The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet colored and opens with a nose that is just begging to be drunk, featuring warm cassis, charcuterie, molten chocolate, wild mushrooms and roasted nuts with nuances of cigar box, incense and menthol. Medium-bodied, the palate reveals beautiful intensity and depth, sporting very fine-grained, exquisitely ripe tannins and finishing with plenty of savory layers and a peppery kick.

With the lowest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in of any of the wines from this vertical, the 2012 final blend was 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Production across the board in 2012 was high, and reflected in the 3,977 cases made at Spottswoode. This is a dramatic, flamboyant, modern-day version of the 2002. Dramatic blueberry, black raspberry and blackcurrant fruit, along with camphor, charcoal, white flowers and foresty notes all emerge from the impressive aromatics that soar from the glass. The intense, explosively rich, full-bodied palate is layered with beautiful purity, stunningly sweet, silky tannins and terrific presence and complexity. This is a gorgeous wine on a relatively fast evolutionary track, I suspect, but certainly it has 30 years of upside left.

The 2012 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon is fabulous. Racy and ample in feel, the 2012 is also shockingly rich today, more so than I remember from the past. All the elements come together in a seamless, wonderfully deep wine that captures all the best the vintage has to offer. I have never been the biggest fan of the 2012 vintage in Napa Valley, as I thought much of the initial enthusiasm was built on over-compensation for 2011, but Spottswoode very clearly sits at the top. What a great start to the evening.

Dark ruby-red. Superripe aromas of cassis, blackberry, licorice, violet and rose petal. Wonderfully fleshy, fat, rich and sweet but with good energy to its flavors of dark berries, mocha and flowers. Finishes with noble, building, palate-coating tannins fully supported by the wine's dense, deep fruit and early baby fat. There plenty of structure here to support a slow and graceful evolution in bottle.

Excellent easy vintage. Savoury, autumnal mulch nose. Smooth and polished. Very gorgeous. Sweet ink. So easy to love without being sweet or facile. Great balance and elegance. So clean and fresh on the finish. (JR)

My favorite in the blind-tasted lineup extending from 2010 through 2020 was the opulent yet concentrated and impeccably structured 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon. It boasts classic scents of cherries and cassis on the nose, with touches of vanilla and wood spice adding nuance on the medium to full-bodied palate. Imbued with tremendous intensity, the supple tannins and ripe acids necessary for aging and a long, complex finish, this wine truly has it all.