Kristyn Aquino

9.2

Gifted by my partner’s sister as a sweet & thoughtful surprise for our 6 month anniversary ♡ We are new to wine but have been spending our past few date nights just at home watching movies with an inexpensive bottle she recommended from our local grocery store (which we enjoy so much!). And to celebrate our anniversary, we did the exact same thing— except this time, with a bottle carefully chosen by a loved one from her own personal collection, who is THE wine lover!! Rudy & I both loved the taste of this one so much. I think it’s a great start for those like us who are getting into wine and have no idea about anything and just want something tasty, because now we know we like zinfandel blends! I’m not there yet with describing the taste of wine but I do really like the complexity of blends now and thought this tasted very clean and yummy (っ˘ڡ˘ς) Thank you Aimee!! Note: we also did homework on how the name originated! Very cool to know how the person who made this sold his popular zin blend & had to sign a clause that wouldn’t allow him to make anymore zin blends for 8 years- hence the 8 years in the desert :0 — 11 days ago

Rudi Sanchez-Colberg

9.5

Way too early, but what a great wine. Look forward to tasting again in 10+ years — 8 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

2002 vintage. Nice fill, good cork. Decanted with a respectable amount of powdery sed. Smelled great during decanting. Tasted 1.5 hours after opening/decanting. Expected light body with delicate tendrils. Medium body with a light palate footprint. Holy shazzbaat. This was absolutely firing. Like top of the pops, straight up to number one. Exceptional knitting and in a perfect spot now. Go all the way back to the inaugural 1982 vintage with this winery’s cabernet…thought my all-time fave was the 1991 altho the 1986 and 1987 were special. The 2020, picked early, thus avoiding the fires, is phenomenal as well. This was on another level and have had approx 150 bottles of Spottswoode Cab in the last three + decades. It was probably the best out of all of them. Difficult to imagine Napa Cab better than this. Power and finesse on display. Not improving but can hold this intensity for another 4-5 years. 12.24.24. — a day ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Better on its own and still needs lots of time. Hold another 5-8 years and beyond. — 9 hours ago

Tom Garland

9.2

Double decant and pour (lots of sediment). A splendid medium tawny red color. On the nose: stewed black plum, nutmeg, forest floor, worn leather, vanilla oak. Taste: soft, lively wine with dried candied cherries, currants, loamy soil, toasty oak, and a spiced mocha medium finish. YUM at 28 years! — a day ago

with Brenda

Rick Phillips

9.6

After 35 years I was not expecting much. Especially when the cork disintegrated on opening. Aureated on decanting and was happily surprised. After about 20 minutes opened to dark chocolate, leather but so smooth. The last glass was pure delight. Howell Mountain at its best! — 14 days ago

with Letha

Jay Kline

9.1

Opened earlier in the day and double-decanted to be served several hours later. The 1966 pours a pale garnet color with a transparent core. This is red fruit heavy and sanguine with ferrous earth, leather, and old wood. The tannins are firm still. An almost evergreen St-Estèphe that’s iron clad and tough as nails. Better than good but at nearly 60 years old, will it ever relax? Hard to say. It would likely survive another 60 years but it’s hard to imagine it evolving a lot considering where we’re at today. So...drink now, I guess? — 24 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

We had this a few days ago and I misplaced my notes. Citrus mineral and intensity I recall. Probably committing infanticide drinking this now but there were good reasons to. Firstly our son and wife plus our daughter home for Christmas from New York and secondly my retirement after 53 years at McDonald Group. — 2 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Medium ruby , wider light ruby rim . Touch more closed and mineral on the nose with, red currant , grafite , cedar . Quite aloof . On the palate this is quite strict , excellent refreshing acidity and very noticeable gritty tannin , more red fruits on the palate , red currant, cherry, cranberry hints alongside the cassis and mineral backbone . Very young , mineral , quite linear and saline . This shows a lot of intensity and salinity after a while in the glass , improves with time in the glass but really needs time in the cellar. Come back in 5 - 10 years , will show well for a further 10 perhaps 20 years. Very classic and aristocratic . — 16 days ago

Michael Herzig

9.6

Almost 20 years old, served at Thanksgiving 2024 it blew us away. So balanced, smooth and long. — a month ago