2008 Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
(includes 9% semillon; 30% fermented in oak, half of which was new) Lemon drop and pineapple aromas lifted by a floral topnote. Supple, ripe and pliant but with more thrust than an even rounder and muskier tank sample of the 2009 that preceded it, a wine that showed an almost chardonnay-like richness. Good grip to the pineapple and sexy oak flavors. Brisk and varietally expressive wine with very good juicy, dusty persistence.
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
About the producer
Spottswoode is one of those rare Napa estates whose reputation rests less on volume or spectacle than on persistent exactitude. Set on the western edge of St Helena, where the Mayacamas rise and afternoon breezes temper the valley’s warmth, the vineyard occupies a favoured pocket of the appellation.