2016 Spottswoode
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S$36997
Vintage : 2016
Region : St. Helena, Napa Valley
Country: USA
Winemaker Notes
The 2016 vintage is our 35th year crafting the Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, and our Winemaker and Vineyard Manager, Aron Weinkauf’s, fifth vintage at the helm. As stewards of a vineyard that was first planted in 1882, we believe that great wines are not made in a single vintage. They are a concrescence of the wisdom and experience handed down from previous generations and past growing seasons. In years that are challenging, this wealth of historical knowledge elevates our wines. In spectacular vintages like 2016, the results are profound and the 2016 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is no exception. It is a beautiful wine that unfurls with dynamic energy and a commanding terroir-driven sophistication that promises decades of evolution ahead. The warmth of the growing season has added a luxurious undercurrent of power and gravitas, while our intuitive approach to vineyard and canopy management has ensured the wine retains its balance, freshness and verve.
About Winery
Spottswoode is an historic, family-owned estate vineyard and winery located on the western edge of St. Helena in Napa Valley. The estate was established in 1882 by George Schonewald, whose historic Victorian home is depicted on the label. Spottswoode was christened by Mrs. Albert Spotts, whose family owned the property from 1910 until its purchase in 1972 by Mary Weber Novak and her husband, Dr. Jack Novak. After Jack died unexpectedly in 1977, Mary carried out their shared dream, and Spottswoode’s debut Cabernet Sauvignon was produced in 1982, exactly one hundred years after the estate’s founding.
To ensure the highest quality, Spottswoode is dedicated to producing a handful of wines in very limited quantities: Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Lyndenhurst, and Field Book. The winery's goal is to produce exceptional, well-balanced, structured wines that exhibit texture, elegance, consistency and the ability to age well.
The 40-acre Spottswoode Estate Vineyard is an ideal terroir for growing wine grapes. Situated on the apex of the Sulphur Creek fan, the alluvial soils comprised primarily of sandy clay loam provide superb drainage. The gap between the Mayacamas Range and Spring Mountain admits cooling maritime breezes that temper the sun’s heat, creating an ideal microclimate for winegrowing. Among the first to introduce organic farming practices in the Napa Valley in 1985, Spottswoode is proud to have enjoyed the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) certification since 1992 and Demeter Biodynamic Certification since 2020. Spottswoode is also Napa Valley’s first Certified B-Corp winery.
Wine Advocate: 100 POINTS
An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase, and consume. Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is still very tight and youthful, slowly unfurling to reveal a multifaceted wine with tons of black, blue and red fruit sparks – plums, cherries, black currants and red currants – with dark chocolate, cedar chest, black tea and red roses in the background plus wafts of pencil lead and prosciutto. Medium-bodied and firmly textured by superbly ripe, grainy tannins, it has a fantastic core of intense, complex layers, finishing on an edifying mineral note. Wow! 2022–2060. (October 2018)
Winemaker Notes:
Raw, dynamic, and so expressive! This wine is glowing with personality, vivacity, and youthful exuberance. The palate has a rustic charm and sense of umami carefully balanced with notes of blueberry, blackberry, and resinous pine forest. Beautifully expressive now, the 2016 Estate Cabernet is a wine that will only improve with time in the cellar to integrate and mature into its full epic potential.
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is still very tight and youthful, slowly unfurling to reveal a multifaceted wine with tons of black, blue and red fruit sparks-plums, cherries, black currants, and red currants-with dark chocolate, cedar chest, black tea and red roses in the background plus wafts of pencil lead and prosciutto, Medium-bodied and firmly texture by superbly ripe, grainy tannins, it has a fantastic core of Intense, complex layers, finishing on an edifying mineral note. Wow! - Robert Parker -
