2006 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst
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Tasting notes
Full ruby-red. Expressive aromas of boysenberry and black cherry, with a slightly green medicinal aspect. Broad and dry, with the dark fruit flavors showing a rather subdued quality today. Finishes with broad, dusty tannins that turned a bit drier with aeration.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
There are about 500 cases of the 2006 Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon, a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc that sees about 70% new oak. It offers up beautiful supple tannins as well as notes of spring flowers interwoven with blue and black currants, and lead pencil shavings. This medium to full-bodied, lush red should age nicely for 10 years. Spottswoode Vineyard is one of Napa’s most well-known landmarks, and its winemaking team, owner Beth Novack, and assistants Rosemary Cakebread and Jennifer Williams, represents a trifecta of talented young women. When the history of Napa’s great vineyards is written, the 40-acre Spottswoode Vineyard, tucked behind the quaint town of St. Helena, will be counted among the finest grand cru vineyards of the region. These wines have always been good, but over the last decade, the quality has soared, no doubt because of a much more strict selection in the vineyard as well as in the winery. A very fine second wine, Lyndenhurst, has also been introduced, which has increased the quality of the flagship offering, the Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. Like Bordeaux’s top chateaux, Spottswoode has gotten serious about turning out a very fine second wine that is softer and more accessible, yet represents their vineyard character. Tel. (707) 963-0134; Fax (707) 963-2886
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.