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Potential Perfection for a 2020 Napa Valley First Growth - 09/07/2023 - Cabernet Sauvignon (domestic)

New Allocation of a Napa Valley First Growth
2020 Spottswoode "Estate" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($259.99)
"...the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate showed beautifully, and it's certainly in the top handful of wines in the vintage." — Jeb Dunnuck

Spottswoode has long enjoyed its well-deserved reputation as the "Château Margaux of Napa Valley," so singular are the estate's hallmarks of elegance and refinement in any given vintage. We've just received our first allocation of the newly released 2020 rendition, which is already showing 100-point potential according to Wine Advocate and sits among the top efforts of the year. In a vintage with limited yields, avid Napa collectors will want to strike quickly to secure their stock for the cellar.

Vintage Item Name Score Retail Link
2020 Spottswoode "Estate" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 100 $259.99 View
2020 Spottswoode "Estate" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (1.5L) 100 $534.99 View
Spottswoode

2020 Spottswoode

2020 Spottswoode "Estate" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($259.99)

98-100 points Wine Advocate: "Tasted blind, in a lineup that included vintages back to 2010, a barrel sample of Spottswoode's 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon stood out as being one of the most exciting efforts. Full-bodied, ripe and rich without being overbearing, it delivers concentrated black cherry and cassis fruit framed by supple, velvety-textured tannins. It's long on the finish, with an attractively soft, dusty-loamy texture and no overt signs of a fire-troubled Napa vintage. (JC)" (09/2022)

96-98 points The Wine Independent: "The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon, tasted as a barrel sample, has 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot in the blend. Deep garnet-purple in color, it springs with notes of cedar chest, cinnamon toast, and black cherry preserves, leading to a core of blackcurrant pastilles, potpourri, and mocha. Medium-bodied, and big on flavors, the palate delivers mouth-coating black fruits with a rock-solid structure of firm tannins and lively acidity, finishing long. Approximately 3,500 cases are to be bottled. Spottswoode finished picking just the day before the Glass Fire broke out. (LPB) 96-98+" (09/2022)

96 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Tasted out of bottle, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate showed beautifully, and it's certainly in the top handful of wines in the vintage. Offering beautiful red, blue, and black fruits as well as notes of tobacco, violets, and chalky minerality, it has medium to full-bodied richness, ripe, high-quality tannins, and outstanding length. It doesn't show any signs of smoke taint and is a beautiful, incredibly impressive effort in the vintage that I suspect will evolve gracefully for two decades." (02/2023)

Ryan Woodhouse | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: September 07, 2023

If there is one thing I learned early on at K&L it's that the best thing you can do when collecting wine is follow the producers that you trust. K&L has a five decade history of just that, sticking with the folks that make consistently excellent wines regardless of what vintage specific, seasonal challenges come their way. Nothing could be more reflective of that strategy than looking at Spottswoode's 2020 Estate Cabernet. 2020 was obviously a challenging vintage with tragic reasons already well documented. However, there are plenty of excellent wines to be found and this is one of them. This wine has everything you expect from Spottswoode - stunning varietal typicity, layers of flavor, a refined, elegant structure, vibrant, fresh acidity, and precise balance and poise. Despite being remarkably well integrated and approachable when I tasted the wine first in April and again last week, I'm sure this wine will also age beautifully in the cellar for those lucky enough to secure some. Spottswoode is a small vineyard with a very finite production level, our allocations typically go very fast and we can rarely get additional wine after release.

2020 Spottswoode "Estate" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (1.5L) - 11 available ($534.99)

98-100 points Wine Advocate: "Tasted blind, in a lineup that included vintages back to 2010, a barrel sample of Spottswoode's 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon stood out as being one of the most exciting efforts. Full-bodied, ripe and rich without being overbearing, it delivers concentrated black cherry and cassis fruit framed by supple, velvety-textured tannins. It's long on the finish, with an attractively soft, dusty-loamy texture and no overt signs of a fire-troubled Napa vintage. (JC)" (09/2022)

96-98 points The Wine Independent: "The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon, tasted as a barrel sample, has 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot in the blend. Deep garnet-purple in color, it springs with notes of cedar chest, cinnamon toast, and black cherry preserves, leading to a core of blackcurrant pastilles, potpourri, and mocha. Medium-bodied, and big on flavors, the palate delivers mouth-coating black fruits with a rock-solid structure of firm tannins and lively acidity, finishing long. Approximately 3,500 cases are to be bottled. Spottswoode finished picking just the day before the Glass Fire broke out. (LPB) 96-98+" (09/2022)

96 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Tasted out of bottle, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate showed beautifully, and it's certainly in the top handful of wines in the vintage. Offering beautiful red, blue, and black fruits as well as notes of tobacco, violets, and chalky minerality, it has medium to full-bodied richness, ripe, high-quality tannins, and outstanding length. It doesn't show any signs of smoke taint and is a beautiful, incredibly impressive effort in the vintage that I suspect will evolve gracefully for two decades." (02/2023)