2016 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon

Community Tasting Notes (17) Avg Score: 92.1 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View smoothjazz's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/22/2023 - smoothjazz Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Wonderful dry-farmed Napa Cabernet far from its peak. Classic Bordeaux style wine. Great value for the price point.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View cchoukal's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/13/2023 - cchoukal wrote:

  Tightly wound, but an hour of air helped. Dark, somewhat brooding.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View djjagdish's profile
  • Report Issue

  9/30/2023 - djjagdish Likes this wine: 92 Points

  PnP - Threw off some big lush black fruits and mountain bramble on first sips, then as the evening went on settled into an array of secondary flavors like tobacco and tomato leaf. Tannins fairly tamed but still a bit grippy, so if you like old world style wines, lay this one down longer and it should reward you.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View 5laton's profile
  • Report Issue

  4/30/2022 - 5laton wrote:

  Rich black fruits, patent leather, some paprika and attractive roasted jalapeno notes, although the more savory herbal notes unfortunately faded with air. I appreciate the level of complexity here for such a young wine, but the 14.3% alcohol also makes its presence known. The material here is clearly impressive but I fear it may be just a little too ripe for my preferences, at least that's how it shows today. It's definitely not so ripe as the 2015 which I found quite figgy, it's the only other vintage of SM I've tasted. But it's still too much for me in current form, and I enjoyed this most with a slight chill.
  I retasted this from boston round two weeks later, and it was a real beauty at cellar temperature. Really pretty and complex for a young wine, with those same notes: dark fruit, cocoa, lovely roasted jalapeno/smoked paprika, and patent leather. Nice juicy palate with tannins that clamp down but are briefly accessible. Again a cooler serving temp helped kept the alc at bay. I believe this will develop in a more classical direction with age, but the alcohol balance would still worry me if I thinking of laying some down.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Colorado3G's profile
  • Report Issue

  3/6/2022 - Colorado3G Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Our wine dinner club did a vertical with a '12, '14, and '16 that was really fun. All three wines were thoroughly enjoyed with the '12 and '16 standing above the '14 unanimously. '12 and '16 were also similar in overall taste profile with the '12 being more mature. Ranking went '12, '16, '14!

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 17 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.