2020 Spottswoode Vineyard and Winery Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena 750 ml

We can count the number of true Napa Valley “First Growths” on one hand. 

Spottswoode is certainly one of them.

The estate is to St. Helena what Château Margaux is to Margaux: an appellation-defining icon. And though the winery built its reputation on stunning Cabernet—well, their 2020 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon somehow is beyond worthy of Spottswoode’s renown. 

Wine Advocate gave this stunner a 98–100 point score. Jeb Dunnuck called it “A beautiful, incredibly impressive effort,” and Decanter called it “a potential 100-point wine.” Black-fruited, flavorful, and rich with an elegant structure, it’s a blockbuster in every sense of the word. 

Since its founding in 1982—exactly a century after the estate itself was established—Spottswoode has become an icon of Napa Valley. Located on the western edge of St. Helena, the winery’s Texas-shaped (minus the panhandle) vineyard is dominated by organically and biodynamically farmed Cabernet Sauvignon, with a bit of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a picture-perfect site for grape growing: The alluvial clay-loam soils provide superb drainage, while the cool breezes that pass through the Mayacamas Range promote even ripening, even in the up-valley heat.

The 2020 Spottswoode Estate Cabernet consists of 96.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, intensified by 3% Petit Verdot and lifted by a brushstroke (.5%) of Cabernet Franc. After 21 months in 55% new French and Hungarian oak barrels, this is incredibly impressive, even considering Spottswoode’s already stellar track record. It’s surely one of the greatest wines of Napa Valley’s 2020 season.