Showing posts with label Spring Mountain District. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spring Mountain District. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

"Wood" You Like Some Chardonnay?

In St. Helena, 1,800 feet up Napa Valley's Spring Mountain, Charles and Stuart Smith started Smith-Madrone Winery more than four decades ago, when there was still room at the top in the "pioneer" field.  The winery's name is a tip of the winemaker's hat to the Smith brothers, and to the madrone trees that populate the property.

Smith-Madrone Chardonnay, Napa Valley Spring Mountain District 2015

This lush 100% Chardonnay is from grapes grown in Napa's Spring Mountain District.  They harvested smaller clusters in the 2015 vintage, so flavors are a bit more concentrated.  Aging took place over 10 months in barrels, with 80% new French oak used.  The alcohol hits a hefty 14.9% abv and 512 cases were made.  It retails for $34.

Golden, the oak shows even before the first sniff.  It's a fairly oaky nose, with apricot and mango fighting through.  Lemon and orange appear on the palate, with enough zip to the acidity that it does not seem flabby.  The oak, though, will be an issue to those who like a lean, clean Chardonnay machine.  I'm tasting this in late February, and I typically like oakier Chardonnays more in the holiday season.  Oh, well, the Christmas tree is still up, so it's all good. :)


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Friday, January 19, 2018

Napa Cabernet From Smith-Madrone

In St. Helena, 1,800 feet up Napa Valley's Spring Mountain, Charles and Stuart Smith started Smith-Madrone Winery more than four decades ago, when there was still room at the top in the "pioneer" field.  The outfit's name is a tip of the winemaker's hat to the Smith brothers, and to the madrone trees that populate the property.

The 2014 vintage was marked by a horribly dry winter - they got only half their usual rain - and an earthquake.  The 42-year-old, dry-farmed Cabernet Sauvignon vines held their own, though, and yielded an abundant crop.

It's all estate fruit from Napa's Spring Mountain District here, 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 7% Merlot.  The wine spent 18 months in French oak barrels, 70% of which were new.  Alcohol hits only 13.9% abv, which is uncharacteristically low for a red California wine.  This wine retails for $52, a relative bargain in the world of Napa Cabs.  Nearly 2,000 cases were produced.

The medium-dark wine really has a powerful nose, or maybe I should say an "expressive" one, since elegance wins over power.  The dark fruit is draped in earth and minerals and some of the more lovely holiday spice and pencil-lead notes that I've run across lately.  On the palate, the fruit tastes "grown up" instead of candied - savory instead of sweet.  The tannic structure is firm yet fanciful, the mouthfeel flinty yet filigree.  The wine will pair wonderfully with a steak or a pork chop, but it's a great sipper, too.