Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

A youthful nose of jammy red currant fruit, toast, vanilla and milk chocolate greets the nose. Sweetly fruited on entry with lots of oak that adds a touch of bitterness in the mouth and gritty tannins to the finish. There’s nice fruit here, it’s a bit simple and the wine is youthfully clumsy but this shows some potential for future improvement. 86pts

Woody and volatile on the nose with minty, toasty aromas and not much fruit. Tactile in the mouth, thick, soft and a bit hot but packed with the soft, broad fruit that has become the standard for Napa Valley. The fruit is really sticky and it clings to the mouth on the long finish but there is very little detail or complexity here. There’s no acid to refresh the finish. 83pts

Cool and layered on the nose with black cherry fruit accented by notes of leather, blood, and a toasty oak underlay. With time this gains mint and gentle floral top notes. Clean and fresh in the mouth with clarity and purity to the core of liquory wild cherry fruit. Menthol top notes add some complexity and earth and wood spice tones on the moderately long finish complete the package. This is youthful, balanced and fresh with several years of upside ahead. Really a very attractive wine. 93pts

A bit of mushroom and green spice early on blows off to reveal beautifully fruity red cherry and currant fruit with gentle accents of tea and wood spice. In the mouth this is soft and broad with ripe tannins and lovely, rich, fresh red fruits. There are mocha accents and some nice spice top notes that follow through along with the fruit on the fairly long finish. This is fruit bomby but very well done in this style. 92pts

A bit brothy on the nose with celery salt, chili powder and dried onion notes that clear up somewhat with air but remain accenting the faded black currant fruit. Smooth and silky in the mouth with a touch of tomato acting as a foil to the slightly stick black cherry fruit. The balance here is quite fine and the fruit remains clear and obvious, if a touch simple, but this has seen better days. 89pts

Clean and crisp on the nose with a hint of spicy black fruit and a tarry core. At first this seems a bit soft in the mouth with some angular tannin lending the mid-palate an austere character. A bit of time in the glass allows some nice currant/raspberry fruit to emerge and while the tannins remain austere the wines gains nice balance and finishes well with good persistence of fruit and nice length. It’s fading in the glass but still has good backbone. 87pts