smith-madrone-vineyards
2022 Smith-Madrone Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon – An Excellent Wine and a Great Value
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Background
Opened this bottle last evening to enjoy a special meal. What transpired was a wine that exceeded my already high expectations. 2022 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon was fragrant, fruit forward and soft going on to the palate, yet once there, burst forth with intense dark fruit flavors and brute strength with perfectly enjoyable tannins – a joyous surprise.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
On the eyes a deep penetrating purple and crimson coloring. In the glass, medium heavy viscosity. Then on the nose fresh red cherries burst in the olfactory senses with a violet scent. Once on the palate, luscious and impactful red and black berries filled the mouth with a bold and brawny yet caressing flavor with a secondary note of blueberries and light vanilla pipe tobacco. At the finish, strong bold tannins showed the pedigree of this vineyard with their angularness and robustness. The minerality was also noted. This is why I believe this youthful wine will appreciate and improve with aging over the next 12-15 years. The complexity of this wine is astonishing with flavor and character.
The wine consists of 81.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18.5% of their award-winning Cabernet Franc. The wine is grown on their hillside estate being non-tilled and sustainably farmed. The wine was aged for 18 months in 50% new French oak. The wine came in at 14.2% alcohol with only 1518 cases being produced and priced at $70/bottle, a remarkable bargain for this quality.
This wine just made my annual list Best Wines Tasted for 2026. Only 2-3% of the 1800 wines tasted during the year make the list which comes out in December each year. My suggestion is to garner 4 or more bottles and have one now and every 2-3 years open another, if you can wait that long!
While I have my own internal rating system, judging the wine on its merits only and this being rated with my second highest score, the best being “perfect”, it is by far one of the best value wines in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines at any price point.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Paired this evening with a prime filet mignon from Nebraska that we discovered at a local meat market called Chuck’s Fine Meats. The steak was seasoned with Applewood salt, mesquite, roasted garlic powder and Chuck’s Fine Meat Steak Seasoning. It was seared at 1500 degrees and served medium rare. Accompanied by a baked Russet potato and sauteed broccoli. A delicious meal and the wine was spot on with its fruit and tannins.
Here is where the Smith-Madrone shined with its fruit forwardness making it a wonderful flavor to complement the BBQ steak with strength and boldness enough with tannins to “cut through” the meat, making it a delightful meal.
This wine made my annual Best Wines Tasted for 2026.
The Winery
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine is their second Cabernet Sauvignon vintage since the Glass Fire in 2020 during which they produced no Cabernet Sauvignon. A story truly reminiscent of The Phoenix!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
In the picture you can see the Glass Fire burning right up against their property line.
The views from atop Spring Mountain are breathtaking overlooking Napa Valley.
Photo from vineyards looking east with Napa Valley below and Howell Mtn across the valley. Photo ©Michael Kelly
Smith-Madrone Vineyards is located on 200 acres on top of Spring Mountain west of St. Helena with 38 acres planted in vineyards. The vineyard elevation ranges from 1,300 to 2,000 feet.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The founder, managing partner and enologist is Stuart Smith (center), Charles Smith (left) is the winemaker, and the associate winemaker is François Bugué (right). Truly a family affair! All the wines are estate and dry-farmed on top of the mountain. Currently their production is approximately 6,000 cases a year. They produce Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and their iconic Cooks Flat (blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc).
Photo ©Michael Kelly
For detailed information on the winery and unique trellis system, you can read the story from a previous visit at:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2024/08/14/smith-madrone-vineyards-paradise-found/
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
Solid Wine, Great Food But a Poor Wine and Food Pairing!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Background
My wife found a great recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad. Being that it was 114 degrees today, she cooked the chicken the night before to have a cold salad for dinner. The recipe looked enticing. Traditional food and wine pairing wisdom leans toward a dry Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc. We just had a Sauvignon Blanc the night before and my favorite dry Riesling, Smith-Madrone Vineyards, is in a refrigerator locker storage about 30 minutes away. So took the opportunity to try a different approach with a Cabernet Franc Blanc, 2022 L’Autre Côte from Steven Kent Winery. Again, one of my favorite anonymous quotes is “Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you”. Thus, the adventure began albeit not successful.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled Poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
First, if you are a red Cabernet Franc lover, you will find tasting this wine a mind-challenging experience. For me it certainly was! First on the eyes, it is difficult to visualize and comprehend a Cabernet Franc Blanc! Secondly when smelling it very little of the typical red fruit qualities waft into the senses. Then the first sip, you are startled that this is a Cabernet Franc with little red fruit taste. Now after closing one’s eyes and sipping many times, once you can calm your uncomfortableness, an entirely new world opens.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The wine on the eyes is a clear elixir with almost “no coloring. On the nose fresh floral fragrances and almond are noted. Once on the palate the magic appears with honeydew melon, white peach, mellow apricot and a sweet grapefruit. The finish provides a definite crispness of citrus notes but still subdued. A very complex finish with a Yin-Yang struggle and contentment of a red Cabernet Franc verses a white Cabernet Franc. In this wine they gracefully co-exist and accentuate the unique flavors of the juice.
Steven Mirassou’s goal for this wine was straightforward “…..I wanted Cab Franc Blanc to be a white, crisp and pure with a flavor profile that makes for a delicious and fascinating wine. And I think that is exactly what we got”.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Now the tricky part! The dinner meal was a new recipe called Chinese Chicken Salad containing Chinese cabbage, red cabbage, shredded carrots, scallions and chicken. Garnished with crunchy noodles, green onions and sesame seeds. The Asian dressing combined soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, canola oil, brown sugar, fresh ginger, minced garlic and black pepper. The dressing was mixed in a bowl to be served and if needed additional dressing was available. The dish was fantastic and now a favorite of mine especially during the hot summer.
Now the catch: If we had a dry Riesling it would have with its bright fruit and high acidity balanced soy sauce and sesame oil. Or if a Sauvignon Blanc was served it with its citrus and herbal notes cut through the oily dressing and highlighted the fresh greens and help cut through the fat content of the dressing. The Cabernet Franc Blanc, with its delicate aromas and tastes, was overpowered by the dressing. Finally stopped drinking the wine with dinner and enjoyed it after dinner as picked up the fine delicate and finesse aromas/tastes.
The Winery
Steven Kent Mirassou, providing his traditional award-winning style and experience from his Cabernet Sauvignon and red Cabernet Franc’s wines embarked a couple of years back on this new journey with this release coming out initially in March 2023. Since then, he was won many prestigious awards for his Cabernet Franc Blanc, L’Autre Côte.
Here is just one past link to his red Cabernet Franc winning Best of Class:
Venturing into this new “blanc” wine is something he has been contemplating for some time and in 2022 set out to provide his take with a white Cabernet Franc. The goal to get the fruit to the winery immediately and to get it pressed. Fast, gentle whole cluster press and no soaking. Put into the fermenter at 49 degrees it took almost a month to bring the wine to a completely dry quality.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
2021 Smith-Madrone Vineyards Chardonnay
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This is the fourth vintage of Smith-Madrone Chardonnay I have had the opportunity to taste and all have been exquisite. WARNING: if you are a buttery or light Chardonnay wine lover, stop and don’t read this story. However, if you are looking for a bold, layered and scrumptious Chardonnay this is a must read.
This wine being dry farmed, has enough minerality to please a miner during the California Gold Rush! First upon opening the wine, a bouquet of springtime flowers immediately sprang forth almost overwhelming the senses. That typically does not happen! On the eyes, while possessing a light straw or golden coloring and medium body viscosity, something is “different”. Next on the nose, jasmine and honeysuckle aromas abounded. On the palate, minerality and fresh rain on granite stones come bursting to the forefront along with white stone fruits of nectarine and peach. The acidity was pronounced, pointed and clearly targeted for specific food pairings. The finish was crisp, lively and an is extremely dry and well-balanced Chardonnay. A tinge of lemon zest completed the tasting. This Chardonnay was a gem of a find.
The wine is from Spring Mountain, barrel fermented for 10 months in 50% new French oak. It comes in at 14% alcohol. Only 1,001 cases were produced, and it goes for $45/bottle. The wine was just released in January 2025. Again, this will make my annual list of Best Tasted Wines during the year 2025.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The 2021 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay was selected for this meal with its acidity and citrus notes. The dinner was a blackened Swordfish steak. I picked up the fish in the morning at Ohana Seafood in Modesto and looked up various recipes on spices to be used. Choose the ingredients of garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, oregano, basil, thyme cayenne pepper, sea salt, and black pepper. Served with long and short grain rice and plated with pineapple slices. Topped off with minced pineapple salsa, with minced fresh oregano. Sprigs of Tyme were also added on the side. The light citrus and fruit worked wonderfully with the blackened Swordfish. One of the best food and wine pairings in recent memory.
Believe that this wine would be excellent with fresh oysters, seafood, light sauce chicken and sashimi or sushi.
The Winery
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Smith-Madrone Vineyards is located on 200 acres on top of Spring Mountain west of St. Helena with 38 acres planted in vineyards. The vineyard elevation ranges from 1,300 to 2,000 feet. The Chardonnay grapes come from an elevation of 1,900 to 2,000 feet on a 30% slope! The Founder, managing partner and enologist is Stuart Smith, Charles Smith is the winemaker. Truly a family affair! All the wines are grown and dry-farmed on top of the mountain. Annual production is between 3,000 to 4,000 cases a year. Currently they produce besides their Chardonnay other award-winning wines, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and their iconic Cooks Flat (blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc). They are about to release their new Cabernet Franc wine shortly!
Stuart on the left and Charles on the right. Photo ©Michael Kelly
More can be found on their wines & viticulture techniques from a previous story at:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2024/08/14/smith-madrone-vineyards-paradise-found/
Sláinte,
Michael