Cabernet Sauvignon Reviews
BiggerThanYourHead, Fredric Koeppel, January 17, 2025
Exceptional
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
Exceptional. Opaque ruby-purple color, lovely transparent garnet rim; a blooming bouquet of lavender, rose petals and graphite, deeply macerated black currants and raspberries, smoke and loam; practically glitters with iodine, mint and cedar; incisive and penetrating from start to finish; flawlessly etched with bright acidity, granitic minerality and dusty, velvety tannins that burgeon into some austerity on the finish; all wrapped around a core of crushed violets, black licorice, ancho chili and bittersweet chocolate. Perfection. Try now or from 2026 through 2034 to ‘36.
https://biggerthanyourhead.substack.com/p/the-first-weekend-wine-notes-of-2025
Owen Bargreen, January 25, 2025
Outstanding, the palate is refined and poised...generous and delicious now
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
They have a beautiful new Cabernet, the 2021 Smith-Madrone Cabernet, earthy and herbal with beautiful poise. This will age gracefully for at least another fifteen years. ...It is outstanding, a brilliant, well-structured new wine that is built to age. Once on the nose this takes on anise and milk chocolate tones with wet stone, fresh thyme and shades of black currant cordial that all meld in the glass. The palate is refined and poised with a great core of black fruit flavors. Generous and delicious now, watch this evolve over the next fifteen years. Drink 2025-2040- 93
https://owenbargreen.com/blog/2025/1/17/smith-madrone
ModernWine, Tim Teichgraeber, January 15, 2025
Mesmerizing....Respect
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
94 points: If you're looking for a truly age-worthy Cab from Napa Valley at a reasonable price, seek out this gem from Spring Mountain. Yes, it is a little bit rustic in that it has a little bit of environmental herbaceousness (think madrone scrub, and not a bad thing for me tbh), and a good bit of rocky, mountain minerality. The oak is still integrating, but the cocktail of deep red and black fruit, anise, vanilla, toast, sage, and stone is mesmerizing. This is a refreshing departure from some of the often too decadent, over-polished, over-priced wines from Napa Valley bench. It's a resolute mountain wine with a critical point of view from the mountaintop, a wine from a very particular place atop Spring Mountain. I would love to try this again in 20 years. Respect.
https://modernwine.blogspot.com/2025/01/smith-madrone-2021-cabernet-sauvignon.html
Jim Gordon, JamesSuckling.com, December 2024
94 points, a staunch defender of the restrained, elegant style of Napa reds
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
94 points: A staunch defender of the restrained, elegant style of Napa reds made in the 1970s, yet with a little more body and ripeness than wines from that era. Tasty, tangy black cherries and blackberries with accents of bay leaves, black olives, cedar and star anise. Firm tannins, good acidity and the potential for aging. Drinkable now, but best from 2029.
https://www.jamessuckling.com/tasting-notes/286450/smith-madrone-cabernet-sauvignon-napa-valley-spring-mountain-district-2021
Purely Domestic Wine Report, Doug Wilder, Issue 11.1, December 2024
A beautiful example of what mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley can be
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon
The nose is rosemary, camphor and licorice with underlying blackberry and plum. The palate entry is violet, dry plum leading to a silky core of spiced red and purple stone fruit that are beautifully integrated throughout. Just a beautiful example of what mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley can be. Drink 2024-2044.
http://www.purelydomesticwinereport.com/
Dan Berger, Napa Valley Focus, January 2, 2024
Remarkable value...a balance of intensity and character
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
Most wine-lovers realize the vital difference between Valley floor-grown grapes and those that grow in mountain soils. Cabernet, in particular, is a classic case in point because for various geological and meteorological reasons, what you get tends to be a little more intense and distinctive. For that reason and a couple of others (e.g., higher farming costs), it’s understandable that mountain-grown cabernets can be more expensive than others, which makes this wine a remarkable value. The grapes were grown at the highest elevation on Spring Mountain. Some reviewers will not see the greatness in this wine that I do. Most of the point-purveyors usually seek intensity over character. This wine has a balance of both, and one of its most attractive characteristics is that it smells and tastes like cabernet! Which differs from most Napa Valley cabs today. Once this wine has been opened and decanted for a couple of hours you get delicate mint, dried herb and tobacco influences that perfectly pair with cassis and black-cherry fruit. Although it is extremely young, it responds beautifully to aeration. Swirling it in a glass expands the nuances, which are easy to access because the alcohol (14.3%) is moderate and the pH low (3.56). Its excellent structure works superbly with beef dishes. Almost 18% cabernet Franc contributes depth and complexity. From the website: “Our Spring Mountain pedigree insures deliciously integrated tannins and a long life-span. For fifty years our wines have been sourced from the same vineyards, pruned, cultivated and harvested in the same manner, creating artisanal wines which are distinctive and complex.”
https://napavalleyfocus.substack.com/p/dan-berger-wine-chronicles-what-is?utm_source=AfternoonBrief&utm_medium=newsletter
James Melendez, James The Wine Guy, December 30, 2024
Luminous
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
Luminous
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oa4Ak-E1lfA
Nancy Brazil, PullThatCork, December 30, 2024
Lovely freshness and intensity as mountain grown wine
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
We’re in that brief period of time between holidays when many of us can relax for a few days after the rush of Christmas before gearing up for New Year’s Eve. Those celebrating Hanukkah get to continue celebrating right into the new year. By early January we will all be happy to slow down and finalize our New Year’s Resolutions. Here’s one more resolution for your list: taste Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon. Let me tell you why.
Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Winery is located on Spring Mountain, above Napa Valley to the west, at elevations between 1300 and 2000 feet. The slopes vary in steepness and sun exposure, and the thirty-odd acres of vineyards are surrounded by forest. Vineyard plantings include Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot. The vineyard is dry-farmed (essentially no irrigation after the vines are established) and farmed sustainably. Smith-Madrone was established in 1971 and continues to be operated by brothers Stuart and Charles Smith. There is no Mr. (or Ms.) Madrone, that part of the name comes from the predominant evergreen tree on the property. Stu is the vineyard guy and general manager. He directed the planting of each variety at the optimal sun exposure, elevation and slope. Charlie is the winemaker and in 2021 François Bugué joined Stu and Charlie as associate winemaker. Annual production is only 3000 to 4000 cases.
There is something very special about mountain-grown wines. They can express an intensity while maintaining their freshness that is very appealing. The Smith brothers know their mountain vineyard site, and what you will taste in their Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as their other wines, is that lovely freshness and intensity. All Smith-Madrone wines are estate grown and bottled.
2021 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley
Medium ruby with aromas of red fruit, cedar and tobacco. Flavors include blueberries, blackberries and black currants with background notes of cedar and tobacco supported by bright acidity. The body is medium with firm, grippy tannins that are well integrated with the flavors. 14.3% ABV. The blend, which varies by vintage, is 81.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17.7% Cabernet Franc, 0.4% Petit Verdot. The wine spent 18 months in 65% new French oak. Only 1,652 cases were made.
Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon has many qualities I look for in a wine: family ownership, low-volume production, flavorful wine with reasonable alcohol. Also a plus: mountainside location, elegant style, affordability. Every vintage, Smith-Madrone wines will reflect the vintage and the Smith brothers’ style of winemaking (elegant and sophisticated). Their Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Riesling are all well-crafted wines. Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Winery can ship to most US states and you can visit the winery by prior arrangement, which I highly recommend. It is an authentic wine experience that comes with spectacular views of Napa Valley. Be sure to ask about the 135-year-old Picholine olive trees that stand as a reminder of the first winemaking efforts on the 200-acre site.
Almost invariably, January can feel like something of a letdown after rushing around making holiday preparations since Thanksgiving. I say turn the letdown into a slowdown. Pace yourself, reward yourself with quiet time at home, a home-cooked meal and a bottle of exceedingly affordable, exceedingly delicious Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon.
https://pullthatcork.com/2024/smith-madrone-cabernet-sauvignon-resolve-to-taste-this-wine/
San Francisco Chronicle, Esther Mobley, December 20, 2024
Excellent value
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
This earthy wine comes from a single estate on Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain, west of St. Helena. It smells like roasted coffee beans and tastes like black cherry.
…an excellent wine at less than $80, below average for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. In the canon of wine, Napa Valley’s Cabernet Sauvignons are among the greats. But they don’t come cheap. The average price of 2023 Napa Cabs could be around $92 a bottle, based on the prices that wineries paid for grapes last year. Anyone willing to splurge will find no shortage of exceptional Napa Cabernets for $100 and more. But if you know where to look, you can find equally delicious wines for much less than that. The $50-$80 range is a particular sweet spot. Those wines may not satisfy anyone’s definition of inexpensive, but when they’re good, they can represent an excellent value. For wineries like Smith-Madrone the under-$80 wine is the main event; they just haven’t raised their prices as aggressively as some of their neighbors…..a tremendous Napa Valley Cabernet for under $80.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/cabernet-sauvignon-napa-value-19930282.php
WineReviewOnline, Rich Cook, December 18, 2024
Classic in every sense and a crazy value
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
97 points: This is a wine that I will leave open on the counter and revisit over the next four to five days, expecting it to continue to open wider and wider on each successive day. Winemaker Charles Smith brings his fifty plus years of experience with Spring Mountain fruit to bear here, and he clearly opts for letting a long haul type of vintage be exactly that. It is classic in every sense, and as it has always been, it is a crazy value. Though you could go in early, I definitely recommend laying this down. If you save birth year wines to celebrate a child’s or grandchild’s achievements twenty plus years up the road, this is just the sort of thing you are looking for. You won’t find another Napa Cabernet of this quality for this price. Contains approximately 18% Cabernet Franc and a dash of Petit Verdot.
https://winereviewonline.com/wine-review/smith-madrone-spring-mountain-district-napa-valley-california-cabernet-sauvignon-2021-65/
Nittany Epicurean, Michael Chelus, December 18, 2024
Good length
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
The wine showed a dark ruby color. Cherry, raspberry currant, blackberry and oak were each discernible on the nose. Cherry, raspberry preserves, currant and blackberry wrote the foreword to a berry-laden palate followed by the story composed by notes of mossy earth and oak. The wine was full-bodied and exhibited good length along with soft tannins. It would pair very well with a grilled dry-aged ribeye.
https://nittanyepicurean.blogspot.com/2024/12/2021-smith-madrone-estate-cabernet.html
Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter, October 31, 2024
A testament to mastery....a purity and elegance....
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
97 points: Drinking Window: 2026-2046. From brothers Stu and Charlie Smith comes their 2021 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Spring Mountain, a precise blend of 81.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17.7% Cabernet Franc, and 0.4% Petit Verdot. Aged for 18 months in 65% new French oak, with only 1,652 cases produced, this wine showcases the meticulous dry farming of their 15.4-hectare vineyard at a 579-metre elevation, with vines dating back to 1971. The 2021 vintage is yet another testament to their mastery, offering a purity and elegance that define these Cabernets, with impeccable structure for long-term cellaring. In 2021, the tannins are firm, soaring, built like sky-scrapers, yet remarkably well-integrated. The nose offers a beautiful black cherry and red currant potpourri, mingling with pressed wildflowers, sage, capsicum, and tobacco leaf. Juicy plum fruit intertwines with a graphite minerality, and while there’s notable density to the fruit, a fine backbone of crunchy acidity imparts a stunning lightness and lift. Readers seeking Napa Cabernets from the 2021 vintage with serious cellaring potential should consider stocking up on Smith Madrone's offerings, as these '21s are true cellar-worthy gems.
https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/usa/california/smith-madrone-cabernet-sauvignon-napa-valley-spring-88799
International Wine Review, December 5, 2024, Don Winkler
Excellent depth of fresh fruit flavor, lovely long finish
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
93 points: Dark red. Spicy bouquet with black raspberry, cassis, tobacco and a touch of cedar. Excellent depth of fresh fruit flavor and firm acidity on a mouth filling palate. Lovely long finish with round tannins. 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc aged 18 months in 65% new French oak. pH 3.56, 14.3% alc. This is a youthful wine so decanting is recommended; aging a couple of years in cellar is also a good idea.
https://i-winereview.com/blog/index.php/2024/12/05/choice-california-cabernet-sauvignon-napa-paso-robles-santa-cruz-mountains/
IsaacJamesBaker, November 7, 2024
Depth and tanginess, beautiful now
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
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
AdVinetures, Alison & Chris Wallace, December 11, 2024
Approachable and delicious, luxurious mouthfeel but unique structure as a mountain wine
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
Medium dark red in colour. The aromas reach our noses well above the glass and show cherry, plum and hints of vanilla. The body of this wine is medium+ with grippy tannins that are ripe and not at all bitter. For a young Mountain Cabernet, this is surprisingly approachable. We get flavours of black currant, plum and hints of blueberry. Hints of earth and fallen leaves and complexity and interest. With a bit of swirling secondary notes of cedar box and hints of cassis can be picked up. An approachable and delicious Cabernet Sauvignon (with about 18% Cabernet Franc and a drop of Petit Verdot) that has the luxurious mouthfeel of the top Napa Cabs but the structure that uniquely comes from the mountain vineyards. Other Napa Cabs at this quality level would command at least double this price. Buy by the case! Excellent.
https://advinetures.ca/smith-madrone-vineyards-rooted-in-resilience/
Imbiber's Journal, Steve McIntosh, December 9, 2024
Thumbprint of competence in the cellar
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
93 points: Going back to the 2013 vintage, each release of this wine I've had the pleasure of sampling shares four qualities: approachability on release, ageworthiness, the indelible thumbprint of competence in the cellar, and the consistent register of Spring Mountain's character. Celebrating its 50th harvest this year, Smith-Madrone does it again. This year's release, the 2021 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain ($65) continues the tradition of the aforementioned qualities with finesse and elegance. Medium bodied and translucent garnet in the glass, the bouquet serves up a walk through a hillside forest: cedar bark, dried rosemary, and even a dab of eucalyptus delicately frame the honest cabernet fruit that is neither ostentatious or restrained. Complex and refined, with seamless tannins and a bit of grip without being aggressive. On day two, it begins to relax a bit, but remain quite poised, suggesting longevity for this fine Cabernet. This wine is a delight to drink and remains one of Napa's treasures, not to mention among its greatest values at a price point that - shockingly, and at odds with most of Napa - has remained unchanged in 5 years. Dry-farmed at around 1,900 above sea level with steep slopes, the vineyards were planted when they founded the winery in 1971.
http://www.imbibersjournal.com/2024/12/a-delight-to-drink-smith-madrone.html
Robb Report, December 2, 2024, Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen
Silky smooth tannins
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon
Smith Madrone was founded in 1971 when brothers Stuart and Charles Smith purchased the land that would house their vineyard and winery. The moniker is a mash up of the brothers’ family name and the Madrone trees that grace the property. Their 2019 Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon is inky purple with aromas of graphite, violet, and cassis. Silky smooth tannins envelope the palate with flavors of blackberry, red plum, and brown baking spices.
https://robbreport.com/food-drink/wine/gallery/best-napa-valley-cabernet-sauvignon-wines-under-100-dollars-1236010028/heitz_cellar_2018_cabernet_sauvignon_napa_valley_california/
WineSipping, Oded Cohen, December 1, 2024
Spicy and entertaining
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon
Deep ruby in color, almost inky, with a reddish rim. Nose of blueberries, black currants, black plums, light oak, earth, dark chocolates and black pepper. Medium plus in body with medium acidity and long legs. Dry on the palate with black currants, plums, stewed cherries, spices, oak, licorice, chocolates, tobacco, herbs, light earth and peppercorn. Tangy finish with fine grained tannins and sour raspberries. This young Cabernet Sauvignon from Spring Mountain District in Napa Valley is still very young, and needs a few years in the bottle to mature. Fruity and interesting. Spicy and entertaining. Showing nice complexity and mouthfeel. Feels like a Left Bank Bordeaux at this point. Very Interesting. A good quality wine that will continue to age nicely in the next 25 years. Would be nice to revisit it in 5 years. Showing good potential to become a 94+ point wine. Needed 3 hours in the decanter to open up properly.
I’ve had a few vintages of this wine, and it definitely needs time to show its capabilities. A good food wine that will pair nicely with BBQ Meats.
91 points.
https://winesipping.wordpress.com/2024/12/01/smith-madrone-vineyards-spring-mountain-district-cabernet-sauvignon-2021-napa-valley-california/
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.
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Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Winery
P.O. Box 451/ 4022 Spring Mountain Road, St. Helena, CA 94574
Telephone: 707.963.2283
