1984 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
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Tasting notes
1984 was the first blend that included a tiny quantity of Cabernet Franc (4%). It is hard to know if that accounts for the opulence and lushness of this wine, but this is a beautiful example of a fully mature Spottswoode, with a dark-garnet color, loads of berry fruit intermixed with a touch of tobacco leaf, licorice, and light toast. The fruit is clearly on the blacker-currant side than any red fruits, with lushness, a touch of floral rose petal notes and a medium to full-bodied finish. This is also fully mature, but should continue to hold when well-stored for up to a decade.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Good dark red. Currant, plum and spices on the nose, with complicating coffee and menthol nuances; clearly from a riper year than the 1983 sample. Savory, fairly intense flavors of berries, leather and underbrush are richer but more tired than those of the '03. Finishes with a tawny port note and gritty tannins. Past its peak.
Pretty dark though with quite a bit of evolution at the rim. That marine note again…. Sort of briney plus minerals. Really sappy and appetising. Very healthy colour. Meaty flavours with marked acidity. Not quite integrated though not tired. Perhaps just needs a bit of time? The acid might well put people off in a totally blind tasting.. (LM) (JR)
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.