2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
United States
St. Helena
Napa
Red
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot
00
2022 - 2037
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2023 - 2037
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2020 - 2037
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I tasted a large number of wines at Spottswoode this year, including a mini-vertical of the flagship Cabernet Sauvignon that spanned every vintage winemaker Aron Weinkauf has been at the estate. It won't come as a surprise that Spottswoode, one of Napa Valley's elite properties, turned out brilliant wines in top vintages like 2013 and 2016. The wine that always surprises me in this lineup of recent vintages (which I have had occasion to taste more than once) is the 2011, as it is a challenging vintage that is the true testament to an estate's commitment to quality. This is an absolutely captivating set of wines from Spottswoode and the team led by proprietor Beth Novak Milliken.
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2020 - 2037
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Spottswoode founder and matriarch Mary Weber Novak passed away just before harvest, which cast a bit of a somber mood on my fall visit. These wines are a lasting testament to the passion for quality Novak instilled and that her daughter Beth Novak Milliken continues today. Quite simply, I was blown away by the wines I tasted, starting from the small production Albariño and Sauvignon Blanc to the flagship Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition to these current releases, I also had a chance to revist the Cabernet Sauvignon back to the 2010 vintage. The most surprising wine of that mini-vertical is the 2011, a wine that shows what total dedication and a top site can do.
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2022 - 2036
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It may be sexist to describe Spottswoode as a feminine style of Napa Cabernet, but from the start, there has been no arguing with the fragrant elegance of this midweight wine. And in fact the modern history of the estate has been dominated by women, beginning with owner Mary Novak and her daughters Beth and Lindy but also including a string of talented winemakers: Pam Starr, Rosemary Cakebread and Jennifer Williams.
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This is another set of gorgeous wines, from Spottswoode, a historic property in the center of St. Helena. The flagship Cabernet rightly gets most of the attention, but some of the other wines, the Lyndenhurst Cabernet and Syrah Story Book in particular, are also worth taking a look at. In addition to these wines, I also tasted a few older vintages that reinforce my impression that in recent years proprietor Beth Novak Milliken and Winemaker Aron Weinkauf have moved towards a greater emphasis on finesse.
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2017 - 2032
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Proprietor Beth Novak Milliken and her team headed by Winemaker and Vineyard Manager Aron Weinkauf and Assistant Winemaker Landon Donley have done a terrific job with these new and upcoming releases. Nowhere is that more evident than in the 2011s, which are quite impressive, especially considering the vintage. The 2012s are consistent with the year, while the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is shaping up to be another stellar effort. It all starts in the vineyard, though, and this historic St. Helena site is one of the very best.
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While fans of the new and trendy chase expensive Napa Valley cabernets that don't yet have proven track records for graceful aging, Spottswoode continues to turn out remarkably refined, perfumed wines into its fourth decade. Winemaker Aron Weinkauf, who took over as winemaker here with the 2011 harvest following five years as assistant winemaker, is trying to make wines with more restraint. He told me he's doing less de-leafing in order to get more shade on the fruit and is also more liberal today with late-season irrigation in order to avoid dehydration and preserve the fruit. Spottswoode, which is a very warm site, is also picking earlier. Weinkauf told me that he would have waited a few days for the grapes to dry out from the October rains in 2011 but the berries were expanding and the estate could not risk waiting. But this 30th anniversary bottling has turned out very well.
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