WINEMAKER'S NOTES:
The 2022 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon shows youthful tannins, bursting with wild strawberries, marionberries, and violets on the palate. Layers of graham cracker baking spice, cocoa powder, and toasted spice draw you in. A slight salinity ties it together.
Blend: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot
TASTING NOTES:
Recently released (September 2025), Spottswoode's 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is perhaps slightly bigger than usual for this property but still retains a sense of freshness. Loaded with cassis and blackberries, it's full-bodied, plush and voluptuous, yet also long and mouthwatering on the finish. Wonderfully forward but balanced, the juicy fruit is successfully framed by silky, soft tannins.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 pts.
This wine shows pretty fruit and a rather soft texture. It’s not overly full-bodied, so it's a vintage that's drinkable young. Aged in 65% new oak. Mild, creamy, layered tannins. Easy and gorgeous.
- James Suckling, 96 pts.
Looking at the flagship, it's a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, raised all in barrel. Its deep purple hue is followed by classic notes of crème de cassis, new leather, graphite, and spring flowers. This carries to a medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, layered, elegant Cabernet that will benefit from 5-6 years of bottle age, which is incredibly rare for a 2022 and will evolve for two decades.
- Jeb Dunnuck, 95 pts.
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is a wonderfully classy, polished wine. Today, the 2022 comes across as a bit soft, but it is such a charmer. Rose petal, bright red cherry/plum fruit, cedar and mocha build nicely in the glass. This comes across as a bit quiet, but all the estate signatures are present. It's an exquisite wine from Spottswoode.
- Vinous, 95 pts.
Attractive red berry fruit is laced with leather and sandalwood, nuanced by perfumed rose petals and cedar spice. It is medium-bodied on the palate and features lithe tannins that grip the finish with building intensity. A wine of brightness and energy, with savoury layers adding depth and complexity.
- Decanter, 95 pts.
This version delivers seductive flavors of mulberry, boysenberry and blackberry com- pote, along with gently singed alder, anise and black tea notes, plus flashes of iris and ink. Shows the more sedate energy of the vintage, but with range, form and definition. An impressive effort.
- Wine Spectator, 93 pts.
