Spoto Wines
Special Select Amber Knolls Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Red Hills Lake County, North Coast, California, USA
@Delectable Wine : This is the Spoto Special Select Cabernet from Amber Knolls Vineyard in Red Hills/Lake County. I didn’t see it in the database.
Andy Beckstoffer has a new vineyard up in Lake County and asked 10 producers to be the first to make wine from there. Stuart Spoto was one of them.
Floral; crushed cranberry and ripe black cherry aromatics, even some violet wrapped in herbs. Very light and juicy...in fact, blind I would have guessed Pinot. High acidity. Plum and black pepper spice finish.
@Delectable Wine : This is the Spoto Special Select Cabernet from Amber Knolls Vineyard in Red Hills/Lake County. I didn’t see it in the database.
Andy Beckstoffer has a new vineyard up in Lake County and asked 10 producers to be the first to make wine from there. Stuart Spoto was one of them.
Floral; crushed cranberry and ripe black cherry aromatics, even some violet wrapped in herbs. Very light and juicy...in fact, blind I would have guessed Pinot. High acidity. Plum and black pepper spice finish.
The 2017 Amber Knolls Cabernet is a youthful wine. A baby that is already quite complex and mysterious. This wine had a very captivating and unique nose. Plum cola, smoked dates, with a very volcanic "tufa" limestone kind of thing going on here probably noted moreso than with any other wine in the lineup. This wine seems to be weighted a little more to the back with red and "purple" fruit character, very Malbec-esque! Medicinal kind of quality with some herbs and spice. Seemed to also be showing the "warm red fruit" character vs. the Crimson Ridge Red Hills Cab. I believe the tannin here seems to be even softer than the 2016 Amber Knolls Cab at this point, but a lot of grit and powerful punchy fruit will continue to intensify in the years to come. 92+, Optimal drinking 2022-2040.
The 2017 Amber Knolls Cabernet is a youthful wine. A baby that is already quite complex and mysterious. This wine had a very captivating and unique nose. Plum cola, smoked dates, with a very volcanic "tufa" limestone kind of thing going on here probably noted moreso than with any other wine in the lineup. This wine seems to be weighted a little more to the back with red and "purple" fruit character, very Malbec-esque! Medicinal kind of quality with some herbs and spice. Seemed to also be showing the "warm red fruit" character vs. the Crimson Ridge Red Hills Cab. I believe the tannin here seems to be even softer than the 2016 Amber Knolls Cab at this point, but a lot of grit and powerful punchy fruit will continue to intensify in the years to come. 92+, Optimal drinking 2022-2040.
Sep 5th, 2020Reviewed this wine about a year ago. It was in sort of a weird spot then, but this is really QUITE better now. A previous rating of this 2016 Amber Knolls almost one year ago was a 93, and I will definitely add another few points to this rating today. This wine has come a very long way in a year. Crimson pour to the glass. Nose of black and bing cherries, and seems to be a spicier, "warm climate" nose vs. the Crimson Ridge Cabernet which seems to be "colder" and "darker" by comparison. This wine first hits the tongue and immediately shows you all that it has. This is a red fruit dominant monster. The palate is dominated by darker bing cherries leading the way with a hint of some younger blackberries. Raspberry cola shows up right before an uptick of volcanic character and finishes with nice black pepper and baking spices. Still more youthful and sweet, this one has seemed to balance itself out quite a bit within the past year. A medium+ bodied mouthfeel yet the complex punch of a heavier weighted wine. Finishes rather long. A year ago, there seemed to be a "green-ness" about this wine that I wasn't getting this time around, and it has come to my attention that there's an "Extended Barrel Aged" version of this wine coming out soon, which should be a REAL TREAT. 96 points. Best drinking for this wine 2020-2035.
Reviewed this wine about a year ago. It was in sort of a weird spot then, but this is really QUITE better now. A previous rating of this 2016 Amber Knolls almost one year ago was a 93, and I will definitely add another few points to this rating today. This wine has come a very long way in a year. Crimson pour to the glass. Nose of black and bing cherries, and seems to be a spicier, "warm climate" nose vs. the Crimson Ridge Cabernet which seems to be "colder" and "darker" by comparison. This wine first hits the tongue and immediately shows you all that it has. This is a red fruit dominant monster. The palate is dominated by darker bing cherries leading the way with a hint of some younger blackberries. Raspberry cola shows up right before an uptick of volcanic character and finishes with nice black pepper and baking spices. Still more youthful and sweet, this one has seemed to balance itself out quite a bit within the past year. A medium+ bodied mouthfeel yet the complex punch of a heavier weighted wine. Finishes rather long. A year ago, there seemed to be a "green-ness" about this wine that I wasn't getting this time around, and it has come to my attention that there's an "Extended Barrel Aged" version of this wine coming out soon, which should be a REAL TREAT. 96 points. Best drinking for this wine 2020-2035.
Sep 5th, 2020I had a little taste of this a few months ago, but this is my first 750 of this enjoyed with dinner tonight. This is a very red fruit dominated wine. Black cherry, raspberry cola, young pomegranate. The middle of this wine develops a green olive tapenade kind of note in the middle along with some herbs. I was getting something like oregano I think. The finish had good acidity. Has been compared to a Pinot Noir, and I get that. I think this would be a really fun wine to compare to the Antica Angelicall Rosé to be quite honest. The best days of this wine are ahead of it, 7 years or so from now.
I had a little taste of this a few months ago, but this is my first 750 of this enjoyed with dinner tonight. This is a very red fruit dominated wine. Black cherry, raspberry cola, young pomegranate. The middle of this wine develops a green olive tapenade kind of note in the middle along with some herbs. I was getting something like oregano I think. The finish had good acidity. Has been compared to a Pinot Noir, and I get that. I think this would be a really fun wine to compare to the Antica Angelicall Rosé to be quite honest. The best days of this wine are ahead of it, 7 years or so from now.
Sep 14th, 2019