Smith Madrone Riesling 2017
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Wilfred
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James
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Winemaker Notes
Classic Riesling nose of honeysuckle, grapefruit and wet stone with just a hint of petrol binding everything together into a harmonious whole that couldn’t be anything other than Riesling. If anything, it’s even better on the palate. It has an impressive silky texture complemented by an equally impressive depth of flavor mid-palate. Lively and fruity and clean with intense varietal character. The acidity is integrating nicely, but the wine still exhibits a tasty crispness at the finish. It’s a lovely expression of a mountain grown Riesling.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Smith-Madrone Riesling is one of America's top white wines. TASTING NOTES: This wine shines with aromas and flavors of apple blossoms, green apples, mineral notes, and attractive petrol. Serve this wine with Cantonese-style Dungeness crab in ginger and garlic. (Tasted: November 24, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
A show-stopper! The lovely candied-orange and orange-cream nose leads you into the succulent palate, which has a wonderful combination of vibrancy and concentration, the kind of which you don’t expect from a Californian riesling. The hint of tannin is as well integrated as the racy acidity, and all this pulls together on the powerful, mineral finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
This atypical variety for the area shines from the producer's steep, dry-farmed estate vineyard. Light, complex and silky on the waxy palate, it offers flavors of green apple, apricot and grapefruit alongside touches of honey and wet stone.
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Tasting Panel
Grapes grown on steep mountain vineyards continue to create one of our favorite California Rieslings year after year. Aromas of beeswax, buttercup, and wet stone are enticing, and flavors of passion fruit are accentuated by fine acidity and a remarkable mouthfeel. Daisy, lemon blossom, and freshly sliced Anjou pear feel serene as saltiness refreshes the palate, urging another sip
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Wine & Spirits
A youthful five-year-old riesling, this wine feels weightless in its heady jasmine floral scents and pretty lemon-tart flavors. The mountain-grown minerality creates a tense frame around the fruit and flowers, setting this up as an age-worthy white. Balanced and lasting.
Other Vintages
2018-
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One of the least-known and most scenic appellations of the Napa Valley, the Spring Mountain District was recognized by the B.A.T.F. in May of 1993.The winery enjoys dramatic views of the floor of the Napa Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the distance, as well as of its own steep dry-farmed vineyards. Smith-Madrone is located at elevations between 1,600 and 1,800 feet 1,300 and 1,900. The vines flourish in vividly red and rocky volcanic soil known as Aiken loam, which is well-drained and friable.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
Above the town of St. Helena on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains sits the Spring Mountain District.
A dynamic region, its vineyards, cut by numerous springs and streams, vary in elevation, slope and aspect. Soils differ throughout with over 20 distinct types inside of the 8,600 acres that define the appellation. Within that area, only about 1,000 are planted to vineyards. Predominantly farmed by small, independent producers, the region currently has just over 30 wineries.
During the growing season, late afternoon Pacific Ocean breezes reach the Spring Mountain vineyards, which sit at between 400 and 1,200 feet. Daytime temperatures during mid summer and early fall remain slightly cooler than those of the valley floor.
Spring Mountain soils—volcanic matter and sedimentary rock—create intense but balanced reds with lush and delicate tannins. The area excels with Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot and in some cooler spots, Chardonnay.