United States · Napa

Spottswoode

Family-run St. Helena Cabernet from hand-farmed organic blocks beneath the Mayacamas Mountains.

The producer

Spottswoode has grown grapes in western St. Helena since 1972 and made its own wines since 1982. Cabernet Sauvignon leads a vineyard divided into 24 hand-farmed blocks, including 18 Cabernet blocks with different clones, vine ages and rootstocks. Alluvial clay-loam and autumn cover crops of vetch, peas, clover and oats underpin a farming programme that became organic in 1985.

Its two Cabernet expressions offer a useful comparison. Estate Cabernet Sauvignon stays focused on the property, bringing cassis, violet, scorched earth, lead pencil, lively acidity and grainy tannin into a long, dry finish. Lyndenhurst broadens the frame with other family-owned Napa Valley vineyards; its vibrant fruit, energetic acidity and fine-grained tannin make for a more open early-drinking shape.

Known for

Cabernet Sauvignon from western St. Helena, shaped block by block and farmed organically since 1985.

Notable facts

The story

Organic Before Certification

Spottswoode began farming its vineyard organically in 1985, while the Novak family was already growing grapes on the St. Helena property and had started making its own wines three years earlier. Formal California Certified Organic Farmers certification came in 1992, seven years after the farming change began. The vineyard rows are planted with autumn cover crops of vetch, peas, clover and oats, while the Cabernet is worked as separate hand-farmed blocks rather than as one uniform planting. Those blocks include vines of different ages, clones and rootstocks, so fruit can be kept distinct before the cellar decides how the final Cabernet blend will come together.

From the atlas

Spottswoode

At A Glance

Spottswoode is a family-run estate at 1902 Madrona Avenue in St. Helena, on Napa Valley’s western edge beneath the Mayacamas Mountains. The Novak family has grown grapes here since 1972 and made its own wines since 1982. Cabernet Sauvignon leads the vineyard and the range, while Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Sauvignon Blanc broaden the estate’s work.

The Producer

Spottswoode makes Cabernet with an estate-vineyard centre of gravity. Its Estate Cabernet Sauvignon draws on a Cabernet-led site in western St. Helena, while Lyndenhurst carries the estate fruit into a wider Napa Valley blend. That division matters in the glass: Estate Cabernet has a firmer, more cellar-bound shape, while Lyndenhurst brings vibrant fruit and finer-grained tannin earlier.

Beth Novak Milliken and Lindy Novak steward the property, with Aron Weinkauf serving as winemaker and vineyard manager. Their work begins with 24 hand-farmed blocks rather than a single undifferentiated Cabernet parcel, allowing lots with different clones, vine ages and rootstocks to remain separate until blending.

Place

St. Helena sits in northern Napa Valley, and Spottswoode occupies its western edge at the foot of the Mayacamas Mountains. The bottle can therefore carry both Napa Valley and St. Helena context, but its character is built more narrowly from a single estate vineyard for Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant planting, making dark fruit, firm tannin and long finishes the central shape of the red wines.

Lyndenhurst works on a broader scale. It is a Napa Valley Cabernet based around Spottswoode estate fruit and supplemented with fruit from other family-owned Napa Valley vineyards. The label signals that wider source; the palate remains Cabernet-driven but is made for a more open, earlier approach than the Estate wine.

Soil And Site

Alluvial clay-loam is a major part of the estate’s ground. The vineyard is broken into 24 blocks, including 18 Cabernet Sauvignon blocks with different clones, vine ages and rootstocks, so fruit can arrive at the cellar with distinct ripening patterns and textures rather than as one uniform harvest.

Autumn cover crops of vetch, peas, clover and oats are planted in the rows. That farming detail belongs to the wine because the Cabernet blocks are hand-farmed individually, preserving the differences that later shape blending decisions and the grain of the finished tannins.

Story

The Novak family first grew grapes at Spottswoode in 1972. A decade later, in 1982, it began making wine under its own name. That move changed the destination of the vineyard’s Cabernet: fruit that had been grown on the property became the basis for estate-labelled wines, with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot available to complete the blend.

The range now shows two expressions of that decision. Estate Cabernet Sauvignon stays focused on the estate vineyard and has the weight for long ageing. Lyndenhurst takes a wider Napa Valley view, using the estate as its base and core while bringing in other family vineyards for a softer, more immediately expressive red.

Vineyards And Cellar

Spottswoode began organic farming in 1985 and received California Certified Organic Farmers certification in 1992. The vineyard work is hands-on and block-specific: Cabernet fruit from varied vines, rootstocks and clones can be assessed separately before it becomes part of a final blend.

Reported red-wine cellar work includes fermentation in cement vats and stainless-steel tanks, followed by malolactic fermentation in barrel. A historical account describes about 22 months of barrel maturation with 65% new French oak. In practice, the Estate Cabernet’s cassis, violet and lead-pencil character is met by grainy tannin and oak-derived structure, rather than being reduced to sweet wood flavour.

Wines

Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is the estate-focused red. In 2021 it was 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. Cabernet supplies cassis, black and red fruit and firm tannin; Cabernet Franc brings violet and aromatic lift; Petit Verdot contributes colour and depth. The result is layered, savoury and built around a long finish.

Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon is the more expansive Napa Valley blend. Its 2021 composition was 79.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.6% Merlot, 3.8% Petit Verdot, 3.5% Cabernet Franc and 2.9% Malbec. Merlot and Malbec round out Cabernet’s grip with darker fruit and a broader mid-palate, while lively acidity keeps the wine moving.

Sauvignon Blanc sits alongside the red wines, and Field Book is a limited release. Together, the range moves from white wine to an earlier-accessible Cabernet blend and then to the estate’s more structured Cabernet expression.

In The Glass

The 2021 Estate Cabernet opens with black and red fruit, cassis, violet, camphor, scorched earth and lead pencil. On the palate, its fruit is carried by lively acidity and firm, grainy tannin; the earth and mineral notes keep the finish savoury. The Cabernet-dominant blend and estate focus explain why the wine feels layered and suited to extended ageing.

The 2021 Lyndenhurst has more immediately vibrant fruit, with energetic acidity and fine-grained tannin. Its multi-vineyard Napa Valley composition, including Merlot and Malbec, makes the texture more supple than the Estate Cabernet while retaining Cabernet’s dry grip and a perfumed finish.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the 2021 Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a Napa Valley blend built around Spottswoode estate fruit, with Cabernet Sauvignon joined by Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Vibrant fruit arrives first, then energetic acidity and fine-grained tannin, so its dry, layered palate can be understood without waiting through the Estate Cabernet’s longer ageing arc. It also makes the useful comparison clear: this is the wider Napa Valley expression before moving to the estate-focused bottle.

Anecdote

In 1985, Spottswoode began farming its vineyard organically. The change came while the Novak family was already growing grapes on the property and had begun making its own wines three years earlier. Seven years later, in 1992, the estate received California Certified Organic Farmers certification. The vineyard work includes autumn cover crops of vetch, peas, clover and oats, and the Cabernet vineyard is divided into hand-farmed blocks rather than worked as one large unit. Organic farming began first; the certification followed in 1992, with the cover crops and block-by-block work remaining part of the estate’s vineyard routine.

Final Word

Spottswoode is most clearly encountered through Cabernet: western St. Helena fruit, hand-farmed blocks and alluvial clay-loam feeding wines with dark fruit, dry tannin and length. Lyndenhurst shows the wider Napa Valley blend; Estate Cabernet shows what the estate vineyard can hold over time.

Sources

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