Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: History, Vintages and Prices in 2026

The Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon comes from one vineyard on the western edge of St. Helena, in Napa Valley. The Novak family has owned the estate since 1972, and the first Spottswoode Cabernet was the 1982 (Spottswoode). It is the winery's flagship, and every bottle is estate grown.

Below is what the winery has published about the estate, its winemakers and recent vintages, and what the wine sells for today in shops, at auction and on restaurant lists. The blend and oak figures come from Spottswoode's own fact sheets. The prices come from Wine Labs data collected on November 4, 2026.

Spottswoode Estate Cabernet at a glance

A vineyard older than the winery

George Schonewald established the estate in 1882, and his Victorian home is the house on the label. The Spotts family owned the property from 1910 until 1972, when Mary Weber Novak and her husband, Dr. Jack Novak, bought it and replanted the old vineyard (Spottswoode estate overview). Jack Novak died in 1977. Mary kept farming and sold the grapes to other wineries, then founded the Spottswoode winery in 1982 (Spottswoode).

The first vintage, 1982, was 1,200 cases of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in the basement of the estate house (Spottswoode). Beth Novak joined her mother in 1987 and Lindy Novak in 1992. Beth is now president and CEO (Spottswoode people).

Who makes the wine

Spottswoode has had five winemakers (Aron Weinkauf biography). Mary Novak hired Tony Soter for the first vintage. Pam Starr became winemaker in 1992, with Soter moving to a consulting role. Rosemary Cakebread took over in 1997, and Soter's time at the estate ended that year (Spottswoode).

Jennifer Williams came as a harvest intern in 2001 and was hired in 2002 as Cakebread's assistant. She later became winemaker, and in 2011 Aron Weinkauf took the role from her (Spottswoode). Weinkauf joined as assistant winemaker in 2006 and was also named vineyard manager in 2009. He still holds both jobs (Aron Weinkauf biography). Maija Roses is assistant winemaker (Spottswoode people).

Where the fruit comes from

All the fruit comes from the Spottswoode Estate Vineyard. The soil is alluvial clay loam from the Sulphur Creek fan, and cool air comes through the gap between Spring Mountain and the Mayacamas range (2023 fact sheet). Weinkauf's team farms the vineyard in 24 separate blocks (Aron Weinkauf biography).

The vineyard has been farmed organically since 1985 and certified by CCOF since 1992. Biodynamic farming started in 2008, with Demeter certification in 2020, and the estate reached Regenerative Organic Certified Silver level in 2023 (Spottswoode). The winery's own pages give the size in different ways: the history page says the Novak purchases brought the estate to 46 acres, while the 2022 and 2023 fact sheets call it a 45-acre estate.

Recent vintages

Spottswoode publishes a fact sheet for each current release. Cabernet Sauvignon was 96.5% of the 2020 and 86% to 89% of the three vintages after it. Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot make up the rest.

202096.5%

202187%

202286%

202389%

Share of each grape, from Spottswoode's fact sheets for the 2020 to 2023 vintages.

Vintage	Cabernet Sauvignon	Cabernet Franc	Petit Verdot
2020	96.5%	0.5%	3%
2021	87%	9%	4%
2022	86%	9%	5%
2023	89%	8%	3%

The 2020 crop was small. The winery says drought cut yields, and all the fruit was in by September 26 (2020 fact sheet). The 2023 season was cool, and picking ran from September 9 to October 24 (2023 fact sheet).

What Spottswoode Estate Cabernet costs today

On November 4, 2026, 503 sellers had the wine on offer in a 750 ml bottle. Most are in the US (395 sellers), followed by Germany (15) and Hong Kong and the UK (12 each). Half of all offers sit between $235 and $295, and the median is $270.

AuctionMedian of 4,545 sales, buyer's premium included$186

ShopsMedian of 503 sellers, all vintages$270

Wineryspottswoode.com purchase page$285

RestaurantsMedian of 521 wine lists$455

Per 750 ml bottle, US dollars, November 2026.

Channel	Price	Basis
Auction	$186	Median of 4,545 sales, buyer's premium included
Shops	$270	Median of 503 sellers, all vintages
Winery	$285	spottswoode.com purchase page
Restaurants	$455	Median of 521 wine lists

These four prices don't measure the same thing. The winery price is for the current release. Shop prices mix many vintages. Auction prices are what one lot sold for, with the buyer's premium but before shipping, tax and storage. A restaurant price includes service.

By vintage, shop medians stay in a narrow band: $280 for the 2021 and $285 for the 2022 and 2023. At auction the same wines sell for less. The 2013 has the most sales of any vintage, 314, at a median of $211. The 2016 sold for a median of $240 and the 2010 for $262.

$0$100$200$300$400

2012$203$328

2013$211$255

2014$170$204

2015$219$298

2016$240$270

2017$158$230

2018$216$255

2019$200$267

2020$159$260

2021$186$280

2022$181$285

Medians per 750 ml, 2012 to 2022 vintages. Each has at least five shop sellers and five auction sales.

Vintage	Shop median	Auction median
2012	$328	$203
2013	$255	$211
2014	$204	$170
2015	$298	$219
2016	$270	$240
2017	$230	$158
2018	$255	$216
2019	$267	$200
2020	$260	$159
2021	$280	$186
2022	$285	$181

We leave a cell empty when fewer than five sellers or five sales stand behind it. Per-vintage shop figures leave out stores whose listings do not state a reliable vintage.

At auction

We have 4,545 sales with a recorded price, at 34 auction houses, from January 2003 to November 2026. K&L Wines (1,745 lots), Acker Merrall Condit (495) and Spectrum Wine Auctions (406) account for the most. Every vintage from 1982 to 2022 has sold. The 1982, the first vintage, has 27 recorded sales with a median of $99.

The yearly median climbed from $117 in 2014 to $226 in 2021 and 2022. It has since settled between $188 and $201, and stands at $198 so far in 2026.

All vintages, per 750 ml, buyer's premium included. 2026 runs to November 2.

Year	Median	Sales
2014	$117	138 sales
2015	$88	123 sales
2016	$134	71 sales
2017	$152	160 sales
2018	$179	249 sales
2019	$157	286 sales
2020	$176	298 sales
2021	$226	344 sales
2022	$226	415 sales
2023	$201	376 sales
2024	$192	536 sales
2025	$188	632 sales
2026	$198	683 sales

On restaurant lists

The wine is on 521 restaurant wine lists in our data, nearly all in the US, collected between January 2025 and November 2026. The median list price is $455 a bottle, and half the lists price it between $333 and $570.

The Estate Cabernet in the Spottswoode range

Spottswoode makes a handful of wines. These are the ones with the most sellers in our data, all vintages together.

The Field Book wines have fewer than ten sellers each in our data, so we don't quote a price for them here.

Buying Spottswoode

The winery sells to people on its mailing list, and buyers must be 21 or older. Buying six or twelve bottles of the Estate Cabernet a year gives membership status, and full-case orders ship free where the law allows (Spottswoode purchase page). Older vintages, back to 1982, come up regularly at auction.

See all Spottswoode wines on the Spottswoode producer page. See live prices and auction history in Wine Labs market data.

Data methodology: Wine Labs data, November 4, 2026, for "Spottswoode Family Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena". Shop prices are live 750 ml offers from online merchants and wine shops, one price per seller per vintage (the lowest), with each chain counted once, and with multi-bottle packs and the winery's own shop left out. Auction prices are sold lots with a recorded result, buyer's premium included, per 750 ml bottle, with mixed lots and flagged outliers left out. Restaurant prices are one bottle price per restaurant. All prices in US dollars. Blends, oak and release dates are from Spottswoode's fact sheets, linked above.