Smith-Madrone’s 2023 Estate Cabernet Franc was awarded a gold medal (in the California Category $71 to $90) and “Best of Category” in the California Category $71 to $90 in the 7th Annual International Cabernet Franc Competition recently.
Mike Dunne was one of the professional judges at the Competition. He wrote:
In today’s grim wine market, Cabernet Franc is a bright exception, generating interest for adaptability and verve beyond its traditional role as a bench player in Bordeaux….. What Cabernet Franc has going for it in these troubled times is that compared with Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and other husky red wines it often comes across as svelte, agile, nuanced, and accessible, its fresh red fruit often complicated with threads of green herbs. That’s a styling and complexity that younger consumers indicate may tempt them to try wine rather than, say, kombucha. This year’s Cabernet Franc competition drew 94 entries, most Californian, though Argentina, Canada, Virginia, New York and elsewhere also were represented….. The Smith-Madrone 2023 Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Cabernet Franc ($85) won a gold for its authority, complexity and animation. To me, it was the most idiosyncratic and compelling Cabernet Franc in the tasting, shifting from saturating red and refreshing fruit one moment to prickly brambles and briars another. I found it so intriguing I grabbed an open bottle on the way out the door for further “study” at home, where its shape-shifting manner continued over the next couple of days. This is just the third Cabernet Franc to be made by Smith-Madrone, long celebrated for its Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Riesling. Add Cabernet Franc to that esteemed portfolio.
A sneak peek of the review of the 2021 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon in an upcoming issue of The Tasting Panel Magazine:
Publisher’s Picks, 95 points: With 17.7% Cabernet Franc and a touch of Merlot, this majestic Cab offers a woodsy opening, with grainy tannins. It’s packed with strawberry creaminess that flirts with vanilla and violets. An elegant red, possessing an ongoing veil of floral and sweet herbal tones, with a grip of graphite on the finish.
Smith-Madrone was recently featured in a comprehensive round-up of California Riesling producers by Alder Yarrow for JancisRobinson.com. The lineup included Bedrock Wine Co., Big Basin, Cartograph, Chateau Montelena, Claiborne & Churchill, Cobb, Corison, Deodora, Desire Lines Wine Co., Dutton-Goldfield, Handley, Kizor, Lola, Matthiasson, Navarro, Read Holland, Reeve, Sabelli-Frisch, Solminer, Stirm, Stony Hill, Story of Soil, Tatomer, The Terraces, and Trefethen.
Yarrow tasted ten vintages of Smith-Madrone’s Estate Riesling, spanning 2013 through 2023. As Alder discussed, “the wines reflect a long-standing commitment to the variety, even as Riesling plantings in California have declined.”
“Less than a century ago, Riesling was considered more prized in America than the first growths of Bordeaux. Today, while overall acreage has shrunk, a growing cadre of independent producers — alongside old-school wineries like Smith-Madrone — continues to champion the grape. Most of these bottlings are dry, typically under 7 g/L of residual sugar, with many averaging just 2–4 grams.”
“Selling Riesling is like Sisyphus rolling the rock up the hill,” says Stuart Smith. “Just when you think it’s going to the other side, it rolls back on top of you. We’ve loved it, and we’re not going to give it up. Riesling is the biggest, most compelling grape variety on the planet. There may come a day when everyone agrees it’s one of the great wines of the world.”
“Until then, Smith and roughly 100 other California producers will keep pushing that rock uphill — convinced it’s worth the effort.”
Our thanks to Melanie Ofenloch for sharing her Smith-Madrone Riesling story:
Mountain Riesling, Many Vintages: My Smith-Madrone Story from 2014 to 2022
By Melanie Ofenloch, February 22, 2026
The first time I met Smith-Madrone Riesling, Napa and I were in a very different place. I was still early in my Dallas Wine Chick journey, still tripping over the line between “I love wine” and “I live wine,” and Riesling wasn’t the grape I was chasing. Then someone poured me a glass from a tall, quietly confident bottle from Spring Mountain, and my entire definition of Napa shifted a few degrees.
My Line-up at Smith-Madrone
It didn’t smell like what people thought Riesling should be—no cloying, sugary fruit bomb. Instead, it was lime zest, green apple, white peach, and this beautiful, stony note that felt like wet rock and mountain air. There was a tiny whisper of petrol, the kind that makes Riesling geeks smile, but it was more suggestion than shout. I remember thinking, “Wait…this is Napa?”
From that point on, Smith-Madrone Riesling became a sort of personal timeline wine for me.
2014–2016: The “Prove Everybody Wrong” Years
In those early years, I loved pouring Smith-Madrone Riesling for people who swore they “didn’t drink Riesling.” These were the folks scarred by bad, syrupy experiences in college or cheap restaurant lists. I’d pour a little into their glass, say nothing, and watch their faces change mid-sip.
The wine was laser-bright and energetic—lime, green apple, sometimes more crunchy pear in certain vintages, wrapped around acidity that felt like a clean line cutting right through Dallas heat. It tasted dry or just this side of it, with a long, mouthwatering finish, and always that mountain-etched minerality.
Those years, it was my “conversion” bottle. Backyard parties, casual tastings, girls’ nights—I’d slide it into the lineup and let it work its quiet magic. More than once, someone who previously avoided Riesling asked, “What was that, and where do I get it?”
2017–2019: The “Riesling as a Season” Era
By the time 2017 rolled around, Smith-Madrone Riesling had become part of my seasonal rhythm. Dallas summers can be soul-melting, and this wine might as well have been air conditioning in a bottle.
On those 100-degree days when turning on the oven felt like an act of aggression, I’d pick up takeout—Thai, Vietnamese, sushi, spicy tacos—and put a chilled bottle of Smith-Madrone Riesling on the table. It handled heat like a pro: bright citrus and stone fruit up front, that electric acidity, and just enough texture and weight to stand up to food without ever feeling heavy.
What started as, “Wow, this is a great Napa Riesling,” became, “I need a Smith-Madrone Riesling stash at all times.” The wines were consistent but never cookie-cutter. Some vintages leaned more citrus and green fruit; others brought a little more peach and roundness. The through line was always tension, minerality, and that unmistakable mountain edge.
During this window, the bottles I didn’t get around to right away started to age a little—and that’s when another layer of the story emerged.
2019–2022: The “Aging Gracefully” ChapterIf young Smith-Madrone Riesling is all about energy and precision, a few years of bottle age turn it into a deeper conversation. By the late 2010s and into the early 2020s, I pulled older bottles I’d been “saving for the right moment,” and suddenly I was kicking myself for not buying more to begin with.
The fruit shifted: still citrus and orchard fruit, but now with more developed notes—ripe peach, a little honeyed edge, maybe even a touch of lanolin and dried herbs. The minerality was still there, but it felt more integrated, less like a bright spotlight and more like a foundation the wine rested on. That gentle petrol character evolved, too—more complex, more savory, the kind of thing that makes you stop mid-sentence and go back to the glass.
The acidity, though? Still humming. That’s the beauty of these wines—they age, but they don’t fade. They gain depth without losing their spine.
These aged bottles became my “let’s talk” wines. They were proof that Napa Riesling—especially mountain-grown, dry-farmed Napa Riesling—could go the distance and tell a story years down the line.
A Constant in a Changing Wine World
Between 2014 and 2022, so many things in the wine world shifted—styles, trends, labels, the rise of “Instagram wines,” natural wine debates, you name it.
Instead, it stayed exactly what it was from the beginning: a mountain wine with attitude and honesty. The kind of bottle that respects your palate and rewards your patience.
For me, those years of drinking Smith-Madrone Riesling trace a quiet little arc in my own wine life—from skeptical to smitten, from “this is really good” to “I need this in my cellar, always.” It’s a wine that taught me not to underestimate Napa whites, not to pigeonhole Riesling, and not to overlook the quiet, stubborn producers who do things their way—year after year, vintage after vintage.
Valentine’s day for us is a reason to celebrate our loved ones a little more than usual…sharing a delicious meal…and enjoying a special bottle of wine together. What does it mean to you?
Read on for a delicious shipping offer!
Please peruse the wines online available for sale, which include Cook’s Flat in magnums, some wines in wood cases, a Riesling vertical and much more…
Whether you’re ‘gifting’ yourself or a friend or partner, we’re offering discounted shipping: $10 ground shipping for any number of wines and any of our wines.
The special ground shipping will be available February 6 – February 16
And if you’re joining us for a tasting, we invite you to linger a little longer—bring along a picnic basket and purchase your favorite bottle during your visit to enjoy afterward in the vineyards, taking in the beautiful views and scenery.
Former rugby player David Leech tasted the 2021 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon on Christmas:
It’s Christmas Day and I’ve been waiting all week to open this lovely wine. It was a gift, a very special wine. Smith-Madrone originated in the ‘70s in Napa Valley. They’re on the top of Spring Mountain. Most of these vineyards on the bottom/floor of the Napa Valley are exposed to a whole lot of heat all year long so they give very decadent opulent rich wine. However the altitude of this vineyard gives freshness and acidity leading to hopefully a more elegant wine. Let’s smell. There’s a potpourri of red and dark fruits. It’s nice and fresh. There’s a hint of bay leaf; green pepper as you’d expect from the Cabernet Sauvignon and a little bit of cedar and cigar box from the oak. This wine should develop over years if it is properly cellared. It has a really nice aroma and really nice smell now. To taste, a lovely balance between red currants and blackberry fruits. The acidity and freshness really lift the wine, making it playful, a pleasure to drink now. There’s a nice long finish, lots of structure. It will age really well for the next 10 years or so. I might buy another bottle to lay down in the cellar if I have the patience to leave it that long but for now we’ll enjoy it over Christmas dinner. Merry Christmas to everyone.
The guys celebrating the holidays at Market in St. Helena
Happy New Year! I hope you and your family and friends and business all will thrive in 2026.
I’m taking a moment now to share my gratitude with you. In the last month it seems that some enormous accolades have come our way, from The New York Times to being named as one of The Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 wines of 2025 as well as being included in several other writers’ top-wine round-ups, including James Melendez, Fredric Koeppel, Anatoli Levine and Michael Kelly. We were quoted by Jancis Robinson in The Financial Times (based in London) and there are others….
But what I’d like to share with you is that our gratitude goes to you, our customer.
We appreciate every bottle you’ve purchased and every visit you’ve made. This is our 55th year and every detail still matters.
In The New York Times, Eric Asimov writes about wines to enjoy in 2026: Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon is one of three Napa Cabs recommended….
“…Fashions come and go, it’s said, but style is eternal. It holds true with wine, too. Different wines fade in and out of popularity, but good ones deserve recognition regardless of the trends. I have picked 10 wine genres here that I feel have either been arbitrarily dismissed or have evaporated from consciousness. I’ve recommended a few bottles to try, in several different price ranges, though some, like Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon and Sauternes, do not have inexpensive options. Some of these wines have been the victims of stereotypes…..Others have fallen by the wayside because of evolving tastes, changing attitudes about health and busier lives.
Genres like Napa cabernet, California chardonnay, Bordeaux and Ribera del Duero were prized during an earlier critical cycle that sought power, ripeness and flamboyance. Different tastes developed, and genres that were identified with the older era were rejected at large. It’s wrong to dismiss entire groups. Some producers within these groups always made wines in more restrained styles than imagined, and others have evolved with the times. The diversity of styles available today is a wonderful thing.
I have always believed in avoiding rigid beliefs about types of wine. While it’s tempting to write off an entire genre because of one unpleasant bottle, it’s important to remember that every genre of wine encompasses a wide range of styles. California chardonnay can range from buttery and oaky to steely and minerally.
Here, then, are 10 genres in alphabetical order that I believe deserve reconsideration….Bordeaux, California Chardonnay, Merlot, Napa Cabernet, Port & Madeira, Ribera del Duero, Sauternes & Barsac, Sherry, Savennieres, Spatlese Riesling…..
Napa Cabernet
No way around it, good Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon is expensive. And that’s only part of the problem. As with Bordeaux, many reject the wines as old-fashioned, overblown or simply dull. As far as I’m concerned, good cabernet is never out of fashion, and while the overblown style is still common, many restrained examples are out there. Napa cabernet will generally be riper and fruitier than Bordeaux, but not by too much. It should also be savory and refreshing, and with sufficient age, it will soften and gain a lovely complexity.
Bottles to Try $60 to $80, Frog’s Leap Napa Valley Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon; Smith-Madrone Spring Mountain District, Cabernet Sauvignon; $80 to $100, Matthiasson Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon….”
Because subtlety is overrated and restraint is optional.
Let’s get this out of the way. This bottle is hot. Not Napa “yoga-pants-at-Whole-Foods” hot. More like quietly dangerous, slow-burn, eyes-across-the-room hot. The kind of Riesling that doesn’t slide into your DMs. It waits. Patiently. Confidently. Then wrecks your expectations.
Smith-Madrone has always played the long game, and this 2021 is proof. While the rest of Napa is busy chasing bigger, louder, oakier, this wine shows up dressed like it knows something you don’t. Which it does.
On the nose, think lime zest, crushed stone, alpine air, and that clean, electric note you get right before something important happens. On the palate, it’s taut, precise, and absurdly sexy in a way that feels almost unfair. Acid sharp enough to wake you up, fruit just ripe enough to flirt, and zero interest in being sweet or apologetic.
Pop culture tie-in? This is Succession in a bottle. Old money energy. No flexing. No explanations. Just power, restraint, and impeccable timing. It’s Shiv Roy in a silk blouse, not yelling, not trying, just quietly running the room while everyone else mistakes noise for influence.
Also, Riesling from Spring Mountain remains Napa’s best-kept secret, which makes drinking this feel slightly smug. As it should. You didn’t follow a trend. You found something.
Drink this with seafood, spicy food, or honestly by itself while judging everyone else’s wine choices. Serve it cold. Not icy. This bottle deserves to stretch.
Final verdict: STILL XXX! If Riesling had a glow-up and deleted its ex’s number, this would be it. Buy it. Chill it. Act like you knew all along.
Smith-Madrone News 
