Night at the Madrona

Visiting off-site storage can be an intriguing, random, and enticing experience - and tonight was the result of such a visit. While looking through boxes for a gift for a friend, I stumbled across a 2004 and 2010 Madrona. Having never opened the 2016 Madrona, I figured that this must be the universe telling me to open the three wines, in order to see how they aged, to enjoy the best Napa can offer, and ensure that my kids’ college fund remains an open question. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

The wines were stunning for many reasons, including what they had in common: ripe and dense (but not sweet) fruit; savory undertones of gravel and dried herbs; grainy tannins and lively acidity; and oh so much class, balance, and originality. In one sense, time slowed down in drinking these wines, almost like seeing photos of your child at 4 and 10 and 16: the same but different, growing but leaving behind, gaining but also losing. Time both takes its toll and works its magic. In another sense, each wine appeared where it should be in its (long) vinous life cycle: the 2004 was the most integrated and subtle; the 2010 was the most dense and full; and the 2016 was the most energetic and precise.

Which was the best? The 2004 stole the show tonight, showing all the sophistication and depth of its 17 years, but each was delicious in its own right. The 2010 has entered its drinking window, and the 2016 is surprisingly accessible (and may outshine them all in time). And now to the play-by-play...

• 2004 Abreu Madrona Ranch 98 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This wine's integration and balance are impeccable - and thrilling. Brick in color and medium in body, the wine offers aromas of dried blueberry, baked herbs, espresso, and trail dust. The flavors cascade, with notes of blackberry, anise, bay leaf, and gravel, with a finish that goes on and on and on. 14.5% alcohol. Blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, along with some Cab Franc and Petit Verdot. More juicy on second day, with a note of licorice I hadn’t detected earlier. 98+ at the moment, but drink in next 2-4 years. Just an exceptional wine.

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• 2010 Abreu Madrona Ranch 97 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This wine presents more density and punch than the 2004, but it’s also within its drinking window. The most full in body of the trio, the wine offers more reticent aromas of graphite, mocha, and dried boysenberry, The flavors are just as integrated as the 2004 but more fulsome (think dark meat as opposed to white), with notes of camphor, baking spices, and blackberry, followed by a finish that is still lifted but also more grainy. Blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot, and 6% Merlot. 14.5% alcohol.
  
  This isn’t quite as captivating as it was when I tasted it last December (12/20 - 98 points), but tasting it next to the 2004 was probably a disservice. This will easily last for another decade. 97 at the moment.

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• 2016 Abreu Madrona Ranch 96 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This powerful but open-knit wine is fantastic in the best tradition of the young: not giving an inch to the old, but still with so much more to come. It needs at least three hours in the decanter, but the wine is something to behold once it opens up.
  
  A little more bright red in color than the 2004 or 2010, this medium-bodied blend offers more reticent and airy aromas of anise, rosemary, and gravel. Flavors of blackcurrant, baking chocolate, graphite, pencil lead, with a plush and tannic finish that becomes less chalky with air. Blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Cabernet Franc, 15% Petit Verdot, and 6% Merlot. 14.5% alcohol. 96+ amidst such lofty company, but there's no doubt: this is a contender. Improved on second day, still going strong on the third.

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What a set of wines. I personally want to grab any Napa wine lover with (extra) disposable income and shake him by the shoulders, only to say: Abreu, Abreu (like Rosebud... but more colorful, pricey, and available at select retail stores!). These wines aren't new, but they are singular.

The Madrona, located in the St. Helena foothills on the way up Spring Mountain, is the original Abreu vineyard, with a variety of soils and exposures. Tonight, the wines showed like some kind of vinous Goldberg Variations - common notes and structure, but different sounds and emotions - and, all together, each wine in its own way, sheer brilliance.