Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Professional Ratings

• 96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The first vintage for Jennifer Williams, 2006, was a low-crop year, with only 2,743 cases produced. The final blend harkens back to the first two vintages of Spottswoode, in being almost 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (1.5% Cabernet Franc with the rest Cabernet Sauvignon). This wine is flowery with terrific fruit intensity and classic Spottswoode elegance and purity. Deep ruby/purple color, youthfulness still to this day and plenty of breadth, depth and richness. An underrated vintage, sandwiched between 2005 and another great one, 2007, this is a sleeper year and a beautiful wine that should drink well at least for another 20-25 years.
• 96 Jeb Dunnuck
  The 2006 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a dense, powerhouse of a wine that still holds onto the terrific sense of elegance and balance that this estate always seems to deliver. Tons of blackcurrants, sweet tobacco, cigar wrapper, and bouquet garni-like notes give way to a deep, dense, still incredibly concentrated 2006 that has a wealth of raw material, building yet sweet tannins, and a great finish. With notable purity as well as balance, it’s certainly in its drink window, yet I suspect it will easily keep for another 2-3 decades or more. It’s well worth seeking out and will stand up with the best Napa Cabernet.
• 94 Connoisseurs' Guide
  Deep and defined but lifted by a sense of precision and wine-making polish that sets it apart from the crowd, Spottswoode's latest is a rich and well-crafted wine that tempers appropriate tannins with lots of incisive varietal fruit. Its touches of dust and complementary oak spice herald increased complexity with age, and, while five or six years in bottle will see it bloom nicely, it is built to improve for many years more.
• 92 Wine Spectator
  Drying herb, mineral and graphite join grilled meat and dried currant in this taut, tannic, structured and backward youngster. Firmly tannic and chewy, very concentrated and tightly wound. Best from 2011 through 2018. 2,743 cases made.