Riesling Reviews

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

The Wine Curmudgeon, Jeff Siegel, November 29, 2021

A wine that reminds me just how amazing wine can be

2016 Riesling

This is a wine that reminds me just how amazing wine can be. For one thing, California doesn’t do much riesling, and it certainly doesn’t do much well. But this one is a revelation, combining California-style fruitiness with the varietal characteristics that make great riesling so much fun to drink. That means lime zest, a bit of tingliness in the back, a hint of petrol, some sweetness floating around to remind you it’s riesling, just enough acidity to greet the sweetness, and stoniness in the finish.



The Wine Curmudgeon, Jeff Siegel, July 12, 2021

Combines New World-style fruitiness with the varietal characteristics that make great riesling so much fun to drink

2017 Riesling

Smith-Madrone’s riesling is a top-notch New World take on a classic grape. Once more into the riesling breach, dear readers: And why not? I’ve probably tasted more rieslings over the past 18 months than I have in the blog’s entire 14 year history. And I’ve rarely been disappointed. The Smith-Madrone, despite California’s lackluster track record with the grape, is just one more reason to sip and smile. The Smith-Madrone riesling 2017 combines New World-style fruitiness with the varietal characteristics that make great riesling so much fun to drink. In other words, not sweet for the sake of sweetness, and not some kind of fruity confection because, you know, that’s what Americans drink. Look for lime zest, a bit of tingliness in the back, a hint of petrol, some sweetness floating around to remind you it’s riesling, just enough acidity to greet the sweetness, and stoniness in the finish. In fact, this is one of the few times where the wine geek descriptor “wet stone” almost makes sense. Highly recommended – the kind of wine that people who don’t think they like riesling should try. 



Jeff Kralik, The Drunken Cyclist, June 23, 2023

The palate is simply exquisite

2018 Riesling

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, with great fruit, good weight, and fantastic acidity. Whoa. Perhaps a bit rounder than previous vintages, but holy cow. Outstanding. 93 Points.


https://thedrunkencyclist.com/2023/06/23/the-random-samples-6-23-2023/

Catherine Fallis, Planet Grape, June 3, 2023

Creamy and sweet-tart

2018 Riesling

Creamy and sweet-tart with notes of baked apple and pear, banana bread, ginger wafer and mushroom.


https://planetgrapewinereview.com/newworldwine_reviews/2018-smith-madrone-riesling-spring-mountain-district-napa-valley/

StrongCoffeeToRedWine Facebook, Rick Dean, May 28, 2023

Juicy, mouthwatering acidity, yum!

2017 Riesling

It's chilly and wet today in Charleston so what was our selection for today? ... 2017 Smith-Madrone Riesling. The color was medium gold which signaled to me that it may be on the edge or gone. It was not done. If you like hard cider... It was incredible. Juicy. Mouthwatering acidity. Filled with red apple, yellow apple and classic apple cider. It was so so good. Yum!


https://www.facebook.com/strongcoffeetoredwine/

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 23, 2023

Attractive minerality

2018 Riesling

This is bright and full of energy with notes of tangerines, sliced pears and spices. Attractive minerality to it with a medium body and round, creamy texture. Bright acidity and a flavorful finish. Drink now.



Dave Thompson, Napa Wine Project, May 2023

It's tangy, lively and mouth watering with a rich and long lasting finish.

2018 Riesling

Medium to deep gold in color; the initial aromatic we noted was saran wrap (showed this more than the previous vintage and it continues to express this for some time as the bouquet opens further) along with scents of apricot, dried straw, beeswax, papaya, Golden Delicious apple, light chamomile and dried walnut husk (we spent our fall every year in our youth helping our grandfather and uncles harvest walnuts at their orchard in Dairyville in Tehama County, CA). Minerally, bright, and intensely flavored this wine delivers plenty of pleasure on the palate. There is a tug here between the lightly rounded texture and the acidity, with the acidity clearly winning. This bottling sports notes of lemon juice, honeydew melon, green apple and a light note of mint towards the finish. It's tangy, lively and mouth watering with a rich and long lasting finish. This bottling is going to age beautifully.


https://www.napawineproject.com/smith-madrone-vineyards-winery/

David Gabine, Wineceptions, May 17, 2023

Riesling rocks

2018 Riesling

So yeah, ummm, Riesling rocks, and the 2019 Smith-Madrone Riesling from the Spring Mountain District in Napa Valley is a stellar example of California Riesling. Amazing acidity, with just the right amount of residual sugar to balance everything out. Some petrol on the nose, accompanied by aromatics of orange blossom, Meyer lemon, and some orange zest. Dry, crisp with some nice minerality yet lush on the palate with flavors of stone fruit, pear and hints of grapefruit.


https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr2SHQWOBoN/

Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Peg Melnik, May 8, 2023

An impressive riesling

2018 Riesling

An impressive riesling, nice and dry. It has stone fruit of nectarine coupled with great minerality. It’s extremely well-made.


https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/lifestyle/12-white-wines-perfect-for-summer/
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