Ray Vanderhoff

9.2

Blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Aromas of ripe red fruit, rose petals, dried red flowers and eucalyptus. Red and black cherry/raspberry and boysenberry fruit on the palate along with additional notes of chocolate, toffee, savory spices and mint. Well integrated oak on the long and slightly chewy finish. Rustic, well balanced and beautifully aged. Thanks for sharing this one, Ron B! — 4 months ago

Carter White

9.4

Juicy dark beery fruit, healthy spice, balanced. — 8 months ago

Brandon T

9.6

In a great spot after an hour of air. A fantastic complement to lamb chops. Bravo, @Mike Smith! — 3 years ago

Brian Nickerson

9.2

Mike Smith should be knighted. — 4 years ago

Karen Tripson

9.2

Saving this for a big juicy steak night soon. March 5, 2021 found the moment to open with s dear friend and a lamb leek mushroom cottage pie. Fabulous. — 5 years ago

Luis Arguero (@winefromAtoZ)

9.0

Chocolate lover as a beer! Cheers 🍻 — 6 years ago

Bret Barker

9.2

I’ve reviewed this wine before - I prefer the 04 better:) but still great example for this producer. Medium bodied with dark cherry, graphite and little cedar. — 7 years ago

with Adam

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

After reading the story of this producer, I inspired to try it. Especially, at $59.99 for a quality Napa Cabernet. These two brother’s are true pioneers of the Napa Valley. They do their own thing. Don’t follow trends and are not aggressive with their bottle price, nor do they really wish to. More rare than common in today’s Napa Cabernet market. I have a lot of respect for that and Napa Pioneers.

This also drinks pretty well for a young Napa Cabernet. I was expecting bigger/bolder based on write up. Not that this won’t benefit from cellaring.

The fruits are nicely ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, cherries & blueberry hues. I was expecting more teeth. Think it is showing the finesse & balance of most 21’s I’ve had. Dark spice, grilled meats, light black pepper, barrel dust, dry tobacco, leather, savory herbaceousnes, moist clays, dry crushed rocks, cola, flower bouquet of red, blue & purple fresh flowers, rainfall acidity with a well balanced, softly structured, elegant finish that lasts just over a minute and lands crushed rocks and touch of spice.

It will be interesting to see if this shows more in 5 years.

Photos of; Smith Madrone vineyards and brothers Stuart and Charles Smith — 4 months ago

Carter White

9.3

Juicy dark fruit, complimented by black pepper, rich. — 10 months ago

Rob Brobst III

9.7

WOTN for me anyway!🤷🏽‍♂️🍷🥰🤪👍🏽🎉🎉🎊🎊 — 4 years ago

Scott Rowe

9.3

Imminent release. due for September.
Watch the shelves as you won’t be disappointed. — 5 years ago

PM

9.2

I think it’s delicious. Smooth, full bodied, with some character. — 5 years ago

Liz Bird

9.2

Really light refreshing delish! — 7 years ago

Ashraf Attal

9.2

Yasmine’s family — 4 months ago

Alessandro Dalle Carbonare

9.3

Very peculiar spectrum of aromas. Freshly cutted pineapple and pear. White peach and grapefruit. Very nice and long finish.
A bit flex on the mid palate but lingering pleasant finish — 6 months ago

Matthew Cohen

9.3

Nose: slightly jammy blackberry fruit.

Palate: reasonably clean blackberry fruit. Some nice internal aromatics. Mineral. Some oak that should integrate.

Long and juicy finish. — 3 years ago

Michele Hug

9.5

Opens up super nicely, immediately pleasant on the nose. Plummy and buttery, classic example of a good Napa cab. — 4 years ago

Michelle M

9.4

Blackberry bramble, baked black cherry and plum, hints of maraschino, mint and menthol, bell pepper and geranium, cedar, tobacco, and bakers vanilla with whiffs of aged leather jacket on the nose. Blackberry, cherry, juicy raspberry, vanilla extract and weak black tea on the palate with a medium heavy body but a medium short finish. Overall a great wine for pumpkin pie brunch on Christmas morning (no it’s not too early). Merry Christmas! — 4 years ago

Maya Kaczorowski

9.0

Very nice rose, very flavorful — 7 years ago

Ben Edwards

9.2

A replacement for the Pairing as a Marry Edwards regular bottle. Definitely sharper and less pronounced stone fruit, but nicely balanced and went well with all dinner courses. Bottles went too fast to see how they opened, so questionable still as a stand-alone (probably great); high marks for elevating the usual crisp white wine dishes. — 7 years ago