Year in and year out, this distinguished wine is one of my favorite California Chardonnays!

This wine is 100% Chardonnay crafted from 42-year-old dry-farmed vines on Spring Mountain.  It was 100% barrel fermented and raised for 9 months in 100% new French oak

Color – Pale straw yellow
Aromas – Apple, pear, lemon curd, almond, and toasty oak with a hint of chalk.
Body – Medium-bodied and impeccably balanced with very fresh with vibrant acidity
Taste – Baked apple, fresh pear, lemon meringue, and key lime accented with very appealing baking spice flavors
Finish – Long

92pts|14.3% abv|SRP – $34| 850 cases|Sample

Year in and year out, this distinguished wine is one of my favorite California Chardonnay! Note:This vintage is sold out, but the 2016 vintage was recently released, and you can bet I’ll be enjoying that one too!

Pair with:  Steamed Dungeness Crab with drawn butter

About Smith Madrone

Smith Madrone Vineyards, a family run, estate-bottled winery located in St. Helena, California was founded in 1971 by brothers Stuart and Charles Smith who are the Managing Partner/Vineyard Manager, and Winemaker respectively.  The name of the winery is a tribute to the Smith brothers and the predominant tree on the ranch. The Madrone is an evergreen with a red-brown trunk and branches.

At Smith-Madrone our goal is to make artisanal wines which are distinctive and are an expression of both the vintage and us, as vintners, but above all else, are wines which bring pleasure to the senses.

When the Smith brothers purchased the  200 acre ranch in 1971, it included a vineyard that had been planted over a century before.  But the forest had reclaimed much of the land. The brothers had to call in loggers to clear patches of land that would become vineyards.  There remain numerous historical sights on the ranch, as well as the huge array of natural beauty and wildlife.

All their wines are produced exclusively from their 34 acres of hillside vineyards planted by the Smith brothers.  The vineyard is planted to 6.25 acres of Riesling, 10.25 acres of Chardonnay and 13 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, with the Merlot, and Cabernet Franc available for blending.

The vineyard sits high atop Spring Mountain, west of St. Helena in the northern Napa Valley. The vineyards sit at elevations between 1,300 and 2,000 feet, on steep slopes which range up to 35%.

Smith Madrone offers four wines, Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a special Cook’s Flat . The wines are available for purchase at the winery or on their website. They produce about 4,000 cases/yr.

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