Winemaker Notes
Aromatically, the 2018 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon fills your glass with a magic conjunction of red and black fruit, cedar, graphite and perhaps a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. The superb nose is followed by a palate sensation of impressive size, shape and amplitude. The wine is big, beautifully textured and impeccably balanced. Thestructure becomes a dimension in and of itself. The piercing, focused aroma leads to asolid core of dark Cabernet fruit. The wine is a veritable treasure trove of aroma andflavor; it finishes long and strong with moderate fine grain tannins that suggest a longand happy future.
Blend: 86.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 7.5% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is energetic and distinctive in style, with earthy elements of pencil shavings and clay most pronounced. Balanced and fresh in approach, it provides flavors of currant and black berry around its earthier, more herbal components, which lend balance and elegance to it all.
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Tasting Panel
Blue flowers, blackberry, and a touch of mint on the nose are telltale signs of the beauty of this wine, which was dry farmed on a steep mountainside and aged 21 months in (50% new) French oak. While plush, its mouth-coating notes of blueberry and mocha are precise. White pepper inspires a mouthwatering effect led by espresso, graphite, and cedar that lingers on the palate.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Above the town of St. Helena on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains sits the Spring Mountain District.
A dynamic region, its vineyards, cut by numerous springs and streams, vary in elevation, slope and aspect. Soils differ throughout with over 20 distinct types inside of the 8,600 acres that define the appellation. Within that area, only about 1,000 are planted to vineyards. Predominantly farmed by small, independent producers, the region currently has just over 30 wineries.
During the growing season, late afternoon Pacific Ocean breezes reach the Spring Mountain vineyards, which sit at between 400 and 1,200 feet. Daytime temperatures during mid summer and early fall remain slightly cooler than those of the valley floor.
Spring Mountain soils—volcanic matter and sedimentary rock—create intense but balanced reds with lush and delicate tannins. The area excels with Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot and in some cooler spots, Chardonnay.