2017 Smith Madrone Riesling
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S$8997
Vintage : 2017
Country : USA
Region : Napa Valley
Winemaker Notes
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.
About Winery
Smith-Madrone is a family-run estate-bottled winery dedicated to producing fine wines exclusively from its own vineyards. The winery was founded in 1971 with the purchase of 200 acres high atop Spring Mountain west of St. Helena in the northern Napa Valley.
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.
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.
About Winery
This wine is made from mountain grown grapes, honoring the international tradition of Riesling which thrives on steep hillsides. At Smith-Madrone our goal is to make artisanal wines which are distinctive and are an expression of both the vintage and us as vintners, but above all else, are wines which bring pleasure to the senses. Every year our wine is made from the same vineyards, pruned by the same people in the same way, cultivated in exactly the same manner and harvested at similar levels of maturity, yet Mother Nature stamps each vintage with a unique set of flavors, senses and character. Vintage dating is a celebration of that uniqueness and diversity.
MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS: The vineyards sit at elevations between 1,300 and 2,000 feet, on steep slopes which range up to 34%.
ESTATE : All wines made entirely from the winery's dry-farmed estate vineyards surrounding the winery on top of Spring Mountain in the Napa Valley. Stuart Smith chose specific slopes with different exposures for specific varietals when planting the vineyards: eastern exposure for Riesling, southern and western exposures across flat stretches for the Cabernet Sauvignon and the coolest north-facing slopes for the Chardonnay. There are numerous historical sights on the ranch, as well as the huge array of natural beauty and wildlife.
SOIL: The soils are mostly deep-red Aiken Stoney Clay loam, part of the Aiken, Kidd, Forward complex of soils which are volcanic-based, well-drained and deep for mountain soils. The underlying geology is the Franciscan Assemblage, unique to California coastal ranges, which includes altered mafic volcanic rocks, deep-sea radiolarian cherts, sandstones, limestones, serpentines, shales and high-pressure metamorphic rocks, all of them faulted and mixed in a seemingly chaotic manner as a result of tectonic plate activity. The soils are rocky, with some as large as small cars.
FARMING: Smith-Madrone is a pioneer of dry farming.
All wines are Spring Mountain District appellation, all wines are estate-grown and estate-bottled.
James Suckling 94
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.
Wine Enthusiast 94
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.
Tasting Panel 94
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
