2018 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst
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Tasting notes
80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Malbec, 6% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Fruit sourced from the estate vineyard, Darms Lane in Napa Valley, Edcora on Atlas Peak, Knights Bridge in Knights Valley, Parry Vineyard in St Helena, and Young Inglewood in St Helena. It is aged 20 months in 57% new French oak. Vanilla, custard pastry, clafoutis, bright red and black cherry, slight toast. The oak on this wine expresses much more as vanilla and custard than it does anything woodsy. The wine is fruit-driven and fresh, a lighter expression of Napa. (SCJ)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
A wine well worth purchasing and cellaring, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst sports a dense purple hue as well as classic Cabernet notes of blackcurrants, Asian spices, violets, licorice, and tobacco. Beautifully rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, it's one heck of a second wine that can be drunk today or cellared for 15-20 years.
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst is a fabulous wine that shows just how compelling the vintage is, even among mid-tier offerings. Blackberry, graphite, cloves, licorice and lavender all build in the glass. The Lyndenhurst Cabernet is usually much more approachable, but the 2018 is a real powerhouse. I would give the tannins at least a few years to soften. This is impressive, to say the least.
The deep purple-black colored 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant scents of fresh blackcurrants, black raspberries and Morello cherries plus hints of lavender, pencil lead and bouquet garni with a touch of Sichuan pepper. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is charged with electric energy, framed by grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with great intensity and purity.
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.