Smith-Madrone: Solid Spring Mountain (Napa, CA) Wines

In the recent podcast we did on California, M.C. Ice and I talked about the differences between mountain vineyards and those on the valley floor. Both in video and in posts on other mountain wineries I've detailed the contrast too, so rather than hit that angle I'm going to get a little more specific and tell you about Spring Mountain in Napa Valley. 

Named for the natural underground springs running through it, Spring Mountain is on the western mountain range of the Napa Valley -- the Mayacamas. Reaching altitudes of up to 2,600 feet/792 meters, this place is pretty different from other mountains in the area and it shows in the wine.

I've been up the mountain a few times, most notably on my visit to Pride, and the first thing that struck me was that it was a little like a rain forest. As we meandered up the hill in our possibly dangerous and unstable-seeming SUV rental, I felt just exactly how steep the roads were (rollover risk was high), how incredibly forested the mountain seemed (our cell phones didn't work and there was only a winery every so often), and, as I'd noted on my other times up Spring Mountain, how wet it all looked (I was concerned about slipping down the hill -- this thing car have much traction). 

We made it out alive, and it turns out that my observations, made in a state of fear and worry, actually tell a great story about the mountain as a wine region: It's steep, wet, and of the 8,600 acres on the mountain, only 1,000 are planted to only about 30 growers. 

What I wasn't able to cull from my neurotic state of mind was info about how idyllic the climate of Spring Mountain is for grape growing. Its vineyards lie above the fog line and its location and lower height compared to other mountains in Napa make it a perfect path for Pacific breezes to find their way to Napa's valley floor over the mountain. The days are cooler and the nights warmer than on the valley floor. This makes for a longer growing season. Growers harvest the grapes up to a month later than in other parts of the Valley and that extra time allows flavors to develop while preserving stronger acids and tannins. 

What does that mean? The Cabernet and Merlot that dominate this rock (90% of the wine grown here is red and most of it is these two varieties) have lots of time to develop fruit flavor and maintain acid. The tannins from the shallow soils are strong, making wines from Spring Mountain good candidates for aging, although why you would want to hold on to them when the triumvirate of delicious -- great acid, solid but not harsh tannin, and juicy fruit -- reign in the bottle is beyond me. 

I enjoyed my time visiting Spring Mountain. The views are awesome. The vibe is much more chill and less show-y than below in Napa Valley, and the wines have a real sense of identity. They come from Spring Mountain and that means something. Unlike many Napa Cabs and Merlots, I think Spring Mountain stands out in terms flavor and quality.

So when Smith-Madrone asked if they could send their wines to me (disclosure, these were free samples, but that doesn't bias me, as you'll see) I was thrilled. I've passed the winery before and heard wonderful things about the Smith brothers, who established one of the beachhead wineries here in 1971. They are known for being advocates of Spring Mountain, for being laid back and for making amazing, well-balanced wines.

I tried the three wines over the course of a week and was really surprised by the inconsistency. I'll get into detail below, but these wines ranged from spectacular to ok to, for me, completely unbalanced and barely drinkable. I have such a hard time reconciling what I tasted as being from a single winery. I'd be curious to see if any of you have had this experience here or at another place...

A note: We received a call from the winery that they thought the inconsistency of the Chardonnay was from poor storage or transport. We've re-reviewed the wine in an audio and written format IN THIS POST ("Smith-Madrone Chardonnay Take 2...). 

Let me get into detail here and share:

Wine #1: 2007 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon

Grapes: 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc

Alcohol: 14.2%

Price: $45

Color: Very dark purple. The wine was inky, and it stained the sides of the glass. There was a slight lightening around the rim but it looked like a powerhouse of a wine, with gloppy, thick legs from the alcohol.

Smell: Forest, gardenia, violet, blackberry, stewed strawberry, dusty road, leather, cardamom, a little green pepper, myrrh (church-y/incense-y), and red cherry were all mingled together in the glass. It was the gift that kept on giving -- very complex.

Taste: Just as complex. Blackberry, plum skin (a little tart), black cherry and cola flavors were first. There was a touch of green pepper from the Cabernet and then some great notes from winemaking: leather, vanilla, cinnamon, and incense. The texture was great -- it had medium tannins and good noticeable mouthwatering acid. All was in balance.

Drink or Sink?: DRINK.  This was a delicious wine with a lot going on. Spice, fruit, acid, and smooth tannins -- fabulous and so unique. This is why mountain vineyards are so very coveted in California -- yin (fruit flavor) and yang (still great texture).
___________________________________________


Wine #2: 2011 Smith-Madrone Riesling


Alcohol: 12.6%

Grape:  100% Riesling

Price: $27

Color: Very pale -- almost platinum. It had some small bubbles amidst the pale straw hue. 

Smell: For such an aromatic grape, it was interesting that this one had very light floral and lemon scents. As it warmed a little in the glass it was a little like melon and lime but nothing pungent. 

Taste: The wine had subtle honey and honeysuckle flavors with a little bit of fresh-squeezed lime too. It was floral and had middling acid, but there was also a little bitter, plant stem flavor to it too that was less good.

Drink or Sink?: Meh, I guess drink. This is an ok wine. It's refreshing, it's clean, it's pleasant. But it's not lighting the world on fire. It doesn't have any of the complex flavors you'll find in Riesling from Rheingau or Mosel in Germany, or from Alsace or Clare Valley in Australia. There are some places that can do Riesling in California and Napa used to do a ton of it, but these days Napa is too hot for Riesling. The grape doesn't shine here. Although this is a decent wine when there are so many better Rieslings for the price, this won't be my go-to.


_________________________________________
NOTE: This review here is left here so you can see the contrast of what the wine that was damaged in storage/transport tastes like, but this review is not representative of the wine.  Click here for the update.

Wine #3: 2010 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay



Grape:  100% Chardonnay

Alcohol: 14.4%

Price: $30

Color: Right from the start I knew this was a wine that had spent some time in oak. The dark yellow/gold color with thick gloppy legs showed there was ripeness, oak, and higher alcohol.

Smell: A very unique smell, it was so dominated by oak that it was hard to tell this was something grown in the earth. Yes, there was pineapple and baked apple smells but they were eclipsed by the powerful butterscotch, caramel, and burnt oak. Maybe from the oak, or maybe from the soil there was a miso scent or maybe it was more like soy. Either way, it reminded me of salty Chinese food.

Taste: And it tasted like salty Chinese food too. But really the only thing I could taste in this wine was caramel, and heavily, burnt oak. The wine was hot from the alcohol, had minimal acid, and was tannic and rough. There was a touch of lemon flavor but I could barely find any fruit flavor here. 

Drink or sink? SINK. I just don't get it. The Cabernet was so good and balanced that I expected a wine that was equal parts fruit, acid, and gentle oak. The barrel fermentation and the 100% new oak, even if it was the milder French kind, was too much for these Chardonnay grapes to handle. 

I'm the first to admit that I'm not a lover of oaky Chardonnay but I'm not being personally biased here. To me, this is an issue with the winemaking. There is no balance here. The oak drowns out everything. If you follow the podcast, it will mean something to you that even M.C. Ice was unable to finish a full glass. 

I'm sure the winemakers think that they are remaining true to the California style and being classic, but sometimes change is good. In this case, they need to tone back the oak and let the fruit shine. This just over the top. This was as bad as the Cab was good. So strange that there is such disparity at one winery.

Have you had these wines? Have I offended you beyond belief or are you with me? Drop a comment below. and let me know! 

*Pictures from Smith-Madrone.com