The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet with a touch of purple and exudes pure black truffles on the nose to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal a core of black cherries, warm blackcurrants and plum preserves with suggestions of eucalyptus, tilled soil, chargrill and new leather. Medium-bodied with a great intensity of earth-tinged black fruits, it has a firm frame of grainy tannins and a long truffle-laced finish.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon reveals a blue/purple color, even sweeter, riper fruit, terrific purity, beautiful freshness and a tremendous core of blue and black fruits infused with spring flowers. It should eclipse the 2012 and turn out to be the greatest wine Spottswoode has produced since their 2010 and 2007. This is spectacular stuff! Give it 5-6 years in the cellar and drink it over the following 25 years.

Spottswoode's 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, tasted from an unfinished core blend, is striking and also a much more typical wine from this great St. Helena site. Dark, intense and enveloping, the 2012 races across the palate with black cherries, smoke, grilled herbs, lavender and mint, all backed up by considerable tannin. Even with all of its tannic clout, the 2013 possesses fabulous mid-palate sweetness, commendable balance and tons of energy. I can't wait to see where this goes.

Saturated ruby to the rim. Classic young Spottswoode scents of cassis, boysenberry, black cherry, lavender and coffee bean. Wonderfully juicy but tightly wound, conveying a medicinal backward character to the flavors of dark fruits and musky cocoa powder. The tannins are huge and a bit chalky but not dry. This extremely primary, floral wine should be long-lived and should ultimately merit an even higher rating. Novak Milliken described the 2013 as the most tannic recent vintage for Spottswoode. "The 2012 has bigger, plusher fruit and the 2010 has sweet fruit over a precise backbone, while the 2013 has more masculine tannins but also some wonderfully floral aromatics that the 2010 does not have." (Incidentally, I had the chance to sample the 2014 Spottswoode from barrel and it's also a fairly massively tannic and highly concentrated wine. But in the early going it can't quite match the 2013 for floral lift.)

88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot. More than 4,000 cases produced, all from their own estate. Healthy crimson. Very subtle nose. Hint of balsamic. Extremely savoury and lifted – no chocolate, no toast. I like the fresh inky quality on the end. Long, confident and rewarding. Seriously proper wine with potential. You could drink this now but it would be a shame. So long! (JR)