Spottswoode/Madrona Ranch

Hello all,

New to the boards here, Napa cabernet is one of my loves in wine (along with German Riesling, Burgundy, Italian Reds, ahh the list goes on). Anyways, I was curious if anyone here had enough experience with Spottswoode and Abreu Madrona Ranch to note if there was much similarity between the two wines. The vineyards are obviously quite close together, but I am sure that stylistically there could be differences. I have zero experience with Abreu as it is above my buying price points, so I was wondering if Spottswoode could almost be considered a “Diet Abreu” if you will, and also if any members thought the Madrona Ranch was worth seeking out to the point of a bottle being worth the same as 3 Spottswoode’s. Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the Board!..

I don’t have any experience with Abreu, but I have had Spottswoode many times, and I have quite a few resting in my cellar…Spottswoode is one of my favorite Napa Cabs. Many people call it the “Margaux of Napa”, as it has the fruit you would expect from Napa, but with a balance and elegance you would expect from a top Bordeaux. They age very well too…

I’ve had Madrona Ranch a few times over the years and was very impressed. That being said, Spottswoode is nobody’s second. It is a graceful wine (albeit more ripe now than 15 years ago) and is one of the more classical cabs being made in Napa. As for “is it worth three times more”, very few wines are actually worth what either of the wines cost so tough to answer. For me, I would rather have 3 Spottswoode cabs from good vintages or one Abreu, but that is just me.

I have more Spottswoode in my cellar than any other Napa cab. I love these with age but can not compare with the Abreu as I have not had any. Winemaking styles between vineyards will absolutely vary across the board. If you can find some Abreu that isn’t crazy expensive and do a side by side with Spottswoode that would be an interesting tasting. I would rather have the 3 bottles of Spottswoode however. There are almost always older vintages of Spottswoode on auction sites. I had an 86’ Spottswoode this summer that is one of my personal WOTY candidates.

I had/have both. And both are wonderful wines, both up there in price. The Abreu more so. I dropped off the Abreu allocations because of the increased price. I still buy Spottswoode on occasion. I wouldn’t say they are all that similar.

Trickle down theory-I’d rather have 2 Forman than 1 Spottswoode

Thanks for the replies! I haven’t heard of Forman I will have to look into them. Yes, I find it difficult to think 1 Abreu Madrona would be worth 3 Spottswoode’s, and it is really hard to justify $600 on a any bottle of Napa in my opinion, probably would be better off going with a GC Burg at that point. Really about the only Napa I have purchased above Spottswoode pricing is Shafer HSS. One always wonders what those ultra premium tier wines can bring though.

Buy a half bottle of Harlan and see for yourself … for science.

Also FWIW I’m a huge fan of Abreu. Maybe my favorite Napa wine ever was '02 Madrona Ranch … but I didn’t pay $600 for it–about $375-400 IIRC… getting into Spottswoode territory.

I’m not sure what you mean “getting into Spottswoode territory”. 2002 Spottswoode was around $100, so the Abreu was more than 3x in cost. The most recent vintage of Spottswoode I bought was 2015 and I paid less than $200 a bottle locally.

I mean the current price of 02 Abreu is as close - if not closer - to the price of Spottswoode quoted in this thread (600/3) than it is to the $600 quoted for Abreu.

I have no idea how much Spottswoode cost in '02, nor did I buy my Abreu in '02.

Not that it’s what I was talking about, but as an academic exercise, it looks like according to WMJ, '02 Spottswoode would currently fetch about $250 (and has gone for as much as $369) whereas '02 Abreu would go for more like $400 (with a low of $346) … so there is slight pricing overlap. So yeah … “getting into” … not “exactly the same.”

Welcome to the board.

I’ve had both, not side by side, but enough to comment that the Abreu is a much deeper, more complete wine. Nothing wrong with Spottswoode though! Love it too, but as stated above, a very graceful wine.

FWIW, the place to buy Abreu is at auction. MUCH cheaper than retail/mailing list.

I’ve had both many times. They are very different styles. The Spottswoode is in a softer red fruit, older school Napa style. The Madrona is built for age with much greater power and complexity imho. Some might say Spottswoode is elegant compared to Madrona. I think Spottswoode is all cabernet. Madrona includes franc and bdx varietals that I believe are cofermented with cab. The Abreu is on another level in all categories for me but it’s a style choice for the consumer.

Yes and yes.

The soils and climate are generally in the same grouping. It’s the winemaking that is causing a lot of the difference. The early 90’s Spottswoode and Abreu Madrona (when Ric Forman made it) were a lot closer in smell and taste than they are now. I like Spottswoode. But Abreu Madrona… one could make a case it’s the best wine in Napa over the last 15 years. If you can tolerate it’s massiveness when young. Which I can.

Roy, when did Ric make their wines till? What are some good 90’s and early 2000’s vintages to look out for? Thanks!

In fact, I’d say it’s definitely less ripe now than it was 15 years ago! Around 2002-2010 was the highest brix period in Spottswoode’s history. Since Aron Weinkauf took over, the wines have become more tightly wound, with livelier acids and more classical balance.

Spottswoode is a blend with usually >10% of Cabernet Franc and Merlot.