2010 Chardonnay is ‘a brave wine that rewards my palate’

5 California Wineries That Wowed Me in 2013

2013 was a great year, wasn’t it? Over the course of the year I tasted a lot of amazing wines and toured many a beautiful California vineyard. As a writer for the daily wine blog Terroirist, I blind-tasted my way through a lot of samples in 2013, most of which hailed from CA. I found myself gravitating toward several producers who put out consistently awesome wines, regardless of vintage or grape variety.

Founded in 1971, Smith-Madrone’s winery is located on Spring Mountain, west of St. Helena. The operation is run by brothers Stuart Smith, managing partner and vineyard manager, and Charles Smith III, winemaker. They dry farm their estate vineyards, which line steep slopes between 1,300 and 2,000 feet in elevation. Their mountain wines are dynamic, lively and they show a refreshing sense of purity and minerality.

92 points: The fruit smells honeyed and rich, yet these shaved lime peel, sea shell and peanut brittle notes demand attention as well. It all combines in a beautiful aromatic display. This Chardonnay introduces itself by barging through the door, with pineapple, melon, honey, and mixed nuts from the oak. (It spends 8 months in 100% new French oak). But it’s still bright from the acid, which is crucial to have in wines with this kind of intensity. Orange peel, seashell, caramel and hazelnut linger long onto the finish. A brave wine that challenges — and rewards — my palate.

http://isaacjamesbaker.blogspot.com/2014/01/5-california-wineries-that-wowed-me-in.html?spref=tw

Stu and Charlie as “winesmiths” and more

“It’s in the Name,” Robert Neralich says, as he reviews the new releases on his blog:

Here is how Stuart Smith, vineyard manager and general partner, explains how the Napa Valley winery he and his winemaker brother Charles operate got its name: “We had so much physically and emotionally invested in the development of the vineyard and the winery that we selfishly wanted our name on it. Smith is not exactly a grand Mediterranean wine name, and certainly we couldn’t call it just ‘Smith Winery.’” The predominant tree on the property is the madrone, an evergreen native to the coastal region of the west coast of North American – hence the Smith-Madrone Winery. I will have something more to say about this name at the end of my review, but first I will describe three Smith-Madrone wines that I tasted recently.

Smith-Madrone 2012 Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Riesling ($27) is easily one of the most interesting white wines that I have tasted this year. Its enticing peach, apple, citrus, and melon aromas lead to luscious tart apple, lime, melon, apricot, and peach flavors that close in an impressively vibrant finish. The exuberant fruit of this wine is perfectly balanced by ample acidity, making it completely delicious for casual sipping, though it would also nicely complement most seafood and poultry dishes. In fact, if you are planning to reprise a turkey-based Thanksgiving feast on Christmas or New Year’s Day and wish to pour something sure to delight your dinner guests, I wholeheartedly recommend this remarkable Riesling.

Consequent to having been aged in 100% new French oak barrels, Smith-Madrone 2010 Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Chardonnay ($30) has notes of vanilla and toast among its lively apple aromas, and these vanilla and toast notes complicate the wine’s generous pear, apple, tropical fruit, and spice flavors. Equal parts power and finesse, this richly-textured Chardonnay would be an ideal companion for meals featuring salmon, sea bass, or poultry.

Smith-Madrone 2009 Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon ($45) is an intense but nonetheless elegant wine with plum, dark berry, and cherry aromas that lead to beautifully orchestrated currant, blackberry, dark plum, and black cherry flavors accompanied by hints of mocha, herbs, and toasty oak. The tannins of this wine are supple, and its finish is polished and lingering. This complex but accessible Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon would be the perfect match for beefsteak or game.

Perhaps Smith is not “a grand Mediterranean wine name,” but a smith, after all, is a craftsman, as in the case of a goldsmith, for example. Perhaps the word is not in the dictionary, but I think that the three Smith-Madrone wines that I have reviewed in this posting provide ample evidence for the existence of “winesmiths,” and I am confident that anyone tasting them will agree.

A final note: The wines I have reviewed in this posting would make excellent Christmas presents.

http://www.robertneralich.com/2013/12/17/its-in-the-name-three-wines-from-smith-madrone/

2010 Chardonnay: “impressive structure…power and grace..”

Rarified Crus California’s Mountain-Grown Chardonnay

By Andrew Braithwaite and Luke Sykora

October 2013

In our Wine & Spirits tastings over the last few years, these mountain Chardonnays have again and again struck us, sometimes for their precisely balanced power, sometimes because of their bracing acidity and coastal cool, but the overarching theme has been one of transparency—the sense that the wines are speaking about the places where they grow, above and beyond the nuances of winemaking. Why does chardonnay seem to have an affinity for the mountains? We asked winemakers and viticulturists working with chardonnay at high altitudes why these wines might tend to show such character and clarity.

At Smith-Madrone on Spring Mountain, Stu Smith and his brother Charles elected to compound the cooling effect of Napa’s mountains by planting on a more shaded north-facing slope. The vines, some dating back to 1972, contend with a terroir that features, according to Stu, “bright red rocks, some the size of small pick-up trucks.”

Their Smith-Madrone 2010 Spring Mountain Chardonnay: a full-bodied white with both power and grace, expressing the somewhat warmer climate of its Napa environs while maintaining impeccable balance. A variety of factors may explain the wine’s impressive structure: old vines; the relatively cool northern exposure with slopes that hit 30 percent; thin volcanic soil at almost 2,000 feet of elevation. Whatever it is, the fruit has more than enough stature to absorb the all-new oak elevage into its crunchy, mineral frame (94 points, Wine & Spirits June 2013).

“There are only two or three other chardonnay producers on Spring,” says Smith. Still, the Smith brothers persist, captivated by the balance of fruit flavors, structure and “fabulously good mouthfeel” that they get from their mountain fruit.

http://wineandspiritsmagazine.com/pages/1013Features/1013_terroir.html

 

 

 

 

 

Planked salmon with 2010 Chardonnay

Please check out Taryn’s extensive planked-salmon research, tantalizing companions for the 2010 Chardonnay:

http://tarynbreanne.blogspot.com/2013/10/intro-to-seafood-cedar-planked-salmon.html

LeSommelierFou on the 2010 Chardonnay

Mid-intensity yellow color with gold highlights, superbe tears on the glass. Aromas of vanilla, English cream, acacia and red apple. Very good acidity, nice roundness. Flavors of white peach, red apple, Madagascar vanilla and pak. Very long. Drink now or within seven to eight years.

http://lesommelierfou.com/degustationstastings/etats-unis/californie/smith-madrone-chardonnay-spring-mountain-district-napa-valley-2010/

“Superb tears” and more about the 2010 Chardonnay

Blogger Le Sommelier Fou describes the 2010 Chardonnay :

Mid-intensity yellow color with gold highlights, superb tears on the glass. Aromas of vanilla, English cream, acacia and red apple. Very good acidity, nice roundness. Flavors of white peach, red apple, Madagascar vanilla and pak. Very long. Drink now or within seven to eight years.

http://lesommelierfou.com/degustationstastings/etats-unis/californie/smith-madrone-chardonnay-spring-mountain-district-napa-valley-2010/

WineByBenito sits down with the current releases

Smith-Madrone Winery was founded on Napa’s Spring Mountain in 1971 by Stuart Smith and currently produces about 4,000 cases a year. Despite having heard of this venerable Napa producer, looking back over my notes I’ve never actually tried any of their wines. I had always assumed that Madrone was the other half of a partnership, but it turns out to be the most common tree on the property. The beautiful flat leaf evergreen is featured on the label.

Fredric Koeppel taught me to always pay close attention to the mountain sub-appellations of Napa, and they’ve never let me down. These wines come from the Spring Mountain District AVA in the Mayacamas Mountains near St. Helena.

2011 Riesling: Starting in 1983, they stopped calling this wine Johannisberg Riesling and simply sold it as Riesling. It’s always interesting to go back and look at labels from the 70s and 80s–not that long ago–and you’ll see some slightly unusual grape names, like “Pinot Chardonnay”. This Riesling has a crisp green apple aroma and flavor. Bright acidity but light and dry. A perfect summertime sipper, and highly recommended for picnics.

2010 Chardonnay: Lots of buttered popcorn on the nose of this classic California Chardonnay. Bold oak structure and an underlying flavor of ripe apricot. Long, lingering finish. This one would be perfect with a quarter of a roast chicken and fingerling potatoes with lots of sea salt. 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon: On the very first sniff I got a lot of pyrazine, that molecule that gives the aroma of tomato leaves and tobacco. I love that scent, and after more swirling the wine opened up with deeper black cherry and leather aromas. On the palate it is full of dark fruit and medium tannins, leaving a long and savory finish. Well-aged and ready to drink now, though it could easily go for a few more years. Strongly recommended with rack of lamb and a cherry reduction sauce.

http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2013/06/wines-of-smith-madrone.html

s founded on Napa’s SpringMountain in 1971 by

2010 Chardonnay and its ‘stylish subtlety’

Michael Apstein has just reviewed the 2010 Chardonnay at WineReviewOnline:

95 points: The technical data about a wine can be misleading. This Chardonnay, weighing in at a stated 14.4% alcohol, was entirely barrel fermented and then aged in new French oak for eight months. By all rights, it should be overdone and in your face. Yet, it’s not. Far from it. It’s a gorgeous combination of richness and creaminess buttressed by edgy acidity. There’s a stylish subtlety to it, especially in the finish. Don’t be a slave to the numbers. Trust the producer.

Dr. Apstein also muses about how wines are described here:
http://www.winereviewonline.com/MAP_on_Illusion_of_Knowledge.cfm

An update to our mailing list

Greetings:

42 years. Lots of wine reviews. Lots of attempts to capture our wines in words. In the June issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine, we achieved this never-before-realized goal: translating our work in the vineyard and the winery into words that literally transport you.

Without further ado, the reviews are below. You can click through to order them.

These can be found in the June issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine:

Price isn’t necessarily a predictor of quality….Check out the number of cellar-worthy wines that come in well under $100—like the stunning Chardonnay and Cab from Smith-Madrone.

In the magazine’s grouping of California Chardonnay, the 

Smith-Madrone was the highest rated, at 94 points and a Best Buy:

Stuart Smith dry farms over 10 acres of Chardonnay, which he began planting in 1972 on north facing slopes. His brother, Charles, ferments this wine in new French oak barrels, and while the oak is there in the flavors, it doesn’t get in the way. Completely mineral-driven and rooty when first poured, this takes hours of air for the fruit to come forward, a wallop of pear and apple, as if biting into fresh fruit. The structure remains tight, holding the fruit succulence to a quiet shimmer, set to age with grace. 

In the magazine’s grouping of California Cabernets, ours was also the highest rated, at 94 points and a Best Buy:

Grown at an elevation of 1,800 feet in weathered volcanic soils, this wine comes off dry-farmed vines that were planted in the early 1970s. They produced a magnificent 2007, a Cabernet in motion, changing and shifting from red scents of strawberries to black fruit (dark plum-skin tannins) and nectarine-like freshness. Aged in new American white oak barrels and bottled unfined and unfiltered, the wine has a coolness that belies its power, feigning an airy openness, the bass note of tannins held to a quiet rumble. Compelling to drink now, this has the stature to age for a decade or more.

The April issue of the Wine Enthusiast also reviewed the Cab and Chardonnay in glowing terms.

 An update: we are sold out of the 2011 Riesling and will be releasing the 2012 this fall. We still have some availability of the 2007 Cook’s Flat Reserve.

Sincerely,

 Stu Smith & Charles Smith

2010 Chardonnay is 94 points & a Best Buy in June Wine & Spirits Magazine

At 94 points and a Best Buy, and the top-rated California White in the June 2013 issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine:

Stuart Smith dry farms over 10 acres of Chardonnay, which he began planting in 1972 on north facing slopes. His brother, Charles, ferments this wine in new French oak barrels, and while the oak is there in the flavors, it doesn’t get in the way. Completely mineral-driven and rooty when first poured, this takes hours of air for the fruit to come forward, a wallop of pear and apple, as if biting into fresh fruit. The structure remains tight, holding the fruit succulence to a quiet shimmer, set to age with grace.