The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is regal. Just starting to show aromatic complexity and openness, the 2013 is so impressive. Black cherry, plum, mocha, new leather, licorice, incense and dried herbs all build in the glass. The 2013 possesses remarkable depth and muscle, with all the tannic heft that is such a signature of the year. There's a bit more oak influence in the 2013 than there is today, but it works within the style of the wine and vintage. This heady Cabernet packs a serious punch.

Nuances of clove, tar and graphite marry with crunchy dark fruit, introducing a firmly structured and intensely concentrated wine with striking cut and energy. This is one of the best young Spottswoode's of recent times, and one of the most vibrant, primary benchland Cabernet Sauvignon's of the vintage—likely to be one of the most long-lived.