Cabernet Sauvignon Reviews

Kathleen Willcox, Instagram, November 17, 2021

Iconic...drinking beautifully now...with a gorgeous future ahead...

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

Smith-Madrone Winery was founded in 1971 by Stuart Smith, with vineyards perched at an elevation of between 1,300 and 2,000 feet on slopes that angle up to … 34%. High elevation, check. Also dry farmed. Chardonnay, Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon were planted in 1972; Cabernet Franc and Merlot were planted in 1998; Petit Verdot in 2007.

The winery itself sits on top of Spring Mountain, and the estate vineyards unfurl down those steep slopes around it. Stuart paired up slope exposures with wine varieties, i.e. eastern for Riesling, southern and western + flat for Cabernet Sauvignon, north-facing for Chardonnay. The soils are deep-red Aiken Stoney Clay loam of volcanic origin (POW), well-draining, flecked with goodies from the deep geologic past—deep sea radiolarian cherts, limestones, shales …. And rocks as big as Italian race cars.

All of Smith-Madrone wines are made from grapes plucked from their estate vineyards. The Cabernet Sauvignon has become iconic.

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon (with a 17.7% dollop of Cabernet Franc, a sprinkle of 0.4% Merlot) is drinking beautifully now, with a gorgeous future ahead. Right now, it’s blackberries, blueberries, red cherries, white flowers, pepper, grippy but not clingy, full-bodied but not lush.

Can’t wait to revisit in a decade.


https://www.instagram.com/p/DCcebtqS9fY/

The Tasting Panel Magazine, Meridith May, January 2025

A plush blend...a spice box of flavor

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

PUBLISHER’S PICKS: 95 points: Grapes grown on a non-tilled, steep, dry-farmed mountain vineyard create a plush blend of 81.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17.7% Cab Franc, and a fraction of Merlot. Aged 18 months in 65% new French oak, it shows black peppered dark plum, green bell pepper, sage, and mint for a spice box of flavor. At mid-point, blue fruit emerges with a noticeable creamy vibrancy and finishes with intensity.



smashed.grapes, November 11, 2024

A really beautiful wine

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

A really beautiful wine. This newly released wine from Smith-Madrone is a baby but really delicious in its youth. Powerful red and blue fruits on the nose, with a little tobacco and oak. 17.7% cabernet franc that enhances the nose and provides a herbaceous nose in addition to the fruit. This isn’t your typical over concentrated, over oaked Napa cab with a ripping 15+% ABV. This 2021 Cabernet comes in at a perfect 14.3 ABV with medium weight on the palate. The tannins are present but not over powering and a nice acidity to balance everything out. Perfect cab to drink now or lay down for some years. Thankful I ordered a few because these will improve and cruise in the cellar. This is the real deal and an absolute steal at $65. Truly respect these brothers, the quality of their wines, and commitment to fair pricing in a world of Napa cabs that are increasingly unattainable to the everyday consumer. Bravo and cheers to another great vintage.


https://www.instagram.com/p/DCDnOc4NBio/

Isaac James Baker, isaacjamesbaker.com, November 7, 2024

Beautifully deep and complex...this is beautiful now...a crazy value

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

Folks don’t seem to agree on much these days. There’s a lot of division out there. But I like to think the vast majority of wine-consuming Americans can agree on this – California Cabernet and Chardonnay are great. They’re classics for a reason. And this week I’m focusing on some new releases from well-known California producers that deliver. Most of the wines are widely-available, and there’s a lot of value in here as well. And, these days, that matters a lot.

94 points: Vibrant purple color. Beautifully deep and complex aromatic display – I get roasted figs, dark plums, black cherries and currants, so tangy and vibrant, along with clay and loam, clove, pepper, creosote, black tea. The palate shows structured but fine-grained tannins, met nicely with bright acidity for a refreshing and balanced appeal. The black and red currant fruit, blueberries, and plum fruit shows depth and tanginess. All sorts of non-fruit nuances are packed in here (charcoal, minerals, cedar, tobacco, mint, black pepper, black tea) but will need time in the cellar to show their full potential. Love the tangy, mineral and earth-laden finish. This is beautiful now but needs some serious TLC (time laying in cellar) to express itself fully. At the price, and given the aging potential, this is a crazy value. Includes some Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this wine spends18 months in 65% new French oak.


https://isaacjamesbaker.blogspot.com/2024/11/california-new-releases-cabs-and-chards.html

Michael Kelly, CaliforniaWinesandWineries, November 5, 2024

Intense flavor and more

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

A dichotomy as defined by Cambridge Dictionary is “a difference between two completely opposite ideas or things”. This was the case with this Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon, fragrant, fruit forward and soft going into the palate, yet once there, burst forth with intense flavor and brute strength and enjoyable tannins a wonderful surprise. This wine is the first Cabernet Sauvignon vintage since the Glass Fire in 2020 during which they produced no Cabernet Sauvignon. On the eyes a deep penetrating purple and crimson coloring. In the glass medium to medium heavy viscosity. Then on the nose fresh red cherries burst in the olfactory senses with a bramble scent. Once on the palate, luscious and impactful red berries filled the mouth with a soft caressing flavor with a secondary note of blueberries and light vanilla pipe tobacco. Expecting a soft and abbreviated finish, this is where the dichotomy came forth. Strong bold tannins showed the pedigree of this vineyard with their jagged tannins. This is why I believe this youthful wine will appreciate and improve with aging over the next 10 years.

The wine is a blend of 81.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17.7% Cabernet Franc and .4% Petit Verdot. It was barrel aged 18 months in 65% new French oak. 1,652 cases were produced, and the retail price is $65/bottle. For a Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon this is perhaps one of the best bargains in Napa Valley!

Paired this evening with a ribeye steak seared on the BBQ at 1500 degrees and served medium to medium rare. Accompanied by roasted quartered and seasoned potatoes and steamed broccoli. Also a wonderful baby spinach salad was prepared with Bartlett pear slices, bacon and Point Reyes crumbled blue cheese. A homemade balsamic dressing was drizzled on the salad. Here is where the Smith-Madrone shined with its fruit forwardness making it a wonderful flavor to the BBQ steak and yet strong and bold enough with tannins to “cut through” the meat to make it a delightful meal.

 

 


https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2024/11/05/2021-smith-madrone-cabernet-sauvignon-a-dichotomy/

Alder Yarrow, Vinography, November 2, 2024

Fantastic balance and excellent acidity

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

This offers a wonderfully juicy expression of mountainside Cabernet in a stellar vintage for an almost ridiculously low price in this day and age of $300 Napa wines…Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of cherry, sweet oak, and green herbs. In the mouth, gorgeous black cherry and blackcurrant flavors mix with chopped green herbs, sweet toasted oak, and a hint of tobacco. Fine-grained tannins coat the mouth, and flex their muscles over time. Fantastic balance and excellent acidity. The oak is fairly well integrated at the moment, but in 3-4 years this wine will truly be singing. 


https://www.vinography.com/2024/11/vinography-unboxed-week-of-10-27-24

Philip Kuo, The Wine Guys, October 31, 2024

Classic Napa...one of the great values on Spring Mountain

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

94 points. Double decanted 8 hours. Red florals, cherries, raspberries, peppercorns, licorice, earth, tobacco and graphite. Lots of aromatic fruit up front with a smooth mid-palate, and a tinge of tartness. Layered spice and earth undertones give way to a rustic dusty-tannin finish. Continues to drink excellent across day two and three, built for the long haul. A nod to the old world in style but undeniably still classic Napa. Year after year this remains one of the great values on Spring Mountain that really gives you a sense of place. 



Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate, October 17, 2024

Classic Spring Mountain Cabernet

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

93+ points: Marked on the nose by subtle herb and floral notes, the cherry-scented 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is medium to full-bodied in the mouth, framed by firm tannins that promise a long evolution. Thankfully, the tannins are ripe and silky on the finish, where that dusty quality is joined by attractive hints of licorice. It's a classic Spring Mountain Cab, capable of 20 years of cellaring.


https://www.robertparker.com/wines/F7i3B2uN99adnRiG5/smith-madrone-cabernet-sauvignon-2021

Ellen Landis, EllenOnWine, September 30, 2024

Full-bodied and complex with a velvety texture

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

 Deep, dark fruit and fresh-turned earth on the nose awaken the senses, paving the way to a sumptuous, well-defined, multilayered palate. Black currant, spice-dusted plum chutney, crushed tobacco leaf, tinges of leather, and finely managed oak are beautifully framed by a firm backbone of tannins, and the balancing acidity is spot on. Full-bodied and complex with a velvety texture and an unforgettable, everlasting finish. Approachable now, yet ageworthy, if you have the patience to wait.


https://ellenonwine.com/ellen-on-wine/tcn12mxtfrpbuklghsxczwrznqvkhe-7blkd

Kara Daly, WineIsConfusing, August 28, 2024

Hiding under the ripe fruit was a lavender-garrigue thing, and we love a lavender-garrigue thing

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

I was sent this bottle a while ago and I waited ‘til one of the hottest July days to open it. Why? I was in the mood. Just goes to show, weather need not always dictate your wine. I took refuge in my air-conditioned kitchen and poured a glass of this deep garnet. Stewed plum, eucalyptus, dark chocolate and strawberry smells. Halfway through sipping, the wine started to decant in the glass and morph before my nose. This is one of those moments I love, when a new aroma pops its head and goes HAY—it’s really magical. Notorious for not being able to identify an aroma, I sat wondering over this for some time. Eventually, I landed on herbs de Provence, and a proper rifle through my spice cabinet confirmed that hiding under the ripe fruit was a lavender-garrigue thing, and we love a lavender-garrigue thing.


https://wineisconfusing.substack.com/p/mixed-bag-drinking-in-my-kitchen

Gabe Sasso, Substack, August 19, 2024

Best Cabernet in Napa...a genuine wine, reflective of its vineyard....selling for an amazing price

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

Drive around Napa for a short while and you’ll quickly understand that Cabernet Sauvignon is the king. When you walk into nearly any winery tasting room, there are more and more Cabernets on offer than ever before. In some instances, the array of different Cabernets is quite simply dazzling. So much so, that you’ll be forgiven if you miss the fact that there are less and less wines that are not Cabernet Sauvignon on offer. Look at the planted acres that are marked, Cabernet, Cabernet, Cabernet. This isn’t fresh news, but it’s increasingly true as time marches on. Cabernet Sauvignon can command big scores and big scores command big dollars. Plenty of wineries are chasing both. And hey, commerce has to be part of the equation for it to work. To be fair, it’s worth noting Cabernet produces some of the best wines on earth. But the monoculture we’re seeing with a nearly singular focus on Cabernet, specifically in Napa, is over the top in my view. Especially when you consider how well certain other grapes thrive there too. The more salient part of the issue is that many of the producers chasing scores are crafting wines to hit a particular profile, not necessarily to bottle what’s most reflective of their vineyards. But then we come to my personal favorite Napa winery, Smith-Madrone. Their portfolio is comprised of three core wines that are out in the marketplace, and a couple of smaller production wines available directly through them. Their core is Riesling, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. In my view, all things considered, it’s the best Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa. It's 85 % Cabernet and the balance Cabernet Franc (12%), and Merlot (3%). Just more than 1,500 cases were bottled, and that represents their largest production wine, but just by a few hundred cases. As with their Riesling and Chardonnay which I covered recently, the Cabernet Sauvignon is truly reflective of its place in the world. It’s clearly Spring Mountain fruit from Napa. Black raspberry aromas are the first sign of the dark fruit that defines this Cabernet Sauvignon from first whiff, to last sip. Minerals and earth notes are at play too. The finish is long and refreshing. Drink this Cabernet now or lay it down for a decade or more. In either case, when you open it you’ll be pleased. Bottom line, that’s a damn good glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Stu Smith, who along with his brother Charlie have run the winery for over 50 years, once told me, “that they like to price their wines at the high end of drinkability.” In short they want you to enjoy these wines with your meals and your life. A lot of producers are chasing big scores and trophy wines. I’m sure Stu and Charlie appreciate good scores too, but their overriding goal, has always seemed to me, to be growers of good, and genuine wines, reflective of their property. It’s pretty obvious when you taste the wines, they’re nailing those goals. $65, for the level of quality in the bottle is a steal. So to recap: genuine wine, reflective of its vineyard, made in comparatively low quantities ready to drink now and worthy of aging, selling for an amazing price relative to its local competition. So yes, for all of those reasons Smith-Madrone consistently produces Napa’s best Cabernet Sauvignon. That’s a hill (maybe mountain) I’m ready to plant a flag on.


https://smithmadrone.wordpress.com/

CaliforniaWinesandWineries, Michael Kelly, August 17, 2024

Absolute stellar Cabernet Sauvignon

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

The first thing that comes to mind, besides the actual wine is the price of $65/bottle! I have not found a comparable wine at this price from Napa Valley. This is an absolute bargain and should not be overlooked. When popping the cork and smelling it, I knew this was going to be an exquisite treat! Can’t remember getting such a beautiful aroma from any cork. Once poured into the glass, the coloring was a deep dark black coloring with dark red hues on the edges. On the nose, blackberry and dark cherries greeted the imbiber not only with fruit but with a classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon of days long gone by going back to the Napa Valley roots. On the palate, the fruit swirled about like a tropical storm in the mouth, the deep dark colored fruits conjoined with cedar, light oak, minerality and earthiness to create a layered and intense flavor. On the finish, a light vanilla scent and anise accompanied with soft leather were dominant. The tannins were gripping but did not hold the overall experience hostage.  An absolute stellar Cabernet Sauvignon. So it is understandable why this wine will make my annual Best Wines tasted during the year. This list comes out each December and represents 2-3% of the wines reviewed.


https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2024/08/17/2019-smith-madrone-cabernet-sauvignon-an-exceptional-wine-at-a-remarkable-price/

Dan Berger, Napa Valley Features, August 8, 2024

Exceptional

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

The aroma here is classic 1970s Napa Valley, particularly with the overwhelming complexities that add to the first and most powerful scent — dark fruit, cassis, blackberry and even a trace of loganberry. There also are traces of dried herbs, aged pipe tobacco and tree-ripened olives. In short, it is complex, which stands to reason since it is already 5 years old and still in perfect condition for aging. This producer has always made exceptional wines, including an alluring, food-friendly chardonnay and an off-dry riesling that develops beautifully in the bottle. I have enjoyed this cabernet for decades because it almost always has a sprightliness and a vitality based on modest alcohols (this is just over 14%) and bright acidity. There is a trace of oak, but it is well under the line. I have varying vintages of this wine dating back to 1989, a year some people disparaged, but with beautiful mountain-grown fruit, this producer made a brilliant wine. Given the ridiculous prices of so many cabernets from Napa that simply do not stand the test of time, Smith-Madrone’s version is a relative bargain.


https://napavalleyfocus.substack.com/p/dan-bergers-wine-chronicles-less

Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter, June 12, 2022

One of the most structured, classic expressions of the Spring Mountain AVA

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

93 points: brothers Stu and Charles Smith craft some of the most structured, classic expressions of the Spring Mountain AVA, and the 2019 is no exception. Subtle dark berry fruit, wild mountains herbs and a pretty capsicum nose. Full-bodied, the palate has ample acidity and freshness, revealing green tobacco, blackcurrant, earth and crushed stone minerality. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2050.


https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/usa/california/smith-madrone-cabernet-sauvignon-napa-valley-spring-61723

Clive Pursehouse, Decanter, April 1, 2024

May be the best value in the entire Napa Valley

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

95 points: The classic Cabernet from Smith-Madrone may be the best value in the entire Napa Valley at $65. Old World elegance is ever present, along with a generosity of fruit balanced with great savoury herbs and streaking graphite minerality. Aromas of wild anise, pine bough and dried sage rise in the glass, framing dark mountain blueberries and a touch of pomegranate pulp. The palate is classically cool, medium-weight, and lively with an old-school Napa authenticity. Alpine berry fruits, spearmint and earthen umami elements combine with smoky clove and wild mountain scrub, framing a sense of place and mountain terroir from the dry-farmed vines at Smith-Madrone. Drinking window: 2024 - 2044.


https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/usa/california/smith-madrone-cabernet-sauvignon-napa-valley-spring-61723

Tasting Panel Magazine, Michael Franz, September 2024

One of Napa’s classiest Cabernets in a vintage that shows it in peak form

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

97 points: nearing five years of age as this winery’s current release, this has settled into a sweet spot where oak, primary fruit and tannin are all singing in harmony. Savory undertones emerge to lend enduringly intriguing complexities as this warms and breathes in one’s glass. Neither pushy nor reticent, heavy nor light, this is one of Napa’s classiest Cabernets in a vintage that shows it in peak form. 



Eve Bushman, Wine101, May 31, 2024

Welcoming balance....so approachable now....

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

The color is very purple, and opaque. Aromas reminded me of blackberry jam on toast, blueberry, crushed brown leaves, red earth, and dark chocolate. On the mouth I noted a welcoming balance of dark berry fruit and mellow spices, as well as some of that chocolate I found on the nose, and medium tannins. It amazed me that the wine was so approachable now, meaning that you don’t have to cellar it before enjoying but you certainly can if that’s your preference. We had this with a nice steak dinner.


https://evewine101.com/2024/05/31/reviewing-the-new-releases-from-smith-madrone/

PullThatCork, Nancy Brazil, June 7, 2024

Complex without being heavy or too ripe

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

Dark ruby with generous aromas of plums, cedar, blackberries and hints of roasted red peppers. Flavors include blackberries, red plums, dried tobacco and cedar. The body is medium with juicy acidity. This is a Cabernet with energy, fresh flavors and lively acidity. It’s complex without being heavy or too ripe. It is a pleasure to sip. The blend, 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, is aged for 18 months in 55% new French oak. Sip this Cabernet with a meal, regardless of the season. This is a Cab I would sip even in summer.

I have a thing for mountainside vineyards. Growing vines on the side of a mountain is definitely not the easiest place to grow them, but some of the most interesting and complex wines I’ve tasted are grown there. Smith-Madrone wines are both. They are also elegant, unexpected and affordable. Affordable and Napa Valley are sometimes mutually exclusive with regard to wine. 


https://pullthatcork.com/2024/smith-madrone-mountain-winemaking-at-its-best/

Wilfred Wong, Wine.com, May 2024

Powerful yet stylish

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

93 points: Powerful yet stylish. Enjoy its aromas and flavors of ripe blackberries, dried earth, and oak with grilled, well-marbled ribeye.


https://www.wine.com/product/smith-madrone-cabernet-sauvignon-2019/1206710

Ryan O'Hara, TheFermentedFruit, May 8, 2024

Terrific expression of mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

A breath of fresh air in a sea of overoaked and over ripe Napa Cabs – the 2019 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon is another terrific expression of mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon. Intense and lengthy with gorgeous purity of fruit and that mineral backbone we all long for. A superb effort and a really sold value proposition at $65 a bottle.


https://www.instagram.com/stories/thefermentedfruit/3363070781749787779/

Purely Domestic Wine Report, Doug Wilder, January 2024

Silky spice

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

The nose is forward juniper and bay laurel with sticky shrub berries and chocolate. The palate entry is lean herbal-tinged red fruit with a textured core of raspberry, hard cherry and watermelon finishing with silky brown spice. Drink 2023-2045.



Joe Campbell, The Wine Bulletin, October 27, 2022

Great balance

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

Dark stone fruit on the nose with flavors of blackberry, black cherry and just a hint of black pepper. The wine shows great balance with a nice, long finish. A composition of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot.


https://winebulletin.net/smith-madrone-a-mountain-vintners-perspective/

Jeff Kralik, The Drunken Cyclist, January 24, 2024

A stellar wine

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

93 points. Just the mention of “Smith-Madrone” makes me giddy–the wines are always on point, precisely made, exhibit the terroir, and are also reserved and food-friendly. If you pop a Smith-Madrone Cab and are expecting a “typical Napa Cab” you will be sorely disappointed. Instead, the medium-color wine with plenty of red berry fruit and a solid dose of green notes: both herbal and green pepper (albeit subtle) is more subtle and understated than its Valley brethren. The reserved fruit is at the forefront on the palate, followed quickly by a zingy tartness. Having tasted several Smith-Madrone Cabs now, I find this a bit lean compared to others, resulting in a more acid-driven wine than in years past. Still, this is a stellar wine and would excel on just about any dinner table. Outstanding. 


https://thedrunkencyclist.com/2024/01/24/i-finally-made-it-up-to-smith-madrone/

Obviously Wine Blog, Tanous El-Kareh, December 2023

A New World masterpiece that truly exceeded expectations

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

A deep ruby and purple core with high extraction and intensity of aromas. Notes of toasted black pepper, green pepper, cardamom, balsamic vinegar, tomato leaf, gun powder, prune, black tea and bay leaf, continued to deepen and develop over the 45 minutes spent tasting the wine. Balanced in nearly all aspects with tannin and alcohol in unison as the wine was exposed to more and more oxygen. A wine of exceptional quality that if taken care of will cellar for the next quarter century without cause for concern.

Food pairing:

Prime rib with red wine demi glaze

Peppercorn crusted beef filet with white truffle oil roasted Brussels sprouts

Classic American meatloaf brushed with ketchup (for the kid in all of us)

A truly outstanding wine that is too young for my palate and would greatly benefit from extended aging. That being said, of course the wine is exceptional, but I wish we had cause to return to it over the next decade. A New World masterpiece that truly exceeded all our expectations.


https://www.obviouslywine.com/blog/the-obviously-wine-blog-2023-tasting-report

Talk-a-vino, Anatoli Levine, January 2, 2024

Nirvana

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon

This 2019 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon has the impeccable precision of a beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon, varietally correct and incredibly enticing, even coercing you into the nirvana state – yes, this is how good this wine is.


https://talk-a-vino.com/2024/01/02/top-23-of-2023/
<< PREVIOUS - Page 1 of 13 - NEXT >>