Tucker’s jumping for joy—find out why!
Dear Friends,
May has been a great month in the media for our wines. Our current releases have received top accolades from Decanter Magazine and the Washington Post.
“Stellar,” “a classic,” “over-delivers,” “one of the finest Napa wines in existence,” “gorgeous in its depth yet with ample elegance and finesse,” “old school Napa authenticity” and more. Decanter is one of the world’s most respected wine magazines. Founded in London in 1975, Decanter is the oldest consumer wine publication in the United Kingdom.
Dave McIntyre is one of the wine industry’s most respected wine writers. To earn four stars is a true achievement.
Following are some highlights and I hope you will add your own thoughts after you try some.
2019 Estate Riesling
94 points
A stellar Riesling from one of the top producers in Napa for this now rare variety. From a high elevation, dry-farmed vines are high on Spring Mountain. This Riesling offers beautiful aromas of white flowers, dried ginger and just the slightest kiss of petrol alongside a note of nectarine skin. The palate is vibrant with tangy lime pith, juicy Meyer lemon pulp and sea spray salinity throughout—a classic.
2019 Estate Chardonnay
95 points
The Smith-Madrone Chardonnay over-delivers again with the 2019 bottling. This is one of the finest Napa wines in existence for $45. Rich, showy aromas of honeyed pear, candied ginger and a rich lemon cream eschew oak for purity of fruit. The palate is mouthwatering in its depth of flavour and flashes complexity and refinement. Rich lemon curd, beeswax and lanolin are accented against notes of nutmeg, cardamom pod and petrichor. It is gorgeous in its depth yet with ample elegance and finesse. A joyous wine that promises to develop further complexity with bottle age.
Decanter also recently wrote about “The brighter side of U.S. Chardonnay” and put us in the top tier of American Chardonnay producers: “Decanter’s North American editor digs into the outdated stereotype that America produces a monolithic style of the variety…Chardonnay has a bright present and future in America…While Napa is Cabernet country, the historic Chardonnays of Stony Hill, Kongsgaard, Smith-Madrone and a few others are undeniably some of the Valley’s top wines.”
2019 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
95 Points
The classic Cabernet from Smith-Madrone may be the best value in the entire Napa Valley at $65. Old World elegance is ever present, along with a generosity of fruit balanced with great savoury herbs and streaking graphite minerality. Aromas of wild anise, pine bough and dried sage rise in the glass, framing dark mountain blueberries and a touch of pomegranate pulp. The palate is classically cool, medium-weight, and lively with an old-school Napa authenticity. Alpine berry fruits, spearmint and earthen umami elements combine with smoky clove and wild mountain scrub, framing a sense of place and mountain terroir from the dry-farmed vines at Smith-Madrone.
And from Dave McIntyre at the Washington Post:
Fans of old-style Napa Valley wines know Smith-Madrone, and fans of riesling know this winery perched high on the slopes of Spring Mountain in the northern stretch of Napa Valley, makes one of this country’s best. Citrus — orange, pomelo, grapefruit — floats from the glass and dances around your palate. What’s amazing about this wine, though, is the structure: It made me sit up straight and pay attention. It seemed to be pulling its essence from the depths of Spring Mountain and pouring it into my glass. Smith-Madrone also makes compelling chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. If you find them, snap them up — the winery did not release any 2020 wines because of the Glass Fire that ravaged Spring Mountain and threatened their vineyards right at harvest.
We are honored to have garnered these tremendous reviews from such esteemed writers. We hope to hear that you enjoy them as well.
Happy Summer,
Stu, Charlie, and François
Smith-Madrone News 