#ChampagneWishes #KeepingAmericaonTop Smith-Madrone 2021 Estate Chardonnay by Mover and Shaker Stu Smith Highly Recommended by Whom You Know!
"Our 2021 Estate Chardonnay is a serious wine that’s also yummy. It’s a wine that rivals any white Burgundy: a nose of hazelnuts, orange flowers, maybe a touch of ginger; a mid-weight texture and a very long lingering overall crispness and 'may I have another sip' quality."
It's not who you know, it's WHOM YOU KNOW and we have known Mover and Shaker Stu Smith for years and the 2021 Smith-Madrone 2021 Estate Chardonnay MADE IN THE USA is spring perfection. The color is a very cheerful light bright green gold with an aroma of toasted hazelnuts, stone fruits, orange flowers, white pepper and hints of wasabi. The Champagne Wishes superior sippers were in agreement that this is the one to have now.
We adore the versatility and the ripeness in flavor that lends itself to pair well with both fish, chicken or simply your computer if you are a Peachy Deegan. It is medium weight on the palate, beautifully structured with mouthwatering acidity and luscious, fresh citrusy white nectarine fruit.
There’s a very alluring note of ginger that runs from the aroma through the palate. The wine has a “juicy” quality---how can that be?! It’s almost “Juicy Fruit”-like, not sweet but literally yummy and lively in the mouth. Long lingering crisp finish, a classic hillside Chardonnay.
Their 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. The underlying geology is the very old (250,000,000 years) Franciscan Series 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 the Pacific Tectonic Plate subducting under the Continental Plate and shears both off into an aggregate mix. We love this cocktail of soils that lends itself to ultimately yielding the finest American wine for your best springtime celebrations. Overlying this formation is the much younger weathered Sonoma volcanic soil that forms these soils of today.
All Smith-Madrone wines are made entirely from their primarily dry-farmed estate vineyards surrounding the winery on top of Spring Mountain in the Napa Valley. They make artisanal wines which are distinctive and are an expression of both the vintage and them as vintners, but above all else, are wines which bring pleasure to the senses.
Smith-Madrone 2021 Estate Chardonnay by Mover and Shaker Stu Smith is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know!
LOCATION & COORDINATES: 4022 Spring Mountain Road, St. Helena, California 94574
Phone 707/963-2283;
Open by appointment only
Wines available to purchase online.
FOUNDED: 1971, by Stuart Smith
MANAGEMENT: Stuart Smith, Founder, General Partner
Charles F. Smith III, Winemaker
François Bugué, Associate Winemaker
MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS: The vineyards sit at elevations between 1,300 and 2,000 feet, on steep slopes which range up to 34%.
PLANTING: Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon were initially planted in 1972. Cabernet Franc and Merlot were added in 1998. Petite Verdot was added in 2007. Pinot Noir was planted in 1972 but grafted over to Chardonnay in 1986.
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 rocks as large as small cars.
FARMING: Smith-Madrone is a pioneer of dry farming; from 2017 forward, the vineyards have been minimally irrigated, if at all. Stu Smith explains in this video.
CURRENT RELEASES:
2023 Estate Rosé (131 cases, $30)
2021 Estate Chardonnay (983 cases, $45)
2021 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (1,652 cases, $65)
2019 Estate Riesling (1,087 cases, $40)
2021 Estate Cabernet Franc (153 cases)
2018 Cook’s Flat Reserve (2300 bottles, individually numbered, wrapped in proprietary tissue, $225)
Occasional availability of re-released library wines
All wines are Spring Mountain District appellation, all wines are estate-grown and estate-bottled.
Occasional availability of re-released library wines.
PRODUCTION: Approximately 3,000-4000 cases a year
HOSPITALITY: Tours and tastings by appointment only, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays at 10:00 a.m.
THE ESTATE: 200 acre ranch, partly planted as vineyard over a century ago; California black bears and other wildlife once thrived here; enormous 120-year-old Picholine olive trees frame a path and view down to the floor of the Napa Valley and Bothe Napa Valley State Park
THE NAME: A tribute to the Smith brothers and the predominant tree on the ranch. The Madrone is an evergreen with a red-brown trunk and branches. In spring the tree bears lily-of-the-valley-like flower clusters; in fall orange-red berries appear.
HONORS: Stu was named one of the wine industry's most inspirational people in January 2018. [Link to Wine Industry Advisor]; Smith-Madrone was named Winery of The Year in 2014 by The Daily Meal and its earliest accolade was winning “Best Riesling” in a field of international rieslings put on by Gault-Millau in 1979. The winery is profiled in a segment of Behind The Glass on SommTV.
