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. — 10 months ago

Paul T HB

9.9

Only so much cheap wine a person can take. The 13 is definitely not feminine in style.

I’ve been eye balling this for months now.
Down to my 2005 & 12 stock wise. This I could drink everyday, needs hours of decant per norm.
Grab a glass re cork then decant 4 hours on the 2nd day.
I’ve had 92,03,05,06,07,08,11 & 12 — 3 years ago

Mike Beltran

9.2

What a fine Pomerol! This lovely wine has a wonderful complex blend of mature fruit and resolved tannins. This magnum opened up with an hour of decanting and provided quality drinking for the entire evening. The cork was still solid. A pleasure to share with family and food. 👍🍷🍷 — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

From a great old looking bottle with a mid shoulder fill. Cork is fully saturated and the crud under the capsule had formed a strong seal. Slow-ox’d for a few hours, then decanted for an hour or two before taken to L’Escargot in Carmel. Amber tawny rims with a reddish tawny core. Crazy nose right from the start. Notes of sweet black cherries, tobacco leaf, plums, black pepper, ash and crusty wood, pencil shavings, some just unwrapped cigar and some menthol. Silky in the mouth with firm structure and soft but present acidity. Long and memorable finish. Outstanding performance over several hours. — 5 years ago

John Hagood

9.1

Drank 2017 from Cork 2018 on 22 Sep 2019. Light sweet zingy as is natural. — 6 years ago

Jonty Edwards

9.2

DP66
Pristine condition bottle. Cork flew out revealing surprising amount of retained fizz. Roast peach/rust colour. Oxidised nutty, orange peel, caramel notes with long length. — 7 years ago

with Hetty, Nick and 1 other

Peter Sultan

9.3

Broke out one of my cellared Raffaults for my homeboy who graced me with a home cooked Tuscan styled flank steak w rosemary & arugula, as well as Israeli cous cous w chickpeas, charred tomatoes, feta, & herbs. Light Cadmium red hued & strong color though ( good cork- not a guarantee w Raffault!); dense Hibiscus, fresh raspberry & some bramble on nose; on palate very clean & smooth mouthfeel, with the initial flavors repeated but a deeper blend of red fruits & a stronger presence of under brush. Super fresh & integrated. Elegant, & the Burgundy echo was hard to ignore. Not Uber complex but not monolithic either, which this line of Raffault can be in its youth ( or as it ages). Very impressive, & accessible now. Curious how my ‘02 & 07s will fare… — 2 years ago

with Owen

Tom Kobylarz

8.9

Too young, should get to 90-91 with more time...classic. Way better on night 2 under Coravin but cork pulled night 2. — 4 years ago

Timothy Hixson

9.5

2000, finally broke into the case. Cork was extra dry and disintegrate. Coffee filtered and worked ok. — 5 years ago

Mono Head

9.1

Wax was hard to get off. Essentially scrapped it off. Before cork even came out I could start smelling the wine. I thought it would be corked. Cork melted off even with an ah so. First sip just had a little bit of funk but overall very drinkable. Much like a French Bordeaux. Fruit is muted, dry. Dark fruit finish. Smell definitely is dry and has an older funk, herbal, medicinal - not in a negative way. Would have loved to seen how it would have done decanted but had no time. — 5 years ago

Jeff Loo

9.4

Classic Cheval. A beautiful Bordeaux from the moment the cork came out. — 6 years ago

Dave Sobel

9.5

From the moment we poured this wine after pulling the cork it was amazingly smooth. Beautiful fruit forward with along satisfying velvety finish. I can’t get enough of this wine. Cheers!! — 7 years ago

Henry Gorndorff

9.5

Brilliant stuff, first time with this one but a real winner, round full flavour with a little fizz in the mouth — 8 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1995 vintage. Nice fill. Cork good. Decanted and tasted immediately, after 15 mins and at the 2 hour mark. Threw less sed than expected. Vibrant color. Medium body. Pencil shavings and chocolate-covered blueberries nose and flavors segued to graphite, cedar closet and the ole L-B mint chocolate chip ice cream standard. Not improving but holding steady here for the next 4-6 years. Good stuff. 11.16.23. — 2 years ago

Andrew Seiler

9.0

Miles and Maya would be very proud! 🍷 — 2 years ago

Mike Beltran

9.4

At 10 years this wine is still a baby. Very dark and rich with almost black residue on the cork. Not cold stabilized but not an issue. A wealth of Napa Cabernet fruit and French oak to please your palate. Expensive but it delivers on many levels. Benchmark Napa Cabernet from a stellar grower and producer. 🍷🍷🍷 — 4 years ago

Ted

8.9

Found buried in the cellar. Ripe blueberry, vanilla. Dropping my daughter back at Cleveland State for swim practice and realized she doesn’t have a corkscrew. Only a hammer and a screw. Where there is a will there is a way. Add corkscrew to the shopping list. Cork came out intact and in perfect condition.😊 — 5 years ago

Paul T HB

9.7

En Mag,
Cork looks great, I say that because I’ve had several Colgins & David Arthurs from early to mid 2000’s which had horrible corks. Give this 45 minutes to an hour in the glass maybe longer since its a mag. One glass tonight then drink up tomorrow & Monday. It will be fantastic with a day or two. The 97 Mondavi reserve was best on Day 3 believe it or not🤷🏼‍♂️ — 6 years ago

Greg Koslosky

9.1

A little cloudy and muted with a dry and brittle cork I don’t think it was stored perfectly . — 6 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tasted blind. Tawny color, translucent with amber rims. Notes of black cherry, cedar, some spice and a little barnyard floor. Sweet fruit in the mouth, with tannins fully resolved. Guessed 1955 Calon Segur. Perfect looking bottle, the cork revealed this bottle was reconditioned by the Chateau in 2000. — 7 years ago