruits emerge with time in the glass, and it’s another wine with incredible purity and finesse in its tannins.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Production more than doubled with the 2005 vintage, given the normal flowering and weather conditions. Moreover, it was a relatively cool year and an abundant one at that, with just short of 3,900 cases produced. The blend was 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. This was the last vintage during the era of Rosemary Cakebread, who left Spottswoode to pursue building her own portfolio of wine. This is a reserved, but classic Spottswoode. An inky bluish purple color, notes of vanillin, white flowers, blackcurrants and blueberries are all present in this dense, rich, full-bodied wine that seems to go from strength to strength. This was a vintage across the board that I underrated, but I have seen how the wines have seemingly put on weight, complexity and density as they have evolved in bottle. This is a beauty and certainly one of the great recent Spottswoodes. It will continue to drink well for 20-30 more years.
Deep, bright red-ruby. Sexy, very dark aromas of crushed black raspberry, boysenberry, menthol and licorice, with suggestions of very ripe fruit. A powerful and very primary wine with outstanding concentration and depth. Conveys an impression of medicinal reserve to its black cherry, dark berry and menthol flavors. Really exhilarating sugar/acid balance here. Finishes with big, ripe tannins and superb length.
Deep, bright red-ruby. Sexy, very dark aromas of crushed black raspberry, boysenberry, menthol and licorice, with suggestions of very ripe fruit. A powerful and very primary wine with outstanding concentration and depth. Conveys an impression of medicinal reserve to its black cherry, dark berry and menthol flavors. Really exhilarating sugar/acid balance here. Finishes with big, ripe tannins and superb length. (ST) 94+
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.