Chardonnay Reviews

EllenOnWine, Ellen Landis, July 30, 2019

Rich and mouth-filling with perfect acidity

2016 Chardonnay

 A brilliant hue captures the eye, and scents of lemon-splashed stone fruit awaken the nose as this sophisticated Chardonnay is poured from the bottle.  Peach flavors are mirrored on the palate, melding with Honeycrisp apple, citrus, herbal accents, and beautiful oak spice nuances.  Rich and mouth-filling, with perfect acidity offsetting the juicy fruit through the long memorable finish

http://www.ellenonwine.com/1944

Stephen McConnell, June 20, 2019

Incredible structure and the complexity to work with red meat

2015 Chardonnay

Smoky, graphite nose, pencil eraser and charcoal, clean and briary, ridden with beurre blanc and the sort of grassy sauciness typically reserved for Sancerre. An earthiness defying all imaginations of peat and volcano brings crystal-rockiness and diamond-cutting to mind.

So many people hear “Chardonnay” and instantly form a mental image. I’m here to tell you there are SOOOO many Chardonnays in the world–or even California alone–which lie so far out of the ENTIRE SUPERMARKET 5-SHELF AISLE OF YELLOW, if you’ve never happened upon one, I beg you PLEASE try and once you are hooked, the desire will be insatiable. The 80s are over, and people who still Chardonnay-shame get an asterisk. I’m not even saying you need to drink Chablis or Burg–there are PLENTY of ridiculous clean bright chards in California. Very few of them will be on a supermarket aisle though. Go to your wine shop and ask. It’s not difficult to find.

And this is one of them. One of the old-school ones. I’m actually serving this wine with rib-eye tonight. And not because it is a huge oaky buttery monster: THAT wouldn’t work at ALL. No, because it is serious heavy acidic stuff with crazy fruit, incredible structure, and the complexity to work with red meat.

In the mouth, a plasticine stay-krisp coating on rich fruit positively bursting at all of its acidic seams. All that funk and earth in the nose translates straight into a grimy dirty-baby-diaper of loveliness, compounding the nectarine and dried apricot, driving it hard against walnut shell and Oolong tea where chardonnay dreams really exist. Sweet and delicate in the finish, an almost Riesling-or-Gewurztraminer nectar situation closing things out–but with bitter grip.

If you can’t stop hating Chardonnay, you are NOT drinking the right ones.

https://wine1er.com/2019/06/20/chard-goals-2/

JVB Uncorked, Jim Van Bergen, May 27, 2019

The wine is so well-made....

2015 Chardonnay

Color is pale straw. The nose offers pear, apple, lemon zest, and just a hint of oak. On the palate,  however, the fruit is beautifully pronounced: yellow peach, sweet apple, citrus crossing from the mid- to back palate, leaving a swath of mouth-watering heat from the alcohol. Secondary notes of baking spice, stone, vanilla, and vegetation with marzipan on the lingering finish. As a wine lover, my first thought on this wine is that it’s so tasty, you don’t want to think about it. You simply want to enjoy this delightful glass of wine that is so unlike what we’ve come to expect from Napa.Smith-Madrone’s winemakers (Stuart, Sam, and Charles Smith) actually dry-farm (no irrigation) and in doing so, they develop a grape and create a wine that is closer to a Beaune-style chardonnay than the common flavor profiles that are popular with New World grapes. What does this mean to you?  It means you’re going to enjoy this wine more than you expect, and you’re going to need to buy more of it than you’d expect because like me, you’ll drink it faster, even if you’re savoring the flavors. You’re going to wish you bought a bigger bottle…or several bottles, because your mouth is going to ask you for MORE. As a wine drinker who personally tries to shy away from the high alcohol content of some California wines, this is one where I take exception. The wine is so well-made, I’d easily buy a case of this to tuck into my cellar (if I only had the room!) it’s such a delicious wine that sings through warm weather and is incredibly agreeable with food. If this is a good price point for your chardonnay drinking, (or a good price point for a special bottle) I can not recommend highly enough that you give Smith-Madrone a taste. As passionate as I am about white Burgundy, this is a wine I will remember for shattering my conceptions of Napa Valley chardonnay.

https://jvbuncorked.com/2019/05/27/smith-madrone-2015-chardonnay/

Fermented Fruit, May 25, 2019, Ryan O'Donnell

Pure and beautiful

2015 Chardonnay

I can never get enough of Smith-Madrone's Spring Mountain District Chardonnay’s crisp, bright fruit and lemon curd nuances. It’s always so well-balanced and is the complete opposite of what many expect of NapaValley Chardonnay. It’s not buttery or oaky, just pure and beautiful. ?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx5ckgwD_vI/

Enofylz, Martin Redmond, May 24, 2019

Wonderful balance

2015 Chardonnay

The wine is pale gold color with pear, Granny Smith apple, citrus cream, and savory spices with a hint of butterscotch. On the palate it's medium-full bodied with a texture that manages to be both creamy and mouthwateringly fresh with citrusy acidity. Wonderful balance here. It shows apple, pear, lime zest, lemon cream and spice flavors with a long tangy finish. Fruit for this wine sourced from dry farmed 40+ y.o. vines from the Spring Mountain AVA in the Napa Valley. The wine is 100% barrel fermented. Raised in 80% new French oak for 10 months 14.4% abv. Bravo!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx0mVZgnwKL/?igshid=7l00utwgb1hb

BiggerThanYourHead, Fredric Koeppel, January 9, 2019

One of 50 Great Wines of 2018

2014 Chardonnay

Chosen as one of the 50 Great Wines of 2018: crystalline tone and chiseled presence.

http://biggerthanyourhead.net/2019/01/09/50-great-wines-of-2018/?fbclid=IwAR1uhR00sWtk_vXrZN02zsTaIH-UGZBpc6QlNI09imYefWbbhn0OWrcH2AI

SoifKnows, Stephen McConnell, December 7, 2018

Top 25 Wines of the Year

2014 Chardonnay

Top 25 Wines of the Year

https://soifknows.com/2018/12/07/top-25-wines-of-2018/

Enofylz, Martin Redmond, December 6, 2018

92 points

2014 Chardonnay

92 points: This wine is 100% Chardonnay crafted from 42-year-old dry-farmed vines on Spring Mountain.  It was 100% barrel fermented and raised for 9 months in 100% new French oak. 

Color – Pale straw yellow
Aromas – Apple, pear, lemon curd, almond, and toasty oak with a hint of chalk
Body – Medium-bodied and impeccably balanced with very fresh with vibrant acidity
Taste – Baked apple, fresh pear, lemon meringue, and key lime accented with very appealing baking spice flavors
Finish – Long

Year in and year out, this distinguished wine is one of my favorite California Chardonnays!

Pair with:  Steamed Dungeness Crab with drawn butter

http://enofylzwineblog.com/2018/12/06/wine-of-the-day-2014-smith-madrone-chardonnay/

EllenonWine, Ellen Landis, January 30, 2018

Rich with good offsetting acidity through the last enlivening sip

2015 Chardonnay

Aromas of fresh-picked tree fruits and spiced oak notes zone in on what’s ahead.  Poached pears, Granny Smith apples, brown spices and a kiss of butterscotch pudding join underlying oak on the palate.  Firmly structured and rich with good offsetting acidity through the last enlivening sip.

http://www.ellenonwine.com/1548

Greg Ballington and India Okoh, MillennialDrinkers, March 5, 2018

Long tangy finish

2015 Chardonnay

90 points: Medium golden yellow. Oak on the nose with some candied lemon and some butter. Medium plus acidity (7/10) and medium bodied. Citrus zest on the attack of the palate followed by a touch of lemon curd and apples. Long tangy finish. 

http://www.millennialdrinkers.com/wine-tasting-notes/2018/3/26/24qmlyqb69acqcyileqchvcxjrvuzy?rq=smith-madrone

The Wine Guys, Philip Kuo, July 5, 2018

Good juice...fabulous value

2015 Chardonnay

93 points: You already know by the label it's good juice, and props to Smith Madrone for planting Chardonnay on a mountain when you could make 10x more money planting Cabernet. Notes of lemon peel, yellow apple, toasted nuts, apricot, unsalted butter, toasted oak, peach and spice. Real good integration of oak, just the right amount of toast that complements fine stone fruit and bright acidity. A kick of spice on the finish rounds it out to be quite a well balanced Chardonnay that won't bog you down with mega oak and butter bombing. It's from the mountains so enjoy it over the next 8-10 years. Fabulous value.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk3v0DxANFa/?taken-by=thewineguys

WineForNormalPeople, Elizabeth Schneider, June 20, 2018

New world Chardonnay done right

2015 Chardonnay

This is new world Chardonnay done right. Fantastic acidity, excellent tropical and apple fruit, and a moderate use of oak. Smith-Madrone Winery is a class act every year.

https://www.facebook.com/WineForNormalPeople/photos/rpp.287389234319/10156459256594320/?type=3&theater

BiggerThanYourHead, Fred Koeppel, June 4, 2018

Exquisitely poised between zephyr-like softness and riveting acidity

2014 Chardonnay

How can a chardonnay that was 100 percent barrel-fermented and aged nine months in 100 percent new French oak barrels display such amazing purity and intensity, such crystalline tone and chiseled presence? Certainly, a factor must be the 42-year-old, dry-farmed vines that struggle to find nutrients in the hillside vineyard, sending roots ever downward in search of water. In any case, the Smith-Madrone Vineyards and Winery Chardonnay 2014, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley, a favorite in our house whatever the vintage, offers a medium gold hue and arresting aromas of peach, pear and quince that unfurl notes of lemon balm and apple blossom, gunflint and limestone. Supernal in its lithe, supple texture and exquisitely poised between zephyr-like softness and riveting acidity, this chardonnay delivers spare and elegant citrus and stone-fruit flavors that culminate in a finish of glittering limestone minerality. 14.3 percent alcohol. Now through 2021 to ’24. The Smith brothers concocted 850 cases. Exceptional. About $34.

http://biggerthanyourhead.net/2018/06/04/12-california-chardonnays-i-liked/

Slow Wine Guide, January 2018

Creamy texture and refreshing acidity

2015 Chardonnay

The 2015 Chardonnay is 100% barrel-fermented and aged in new oak, boasting deep apple and pear fruit, a creamy texture and refreshing acidity.


Vinography, Alder Yarrow, April 14, 2018

Sun-drenched richness + high acidity freshness

2015 Chardonnay

Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon curd and buttered popcorn. In the mouth, wonderfully juicy flavors of lemon curd, candied grapefruit and a touch of butterscotch are positively electric with acidity. Phenomenally mouthwatering and delicious. There's oak at work here, but it plays mostly into the silky texture of the wine, leaving the rich fruit and the explosive acidity to shine. This wine is a great example of a middle path for California Chardonnay, one which displays sun-drenched richness but at the same time keeps with the tradition of high acidity freshness that we all expect in our Burgundian Chardonnays. 

http://www.vinography.com/archives/2018/04/vinography_unboxed_week_of_apr_9.html

Wine Enthusiast, Virginie Boone, May 2018

Exceptional

2015 Chardonnay

93 points: From the exceptional site atop Spring Mountain, this white is lovely and complex, a mix of sharp tangerine, orange and lime flavor that packs within its layers of fruit an undeniable thirst-quenching acidity. The oak is supportive and subtle, playing a supporting role with deft ability.

https://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/smith-madrone-2015-chardonnay-spring-mountain-district/

International Wine Review, Michael Potashnik and Don Winkler, March 20, 2018

Lingering intensity of flavor

2015 Chardonnay

Medium straw in color, displays ripe apple and melon on the nose. It reveals prominent wood notes on the palate with orchard fruit flavors and has nice lingering intensity of flavor on the finish with good acidity showing throughout.

https://i-winereview.com/blog/index.php/2018/03/16/smith-madrone-superb-new-releases-from-napa-valley/

Vineration, Brian Seeling, March 16, 2018

Awesome

2015 Chardonnay

If you're too hip for Chardonnay, the vinous target of all mom jokes, you should rethink your position. The Smith Brothers craft an awesome Chardonnay. The new release, vintage 2015, is perfectly balanced with lush lemon, apple, and pear fruits, smooth body, and a precise amount of new oak. A whopping amount of acidity ensures this wine never even tip-toes near dullness, and the finish is as elegant as they come. This Chardonnay isn't your mom's Tuesday night crutch. 

http://www.vineration.com/california/smith-madrone

The Intox Report, Chris Kassel, March 7, 2018

Get it quick

2015 Chardonnay

It stands to reason that the high-elevation hoodoo that produces such righteous Riesling might have something to say about Chardonnay as well. In fact, the sample of Smith-Madrone’s 2015 bears it out. Grown at sun-washed, 1,800-foot elevations and on slopes up to 34% grade, the Smith brothers have been harvesting Chardonnay from their estate for 47 years, and call 2015 ‘the most unusual harvest they’ve ever seen.’“To start with, there was no rain, and there have been enormous swings of temperature and of course, there have been fires. This was after a mild winter caused early bud break, followed by protracted bloom and cool weather in spring, which contributed to smaller grape clusters and variable crop size.  Despite the challenges, the color, flavor profiles and chemistry continue to impress us all.” #metoo. The wine offers beautiful tones of ripe citrus behind a crisp concentration of peach, candied lemon, and roasted cashew stone and excellent, resonating texture. Get it quick; only 512 cases made.

https://intoxreport.com/2018/03/07/the-madrone-ranger-rides-again/

Winethropology, Steve McIntosh, March 7, 2018

All the hallmarks of quality winemaking

2015 Chardonnay

Majestic. High quality chardonnay in the classic California style. Intense tropical flavors with glycerine, heavy cream, and solid oak framing. Unapologetically statuesque, bold, and lingering, yet cleanly pressed and bearing all the hallmarks of quality winemaking; nary a stitch out of place. Can be (and best) enjoyed at cellar temperature to appreciate its full profundity.

HTTP://WWW.WINETHROPOLOGY.COM/2018/03/SMITH-MADRONE-KING-AND-QUEEN.HTML

Grape-experiences, Cindy Rynning, February 28, 2018

Stunning

2015 Chardonnay

Whenever I open a box that contains wines from Smith-Madrone, I’m always thrilled. Why? I’m assured that each wine is crafted with care, is always consistent with regards to quality, and is guaranteed to please even the most discerning palate. Anyone who loves wine will treasure each sip of a delectable choice from one of my favorite wineries.

Chardonnay aficionados will crave this latest release. The 2015 harvest began on August 27, a bit early, and was completed on September 16. Because of a mild winter that caused early bud break and a spring season that was cool, smaller grape clusters and variable crop size resulted. Only 512 cases were produced of this beautiful 100% Chardonnay. On the nose, I explored notes of pink grapefruit, bright citrus, pineapple, and tropical fruit. My palate burst with mouthwatering acidity, juicy citrus, a touch of honey and a creamy, yet crisp mouthfeel. The finish, lingering and complex, was remarkable. Aged for 10 months in 80% new French oak, this Chardonnay stuns.

http://www.grape-experiences.com/2018/02/elegant-powerful-smith-madrone-winery/

The Armchair Sommelier, Kirsten Georgi, February 22, 2018

Glorious

2015 Chardonnay

100% Chardonnay.  Aged for 10 months in 80% new French oak.  The second I stuck my nose into this glass, I grinned from ear to ear.  Because I knew it was going to be an acid bomb.  A glorious, mouth-puckering acid bomb.  Laced with flavors of yellow apple, lemon meringue, minerals, and chamomile.  Elegant and edgy at the same time — kind of like Audrey Hepburn.  At 14.9% ABV, I feel like this should be “bigger”, but it’s so well constructed.  Gawd, this is good.  And, it’s only $34.  Seriously.  How is this possible for only $34??

https://armchairsommelier.com/2018/02/22/dont-sweat-the-vintage-celebrate-it-a-smith-madrone-tangent/

Corkscrew Report, Johannes Marlena, February 20, 2018

A must-have

2015 Chardonnay

For those interested in tasting how a mountain Chardonnay is different in its expression than an archetypal Napa Chardonnay, the Smith-Madrone mountain Chardonnay is a must-have and a relative steal. This is a mountain Chardonnay that’s vivacious, rich and footloose and free. Its color is a brilliant goldenrod, its character broad, buttery smooth, full-bodied and overflowing with flavor, with notes of jackfruit, ripe pineapple, wax, lemon verbena and toffee. Just a ton of personality. Impressively big and bold while structurally solid and high class. The wine’s finish is lengthy with broad tannins—stone fruit notes linger well into the next sip. A Napa Chardonnay that far, far exceeds in quality to its price point.    

http://corkscrewerreport.com/hidden-napa-valley-smith-madrone-winery/

Washington Post, Dave McIntyre, February 16, 2018

Luscious

2015 Chardonnay

….take comfort in a luscious California chardonnay…

3 stars: Some chardonnays whack you in the face with an oak two-by-four. Smith-Madrone wraps you lovingly in a warm blanket. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/this-oregon-wine-will-challenge-your-ideas-about-what-makes-a-pinot-noir/2018/02/15/b40eb452-11c2-11e8-9570-29c9830535e5_story.html?utm_term=.be5e3e1506a2

Terroir Review, Meg Houston Maker, February 13, 2018

Concentrated and vital

2015 Chardonnay

Smith-Madrone barrel ferments their Spring Mountain Chardonnay in French oak, 80 percent new, and ages it for ten months. The results are both creamy (from the barrel) and zingy (from its high total acidity; 8 g/L, for the geeks). The aromatics mingle lime peel and grass with cultured cream and butter, plus toasted white spices like white pepper and nutmeg. The texture is juicy and refreshing, while its sluice of citrus and tart yellow stone fruits also carries waves of spice and caramel. It sounds ponderous, but the overall effect is deft. Given the wine’s substance I think it could age a few years, making it, at $34, a good investment. Pair it now with rich shellfish, roasted poultry, creamy young cheeses, or a charcuterie board.

http://terroirreview.com/2018/02/13/2015-smith-madrone-chardonnay-spring-mountain-napa-valley/
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