Smith Madrone
Estate Bottled Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley, California, USA
Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.
On the nose blueberries, black plums, black cherries, earth, oak, licorice, eucalyptus, spices, herbs, dark coffee and light black pepper.
Medium plus in body with medium acidity.
Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, cooked cherries, oak, licorice, earth, spices, dark chocolates, tobacco leaf, herbs and peppercorn.
Tangy finish with fine grained tannins and raspberries.
This 4 year old Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley is still young, but starting to drink very nicely now. Shows nice complexity and smooth.
Definitely not the extracted Napa cab Style. Feels more like a Left Bank Bordeaux. Nice to see that coming from Napa.
Needs 90 minutes to open up properly, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years.
Good by itself or with food. A nice wine to pair with a nice piece of steak. Paired nicely with aged Gorgonzola cheese from France.
A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot.
14.3% alcohol by volume.
91 points.
$60.
Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.
On the nose blueberries, black plums, black cherries, earth, oak, licorice, eucalyptus, spices, herbs, dark coffee and light black pepper.
Medium plus in body with medium acidity.
Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, cooked cherries, oak, licorice, earth, spices, dark chocolates, tobacco leaf, herbs and peppercorn.
Tangy finish with fine grained tannins and raspberries.
This 4 year old Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley is still young, but starting to drink very nicely now. Shows nice complexity and smooth.
Definitely not the extracted Napa cab Style. Feels more like a Left Bank Bordeaux. Nice to see that coming from Napa.
Needs 90 minutes to open up properly, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years.
Good by itself or with food. A nice wine to pair with a nice piece of steak. Paired nicely with aged Gorgonzola cheese from France.
A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot.
14.3% alcohol by volume.
91 points.
$60.
Cherry, cassis, raspberry, vanilla, eucalyptus, blackberry and oak. Full-bodied and soft tannins.
Cherry, cassis, raspberry, vanilla, eucalyptus, blackberry and oak. Full-bodied and soft tannins.
Oct 29th, 2022Blackberry, raspberry preserves, currant, vanilla and oak. Full-bodied and moderate tannins.
Blackberry, raspberry preserves, currant, vanilla and oak. Full-bodied and moderate tannins.
Nov 30th, 2021Time to get my #FridayCabernetfix. Here is a nice one from Napa Valley.
Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.
On the nose blueberries, black currants, black plums, sweet cherries, light vanilla, wood, licorice, spices, tar, earth, vegetables, eucalyptus, pencil lead, tobacco, dark coffee and black pepper.
Full bodied with medium plus acidity, and smooth with long legs.
Dry on the palate with black currants, black cherries, wood, licorice, spices, dark chocolates, green olives, graphite, earth, leather, tobacco, bell pepper, vegetables, bitter herbs, peppercorn and dark coffee.
Spicy finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.
This is a very enjoyable Cabernet Sauvignon from Spring Mountain District. Not the typical Napa Cabernet. Drinks more like a Left Bank Bordeaux.
Showing nice complexity with a nice mouthfeel. Nicely balanced and enjoyable by itself or with food.
This 5 year old is still young and needs another five years in the bottle to mature.
Needs time to open up properly. I gave it 3 hours. Tannins show up after two and a half hours and bring out structure, so please be patient.
At this point, the Cabernet Franc in the blend, is really showing dominance. Showing lots of earth notes at this point, which makes it very interesting. I would imagine that it will diminish with time.
Showing great potential to be much better in the next 5 to 10 years.
I paired it with cheeses and crackers. Went very nicely with the brie cheese.
A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Cabernet Franc. Aged in (65% new) French Oak barrels for 18 months.
14.3% alcohol by volume.
91 points.
$52.
Time to get my #FridayCabernetfix. Here is a nice one from Napa Valley.
Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.
On the nose blueberries, black currants, black plums, sweet cherries, light vanilla, wood, licorice, spices, tar, earth, vegetables, eucalyptus, pencil lead, tobacco, dark coffee and black pepper.
Full bodied with medium plus acidity, and smooth with long legs.
Dry on the palate with black currants, black cherries, wood, licorice, spices, dark chocolates, green olives, graphite, earth, leather, tobacco, bell pepper, vegetables, bitter herbs, peppercorn and dark coffee.
Spicy finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.
This is a very enjoyable Cabernet Sauvignon from Spring Mountain District. Not the typical Napa Cabernet. Drinks more like a Left Bank Bordeaux.
Showing nice complexity with a nice mouthfeel. Nicely balanced and enjoyable by itself or with food.
This 5 year old is still young and needs another five years in the bottle to mature.
Needs time to open up properly. I gave it 3 hours. Tannins show up after two and a half hours and bring out structure, so please be patient.
At this point, the Cabernet Franc in the blend, is really showing dominance. Showing lots of earth notes at this point, which makes it very interesting. I would imagine that it will diminish with time.
Showing great potential to be much better in the next 5 to 10 years.
I paired it with cheeses and crackers. Went very nicely with the brie cheese.
A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Cabernet Franc. Aged in (65% new) French Oak barrels for 18 months.
14.3% alcohol by volume.
91 points.
$52.
Big bold and delicious. Dark red hue with pepper on the nose and American oak. Long and lush. Still has a bit of tannic grip on he finish and can go many more years. Reminds me a Jordan cabernet just bolder. Thanks Gary Westby for hooking me up with this many moons ago.
Big bold and delicious. Dark red hue with pepper on the nose and American oak. Long and lush. Still has a bit of tannic grip on he finish and can go many more years. Reminds me a Jordan cabernet just bolder. Thanks Gary Westby for hooking me up with this many moons ago.
2 people found it helpfulApr 9th, 2016
23 week after original coravin accessing it's showing perfectly. The coravin is a game changer! Dried black plum skin, tobacco, garrigue and all wrapped in barrel spice. #californiacanage
23 week after original coravin accessing it's showing perfectly. The coravin is a game changer! Dried black plum skin, tobacco, garrigue and all wrapped in barrel spice. #californiacanage
2 people found it helpfulSep 30th, 2014Mag. So beautiful, and bittersweet as I don’t know where I’m going to find another bottle of this, let alone in large format. Bordeaux style cassis and tobacco but with a vibrant core of plush California mountaintop fruit. Fond memories with the family atop Spring Mountain at this unique winery. I’ve never had their reserve “Cook’s Flat” bottling as it’s much more pricey, but for me the regular cab has plenty of power and distinction.
Mag. So beautiful, and bittersweet as I don’t know where I’m going to find another bottle of this, let alone in large format. Bordeaux style cassis and tobacco but with a vibrant core of plush California mountaintop fruit. Fond memories with the family atop Spring Mountain at this unique winery. I’ve never had their reserve “Cook’s Flat” bottling as it’s much more pricey, but for me the regular cab has plenty of power and distinction.
1 person found it helpfulSep 24th, 2018
True unicorn.
Magnum of Smith-Madrone
So youthful, but unbelievable
True unicorn.
Magnum of Smith-Madrone
So youthful, but unbelievable
2006 old school napa - ok fruit a little brittle around the edges - a litthe tar and weediness.
2006 old school napa - ok fruit a little brittle around the edges - a litthe tar and weediness.
1 person found it helpfulMay 20th, 2015Soft, elegant, still tight.
Soft, elegant, still tight.
May 4th, 2015