Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: 93 points

Good full ruby-red. Expressive nose offers cassis, minerals, violet and brown spices. Suave on entry, then supple, sweet and seamless in the middle, without any impression of weight. This boasts lovely inner-mouth energy and lift. The sweet tannins arrive late, allowing the dark fruit and floral flavors to expand in the mouth. A highly successful vintage for this wine.

Review date: May 2008

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 98 points

Production more than doubled with the 2005 vintage, given the normal flowering and weather conditions. Moreover, it was a relatively cool year and an abundant one at that, with just short of 3,900 cases produced. The blend was 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. This was the last vintage during the era of Rosemary Cakebread, who left Spottswoode to pursue building her own portfolio of wine. This is a reserved, but classic Spottswoode. An inky bluish purple color, notes of vanillin, white flowers, blackcurrants and blueberries are all present in this dense, rich, full-bodied wine that seems to go from strength to strength. This was a vintage across the board that I underrated, but I have seen how the wines have seemingly put on weight, complexity and density as they have evolved in bottle. This is a beauty and certainly one of the great recent Spottswoodes. It will continue to drink well for 20-30 more years.

Review date: August 2016