Smith-Madrone 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Bottled, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District, CA ($70)

Drone shot of the estate, October 2022, photo credit: © Wesley Steffens

by Andrew Chalk

The wines of perennial favorite Spring Mountain winery Smith-Madrone represent the unyielding convictions of Stuart and Charles Smith about how wines should taste. My insider contact reports (emphasis added):

“Greetings from Smith-Madrone!

Wildlife report: a litter of coyotes has appeared! Red-tail hawks are also often patrolling the vineyards!

Stu and Charlie just celebrated the winery’s 55^th ‘birthday’ on May 14 with a decorated carrot cake from The Model Bakery on Main Street in St. Helena. Later in the year there’ll be a special event or two.

Stu and Charlie mid harvest.© Michael Kelly.

I’m reaching out with the news that the winery is releasing the 2022 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a blend of 81.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18.5% Cabernet Franc. It spent 18 months in 50% new French oak. 1,518 cases were made; pH is 3.5; TA is 6.5 g/l; alcohol is 14.2%. SRP is $70.00. All on one page.

Charlie describes the wine: 

Classic Cabernet Sauvignon aroma, redolent of ultra dark Cabernet fruit, mountain mint, coffee beans, leather and violets. It has a mouth-filling silky and succulent mid-palate. Overall, the wine is enticing, flavorful and delicious. It is both forward and restrained, ensuring its longevity as well as near-term pleasure.

Essential coordinates for Smith-Madrone: Stu & Charlie Smith primarily dry-farm 38 acres on top of Spring Mountain, at 1,900 foot elevation, with slopes angling up to 30%. All wines are from the vineyards surrounding the winery, which they planted when they founded the winery in 1971.”

The location is like Dallas in having coyotes, but unlike it in every other respect. 

My tasting notes are below. My initial surprise at a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon being so reasonably priced (and with Estate fruit, to boot) led via the tasting to my final assessment that this is one to collect. The Smith’s and their team are a ballast to the traditions of Napa in an environment that has been whisked around by fashion in the past and is changing maybe faster than ever right now. The combined effects of reduced consumer demand for wine, high costs of operating in Napa, and increased competition from abroad have led to winery sales, bankruptcies, and repurposing of vineyard land. Smith-Madrone is a fact on the ground reminding us of what many others are moving away from. I like their singular cast of mind. I love their wines.

Tasting Notes

NAME:	Smith-Madrone 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Bottled, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District, CA
Date tasted: 2026-06-08	COMMENTS
APPEARANCE
Clarity	clear
Intensity	deep
Color	ruby
NOSE
Condition	clean
Intensity	medium plus
Aroma Characteristics	Raspberry, blackberry, cedar, pencil lead, cinnamon, pyrazines.
PALATE
Sweetness	dry
Acidity	medium
Tannin	ripe/chewy
Alcohol	medium plus
Body	full
Flavor intensity	pronounced
Flavor characterstics	Fruit (Raspberry, blackberry), wood (cedar), pencil lead, cinnamon, pyrazines, herbal undertones (marjoram, thyme). Fruit leads but is balanced by the herbal components.
Other observations	Still a young wine. Mainly primary and secondary components. The structure means it will likely age for a decade or longer.
Finish	long
Quality Assessment	Outstanding. A style of Cabernet Sauvignon that other Napa producers are coming back to. Not the biggest, not the most tannic. Rather, an attempt to create a balanced nose and palate in the most respectful use of the word. This wine attends to being pleasant to drink and not a lopsided showmeister. Very welcome and highly recommended.
Bottle aging	Suitable

Winery dog. Not a coyote.

Sample.