ABOUT THE PRODUCER: Smith-Madrone
Smith-Madrone is a family-run estate-bottled winery dedicated to producing fine wines exclusively from its own vineyards.
In 1971, Stu Smith – then an enology grad student at UC Davis – purchased a property at the end of Spring Mountain Road. Stu was particularly struck by two features of the property: evidence of a pre-prohibition vineyard in the overgrown fields (planted by George Cook in the late 19th century), and some of the largest Madrone trees he had ever seen – which inspired the winery’s name. Smith-Madrone is located at elevations between 1,300 and 1,900 feet; the vineyards straddle slopes of up to 35%. The vines now flourish in vividly red and rocky volcanic soil known as Aiken loam, which is well-drained and friable.
Charles and Stu built the winery by hand, using stones and lumber from the property. A cellar and the main floor house French and American barrels, while the roof of the building is used for entertaining. It has stunning 360-degree views of the floor of the Napa Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the distance. Another striking historical and visual note is the dramatic corridor of 22 Picholine olive trees which descend the slope below the winery into the vineyards. More than a hundred and twenty years old, these trees were carefully preserved when the vineyards were re-planted. Their huge proportions (some stretch as tall as 35 feet) are a testament to their struggle for precious mountain sunlight.
The two brothers spent several years taming the property. Douglas fir, oak, redwood and madrone trees were cleared, and the vineyards planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (along with a small amount of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petite Verdot), Chardonnay, and Riesling. Unusual for North Coast viticulture at the time, the initial twenty acres were planted on their own roots. Stuart Smith chose specific slopes with different exposures for specific varietals: eastern exposure for the Riesling, southern and western exposures across flat stretches for the Cabernet Sauvignon; the coolest north-facing slopes for the Chardonnay. The history of international viticulture also supported his early belief in the potential of these mountain grapes which would have to “struggle” to produce. Drip irrigation was used to establish the vineyard but today it is mostly dry-farmed. The vines send their roots deep to search for water and nutrients, only producing the precise amount of fruit exactly appropriate for their vigor, small berries with a large skin-to- juice ratio.
In 1977, the Smith brothers released their first vintage. It’s important to note that there are only about 70 wineries in Napa Valley who were producing wines before 1980 that are still producing wines today. Today, they have 38 acres under vine and produce around 5,000 cases each vintage. From their early days through the present, Smith-Madrone’s wines have always been balanced, elegant wines that express mountain terroir, with a charmingly rustic quality – more reminiscent of Napa’s 1970’s halcyon days than of other passing winemaking fads. They are also unexpected champions of Riesling, a grape which Stu notes was widely planted across Napa pre-prohibition, though most growers now choose to plant Cabernet or Chardonnay, which command much higher prices. Their vision has resulted in a spectacular wine from an almost lost terroir. Noted British-German wine journalist Stuart Piggot observed “… the Smith Brothers 1996 Riesling was one of the best mature American Rieslings I ever tasted
“All you need to know about Smith-Madrone is that it’s best known for its riesling. Nobody in Napa Valley is best known for its riesling, but there you have Smith-Madrone.”
– Eric Asimov, The New York Times
The name for the winery has two sources: as a tribute to the Smiths who pursued their dream and to the Madrone trees which distinguish the property. “It sounds better than Smith-Douglas Fir, Smith-Manzanita, Smith-Oak and certainly Smith-Poison Oak. The Madrone was a predominant tree on the property when we began,” Stuart Smith explains. “We had so much physically and emotionally invested in the development of the vineyard and the winery that we selfishly wanted our name on it. Smith is not exactly a grand Mediterranean wine name, and certainly we couldn’t call it just “Smith Winery.” Somehow Smith Madrone had a nice ring to it…” He continued that the personality of the Madrone figures into this as well: “The Madrone tree never stands out, alone, in the forest; it’s always clustered for shade and protection with others.”
Since the first vintage in 1977, winemaking practices have been a blend of the traditional methods of France and Germany coupled with new techniques developed in California. Such winemaking processes as barrel fermentation, sur lie aging and open top fermentations require substantial amounts of hand labor but are essential to the production of wines of great quality.
Smith-Madrone’s goal is to make artisanal wines which are distinctive and are an expression of both the vintage and the vintners, but above all else, are wines which bring pleasure to the senses. Every year their wine is made from the same estate vineyards, pruned by the same people in the same way, cultivated in exactly the same manner and harvested at similar levels of maturity, yet Mother Nature stamps each vintage with a unique set of flavors, senses and character.
Farming/vinification practices: sustainable. The wines are vegan
