Riesling Reviews

Purely Domestic Wine Report, Doug Wilder, January 2024

This producer always excels with this variety

2017 Riesling

The nose is peach and mango with alluring perfume of orange pulp. The palate entry is focused apricot and sticky lemon with a core of spice and resinous herb. This producer always excels with this variety. Drink 2023-2033.



WineSipping, Oded Cohen, March 31, 2024

Beautiful and aromatic nose...elegant and fruit forward with enough acidity to balance the fruit

2019 Riesling

Light yellow in color with a golden hue. Beautiful and aromatic nose with apples, white flowers, diesel notes, honey and minerals. Medium plus in body with high acidity. Dry on the palate with a touch of RS. Showing citrus, limes, apples, spices, white pepper, minerals, sea salt, light river rocks and diesel. Tangy long finish with limes and spices. This is a delicious Riesling from Spring Mountain District in Napa Valley. Elegant and fruit forward with enough acidity to balance the fruit. Rich and nicely balanced. Feels like a Mosel Riesling. Tangy and interesting. Still young, and already drinking beautifully. Will continue to age nicely in the next 15+ years. Good right out of the bottle, and better after 20 minutes of airtime. Better when not too cold. 
I had a few vintages of this wine and it always delivers. This vintage is delicious. Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food. Will pair nicely with spicy Asian food.


https://winesipping.wordpress.com/2024/03/30/smith-madrone-vineyards-spring-mountain-district-riesling-2019-napa-valley-california/

Eve Bushman, March 2023, EveWine101

Very appealing

2018 Riesling

The wine is the color of pale gold, and sparkly, making it very appealing. On the nose, which I detected from about three inches away, I was reminded of sweet Meyer lemons, ripe grapefruit, wet pebbles in a stream, a touch of pineapple, talcum powder and Golden Delicious apples. I was anxious to taste the wine and immediately noted its rich mouth-coating viscosity, a lot of that Golden Delicious apple I found on the nose, as well as more pineapple, less lemon, with a mild to medium acidity that held on for a nice long finish. It wasn’t bone dry or sweet; instead it had a nice sweet spot that I thought would pair well with a cheese board, pasta in a cream sauce, fried chicken or all by itself!

The wine is all estate Spring Mountain District fruit, 100% Riesling, grown at an elevation of 1,300-1,900 feet, with slopes angling up to 34%. The vineyard is partially dry-farmed and most of the Riesling was planted on its own rootstock…the same hands cleared, planted, tend and make the wine…for the last fifty years. Smith-Madrone was founded partly on the premise of making great Riesling (i.e., not to dis the Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay!), given its mountain site and steep slopes. Stu Smith describes the effort to market Riesling as Sisyphean…and to that point beginning with the 1983 Riesling vintage Smith-Madrone went where no other American winery would go for the next 17 years – changing the label from Johannisberg Riesling to “just” Riesling, and essentially outlasting the BATF and prevailing with that name.


http://evewine101.com/2023/02/24/reviewing-the-new-smith-madrone-2018-riesling/

Michael Kelly, CaliforniaWinesandWineries, March 24, 2024

Extremely aromatic and more

2019 Riesling

The Winery

Smith-Madrone Vineyards is located on 200 acres on top of Spring Mountain west of St. Helena with 38 acres planted in vineyards. The vineyard elevation ranges from 1,300 to 2,000 feet. The Founder, managing partner and enologist is Stuart Smith, Charles Smith is the winemaker and François Bugué is the associate winemaker. Truly a family affair! All the wines are estate and dry-farmed on top of the mountain. Currently their production is approximately 6,000 cases a year. They are producing Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and their iconic Cooks Flat (blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc).

A quick background on Riesling shows it is the 20th most grown variety and  in “terms of importance for quality wines, it is usually included in the “top three” white wine varieties together with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc planted world wide” per Wikipedia.  Riesling is adaptable to grow in both warm and cool climates with the flavors varying per temperature respectively of citrus and peach notes for warm, apple and tree fruit for cooler temperature regions.

In the California Dept of Food & Agriculture Grape Crush white wine harvest in 2023 was 1,709,270 tons. Riesling was only 34,057 tons, but it showed an increase of 6% outpacing Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

The 2019 Riesling is extremely aromatic with floral notes and green apple on the nose. A more golden yellow color than previous vintage with medium viscosity. On the palate, hints of lemon zest, mixed with stone fruits (white peach and apricots) tame the lime citrus. A modicum of beeswax making it extremely mouth filling. On the finish, the minerality comes through strong and pure from either the volcanic soil, or sandstone, limestone or the general rocky soil found on the property. The minerality and acidity is jovial and enticing with a semi-sweet crescendo. Very low residual sugar (.7%) and coming in at 13.3% alcohol, Smith-Madrone Vineyards produced 1,087 cases. The current release is their 2019 and listed on their website for $40/bottle.

The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon

Duck, Pork, Bacon, Chicken, Shrimp, and Crab are suggested foods for Riesling. Chose this wine to pair with one of my favorite dishes, Chicken Pad Thai. However with my wife still recovering, this is the first time I prepared it. The Smith-Madrone 2019 Estate Riesling was pulled from the cellar for last night’s meal due to the spiciness of the dish called Chicken Pad Thai. Last evening went with a much more flavorful and spicy recipe. The ingredients were fresh angel hair noodles, virgin olive oil, minced garlic, cooked chicken, eggs, bean sprouts, sliced red bell pepper, green onions, peanuts, chopped cilantro and lime juice. The Pad Thai sauce included fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, Sriracha and creamy peanut butter!   The Riesling’s semi-sweet finish was spot on for this meal.

Limes were plated to squeeze the juice over the top of the dish. Accompanying the meal was a fresh garden salad and steamed broccoli. The meal packed a punch of flavor and warmth! The 2019 Smith-Madrone Riesling was a godsend. The wine was refreshing and quenched the palate.

The meal was fixed for friends joining us for dinner and one bringing the salad and the other bringing the broccoli. Beyond the dinner we enjoyed talking and sipping some other wonderful wines during and after the dinner for hours.

The 2018 Smith-Madrone Riesling had made the Best Wines tasted in 2023 and the 2019 will also make my Best Wines tasted in 2024!


https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2024/03/24/2019-smith-madrone-riesling-a-classic-riesling/

James Melendez, Youtube, March 17, 2024

Truly California's best Riesling

2019 Riesling

Truly California's best Riesling. There's no other Riesling that would match the quality and finesse of this wine.


https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NqZMDyYBGeY

Jeff Kralik, The Drunken Cyclist, January 24, 2024

Palate is simply exquisite

2018 Riesling

Under cork. There are few constants in life: death, taxes, and stellar Riesling from Smith-Madrone. This is a perfect example. While it is close to a full five years out, this is actually the current release from the venerable winery. Medium color in the glass with lemon predominate as well as some lemon rind, a bit of wet rock, and a hint of an herbal aspect (basil?). The palate is simply exquisite, great fruit, good weight, fantastic acidity. Whoa. Perhaps a bit rounder than previous vintages, but holy cow. Outstanding. 


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

Tasting Panel Magazine, Meridith May, March 2024

Vibrant minerality

2018 Riesling

96 points, Publisher’s Picks:  Perfumed linen holds peonies, honey, and tangerine. A juicy, unctuous mouthfeel, with lemon bar, pineapple, and jicama. Vibrant minerality with a stark lemon drop-induced acidity.



Fredric Koeppel, BiggerThanYourHead, January 4, 2024

Exceptional

2018 Riesling

The annual list. Here it is. But how do we define “great”? Notice that I didn’t write “greatest” or “best.” That’s because I believe it would be folly for any writer to attempt to enumerate the “greatest” or the “best” wines released in any year. There are too many wines, and there is too little time to accomplish such a feat. What I aim for in this annual summing-up post is a roster of 50 wines, from those I reviewed in the year in question, that touched me, moved me, convinced me that they were complete in terms of integrity, character and personality, tone, balance and inevitability. To which I add, a sense of excitement, a frisson, perhaps, of risk; nothing of complacency or settling for the quotidian. Profound wines? Oh, sure, plenty of these wines possess the sort of depth and dimension that we could name as profound. Don’t forget, however, the realms of elegance, grace, ethereality, litheness. It’s remarkable, I think, that this list, which represents almost an extreme range of intent, diversity and price, captures many of these criteria. These are all selections that should provide my readers with a great deal of thoughtful provocation and pleasure. Many of these wines are limited in production or probably not easy to find or off-putting in their financial requirements. So be it, friends.


https://biggerthanyourhead.substack.com/p/50-great-wines-of-2023?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

Sultan Khalid, InsiderMonkey, December 24, 2023

One of America's top white wines

2017 Riesling

The 2017 Smith-Madrone Riesling is one of America's top white wines. A youthful five-year-old Riesling, this wine feels weightless in its heady jasmine floral scents and pretty lemon-tart flavors. This alluring expression is made from mountain grown grapes, honoring the international tradition of Riesling which thrives on steep hillsides. Smith-Madrone is a family-run estate-bottled winery dedicated to producing fine wines exclusively from its own vineyards. The winery is blessed with some of the most breathtaking vineyards in all of Napa Valley.


https://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/20-best-white-wines-under-50-1242170/

Bloomberg, Elin McCoy, December 28, 2023

Racy acidity and deep minerality 

2018 Riesling

I love drinking rare, expensive wine as much as anyone, but I’m a bargain hunter at heart. I’m always on the lookout for the reds, whites, rosés and sparklers that deliver top quality at a reasonable cost. So, as I reviewed my 2023 tasting notes, I was delighted to discover this was a banner year for good values, despite inflation. I culled my 50 good buys from 3,243 wines from 21 countries that I sipped this year. I’ve tried to highlight what’s new, at least to me, but some are familiar labels that consistently deliver deliciousness—and they haven’t raised their prices, either. 
Every year I ask the same rhetorical question: Why don’t people drink more riesling? Napa pioneer Stu Smith has been making stylish German-style examples with racy acidity and deep minerality for decades on Napa’s Spring Mountain. This is an excellent vintage. 


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-28/50-best-wines-under-50-from-expert-elin-mccoy-who-sampled-3-243-in-2023

Dale Robertson, The Sporty Wine Guy blog, November 30, 2023

Surprisingly complex with a veneer of Old World elegance

2018 Riesling

It’s indeed special — fruity and flowery but surprisingly complex with a veneer of Old World elegance despite its Spring Mountain provenance. I don’t drink a lot of riesling, and certainly not from California, but that may have to change thanks to the folks at Smith-Madrone.


https://thesportywineguy.com/2023/11/27/sippin-with-sporty-november-2022/

International Wine Review, Don Winkler, November 2, 2023

Excellent freshness and depth of flavor

2021 Riesling

Light yellow straw. This youthful Riesling shows excellent potential. The bouquet evokes floral notes, wet river stones, and citrus. The palate reveals excellent freshness and depth of flavor with firm, mouthwatering acidity. The wine will become more expressive over time.


https://i-winereview.com/blog/index.php/2023/11/02/smith-madrone-of-napa-valleys-spring-mountain-current-releases-autumn-2023/

International Wine Review, Don Winkler, November 2, 2023

A sense of purity, minerality and freshness

2019 Riesling

Medium yellow. Opens with scents of cling peach, lemon and chamomile flowers. The palate reveals a scintillating, sweet fruit-firm acid tension, very clean with bright yellow fruit flavors. Finishes with good length and a sense of purity, minerality and freshness. Excellent potential for a very long life and beautiful evolution in the bottle. My recommendation: buy a case to drink over the next decade. 


https://i-winereview.com/blog/index.php/2023/11/02/smith-madrone-of-napa-valleys-spring-mountain-current-releases-autumn-2023/

International Wine Review, Don Winkler, November 2, 2023

Excellent depth of flavor, perfect balancing acidity

2018 Riesling

Reviewing this wine almost two years ago, we wrote, “Drinking beautifully now, but it could benefit from a little more time in bottle.”  Now, tasting it again, it’s at or near its peak. The nose reveals stone fruit and mineral nuances with excellent depth of flavor on the palate, including a light Riesling-petrol note. Perfect balancing acidity lends freshness and vivacity to this outstanding wine.


https://i-winereview.com/blog/index.php/2023/11/02/smith-madrone-of-napa-valleys-spring-mountain-current-releases-autumn-2023/

Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate, May 2023

Ample concentration and long crisp finish, characterful

2018 Riesling

92 points: Scents of petrol, pineapple and lime mark the nose of the 2018 Riesling, which continues a long heritage of Smith-Madrone Rieslings. It's medium-bodied, just off-dry and intense, with ample concentration and a long, crisp finish. In a Napa Valley that has become increasingly focused on Cabernet Sauvignon (and the occasional Chardonnay), it's refreshing to find that these sorts of individual, characterful wines still exist.


https://www.robertparker.com/wines/sSoFhC5SP9ekjwPur/smith-madrone-riesling-2018

Iwasreallyhere, Instagram, October 18, 2023

Both impressive and impeccable

2017 Riesling

Both impressive and impeccable, with a nervy undercurrent of rustic, mountain acidity.


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

Bin 412, Eric Hiltz, October 12, 2023

Remarkable balance, one for the ages

2018 Riesling

The 2018 Riesling, showed vibrant acidity and pronounced citrus notes, with just a touch of petrol that will undoubtedly develop more in this wine as it ages effortlessly.  On the palate, it showed remarkable balance with good texture from the .7% RS that was neatly wiped away by crisp acidity, leaving a lingering impression of citrus, orange, and jasmine.  This is one for the ages and will undoubtedly only get better for years to come.


https://bin412.com/blog/f/a-visit-to-smith-madrone-winery

BiggerThanYourHead, Frederick Koeppel, October 3, 2023

A masterpiece that should not be missed by lovers of the grape

2017 Riesling

I have tasted — consumed — the Smith-Madrone Riesling 2017, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley, three times since its release, and it just gets better. More golden, more nuanced, deeper in its limestone and flint underpinnings, broader in its range of dried and candied citrus and stone fruit scents and flavors, more authoritative in its bright and surging acidity, more delicate in the elegance of its floral notes. A masterpiece that should not be missed by lovers of the grape. Drink through 2027 to ‘30. 


https://substack.com/inbox/post/137259561

Peg Melnik, Press Democrat, September 20, 2023

Impressive

2018 Riesling

A refreshing Riesling with bright acidity and notes of apple, peach and honeydew. Finishes crisp. Impressive.


https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/lifestyle/wine-of-the-week-paul-mathew-2022-viognier-russian-river-valley/

Elizabeth Schneider, WineForNormalPeople, September 2023

A kick-a$$ job

2018 Riesling

As I said in my most recent newsletter, I've been drinking a ton of Riesling in this hot, hot weather. Napa Riesling is a bit of a relic from the old days when the grape selection was more diverse, so you only really see it from the old-school producers like Smith-Madrone. They do a kick-a$$ job with this wine -- maintaining acidity while coaxing out lime, jasmine, and lemon curd notes. It's softer than European versions but such a lovely, complete wine to have with cheese. I haven't found a ton of domestic Rieslings outside the Finger Lakes to be excited about, but this is an exception. 


https://www.instagram.com/p/CweS8DpP5VP/

Alder Yarrow, Vinography, August 13, 2023

Smith-Madrone never fails to deliver the kinds of flavors and stony qualities that make Riesling so beloved

2018 Riesling

The Smith-Madrone Riesling never fails to deliver the kinds of flavors and stony qualities that make Riesling so beloved by many wine geeks.
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of wet chalkboard and mandarin pith. In the mouth, flavors of white flowers and orange pith mix with wet pavement and a touch of winter melon. 


https://www.vinography.com/2023/08/vinography-unboxed-week-of-8-13-23

Food & Wine Magazine, Brian Freedman, July 12, 2023

Proves how successful the variety can be at higher altitudes in Napa Valley

2018 Riesling

This is a concentrated, estate-grown Riesling that proves how successful the variety can be at the higher altitudes of Napa Valley. It bursts from the glass in a blaze of fresh-squeezed lemon, and that acidity perks up more perfumed notes of orange blossoms. A subtle whiff of fennel fronds complicates it in a particularly lovely way.


https://www.foodandwine.com/best-riesling-7555338

Ellen Landis, EllenOnWine, July 8, 2023

Brisk acidity keeps it in fine balance

2018 Riesling

Scents of wet stone and citrus blossom rise from the glass at first swirl.  On the palate are layers of succulent peaches and nectarines, fresh squeezed lime, crisp apples, minerality, and faint lemon verbena exhilarating the palate.   Brisk acidity keeps it in fine balance, and a twist of lime lingers on the gratifying energetic finish. 


http://www.ellenonwine.com/2590

Modern Wine, Tim Teichgraeber, July 8, 2023

An intriguing, classy, special wine

2018 Riesling

Smith Madrone and Trefethen may be the only wineries in Napa Valley still producing an estate Riesling these days, but it sure is a beautiful thing when an institution sticks to its guns and continues to produce a wine because it is great, not because it is trendy or more profitable. To be perfectly honest, California Riesling seldom blows me away, but this older-vine example planted on the superb terrain of Spring Mountain is one-of-a-kind and worth seeking out. It has Riesling's classic oily 'petrol' aromas along with aromas of marzipan, lime leaf, lovely nectarine fruit and a racy, zesty, lemony finish with hints of saline minerality. An intriguing, classy, special wine. Already five years old, but built to last longer.


http://modernwine.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-smith-madrone-2018-riesling.html

Steve McIntosh, Imbiber's Journal, July 4, 2023

Honesty to the varietal and Spring Mountain

2018 Riesling

Porch perfect: Here's an enjoyable wine for a number of reasons. First, it's the real deal, but it isn't out to prove anything. Second, it bridges the Alsatian and New World divide. There is honesty here to both the varietal and Spring Mountain. Ageworthy and very food friendly, this is a white wine you could comfortably stuff in the back of your cellar, and wait for the delicious surprise. It will likely improve further over the coming years and maybe even decades. Well done!


http://www.imbibersjournal.com/2023/07/porch-perfect-smith-madrone-riesling.html , Steve McIntosh
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