2018 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay Spring Mountain District Napa Valley 750 ml

Perched high up on Spring Mountain, Smith-Madrone practically defines “classic Napa.”

The conditions on their high-altitude property produce remarkably powerful and intense Chardonnay. The vines, which were first planted in the early 1970s and are completely dry-farmed—a real rarity in Napa Valley—sink deep into the red volcanic soils, where they struggle in search of water and nutrients and yield small, concentrated grapes. 

Barrel-fermented and aged in 55% new French oak—made basically the same way every year since the estate’s founding—the wine displays the broad richness and seductive fruit that characterize Napa’s very best Chardonnays. 

Smith-Madrone is perched on backbreaking slopes between 1,300 and 2,000 feet in elevation. In the early 1970s, owner Stu Smith studied his Spring Mountain landscape for a year before deciding to plant a small patch of Riesling on an east-facing slope, Cabernet Sauvignon on flatter stretches facing south and west, and this Chardonnay on the coolest, north-facing hillside.  

The red volcanic soils are rocky and rugged, a stressful environment for vines to live in, and that’s exactly how Stu Smith wants it. He’s famous for dry-farming his entire vineyard—in other words, providing no irrigation whatsoever—which yields small, concentrated Chardonnay grapes.

In most cases, this kind of pedigree would and could merit double the price, but that’s not the Smith-Madrone way. As Decanter wrote in a piece celebrating the winery’s 50-year history, “The Smiths are proudly old school in their winemaking philosophy, the age-worthy, balanced wines they make, the reasonable prices they charge, and the homely way they welcome visitors.” 

This is a true Napa classic worthy of every white-wine lover’s cellar.