Smith-Madrone 2010 Riesling

My tasting notes on this wine, my favorite U.S. Riesling,  were buried in my winery review of Smith-Madrone Winery so I decided to retrieve them and expand upon them. I find most wine tasting notes to be rather dull and many to be uninformative. If you read different tasting notes on the same wine you will also notice that there is very little agreement among tasters. Usually only comments about the most outstanding elements of structure will be consistent among reviewers, even among famous critics. That is not a criticism. Wine tasting is subjective, and every palate is different. In an unusual display of enthusiasm, I wrote tasting notes for the 2010 Smith-Madrone Riesling. This is a great wine. I hope I did it some justice. In some ways it reminds me of my favorite author, Proust, in that it is subtle but also profound, with many layers of complexity that take time to appreciate. (And yes, I've read all of Proust.) This wine also continues to haunt my memory the way Proust's madeleines haunted his.

The Smith-Madrone 2010 Riesling sells for only $27 and compares to the best Alsatian and German Rieslings being made today. Arguably, the Riesling varietal is one of the four greatest or most noble grapes in the world, along with the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. In the 1970s, I went through a Riesling phase back when wines from famous wineries around the world were still affordable, even great French and German ones. Over the years, I have found only a few really good American made Rieslings, with most of the drier ones lacking complexity and minerality and the sweeter and late harvest ones usually being too simple and sweet without the interesting layers that can be found in high-end late harvest German and Austrian Rieslings. The Smith-Madrone Riesling is a drier style Riesling, drier than most German Kabinetts, more along the lines of an Alsatian Riesling, but without being overly tart on the palate or austere on the finish, as some Alsatian Rieslings can be. The vines are on Spring Mountain in Napa Valley, near St. Helena, and are 38 years old. Only 450 cases were produced.

Riesling wines are among the most visually beautiful wines in the world with their deep gold to green-gold colors. This one leans toward light straw. Hold the glass up to the sunlight before you drink it or you will miss part of the pleasure of a Riesling. The nose tends more toward a tart apple aroma like a Granny Smith rather than a sweet apple like a Fuji or Gala. Rieslings make one of the most nakedly honest wines in the world, with no malolactic conversion, oaking or winemaker skills or tricks to compensate. (Some are late harvest with botrytis, but that is really nature’s doing.) The varietal characteristics always come through strongly as well as any minerality and regional characteristics or terroir. This Riesling gives me Cox’s Orange Pippin apple on the palate (I grow one, so can be specific.), with a mere hint of sweetness (0.65%), balanced acidity, and great minerality. It is a respectable 12.9% alcohol, making it all the more interesting and substantial compared to some of those of those low alcohol. (7.5 to 10%) German Rieslings. This Riesling tells me that it does not come from the Rheingau, Mosel or Alsace. It has a unique Riesling personality from its own vineyard.

If I may be pseudo-poetic for a moment, the Smith-Madrone Riesling seems to reveal the subtle minerals that the vines slowly extracted and dissolved from the rocky soil of Spring Mountain, yielding something like a primal connection to the earth and nature, with perhaps subtle hints of heaven. This is an interesting, complex and layered wine to slowly savor. Roll it around in your mouth. Notice how it is different on the various areas of the tongue. Let it warm a bit in your mouth to see how it changes character. This is a wine that invites investigation beyond its lovely color, crisp apple taste and long finish. Like a beautiful painting, the more you spend time with it, the more you will appreciate it. A quick glance or a cursory viewing will not allow you to understand or appreciate its beauty. You will miss so much if you do not take time and savor the experience.

On a less poetic level, this is a crisp and dry, but not bone dry, very well balanced wine that should go well with seafood. Others might suggest Thai or Vietnamese food, but I confess to liking this sort of wine either alone, with a little cheese or with sushi or sashimi. If you understand the difference between grocery store sushi and sushi from a great Japanese sushi bar then you will understand the differences between various Rieslings. Or perhaps, if sushi is not your thing, you would prefer to think of the difference between French food at an informal sidewalk café compared to a great French meal from a master chef. It has that extra magic, that interesting complexity that eases you into the experience. Time seems to slow down while drinking this wine. The Smith-Madrone Riesling is ideally paired with a kiss or perhaps with the memory of a madeleine.

Smith-Madrone Vineyards visit may be viewed here: Smith-Madrone
Our second visit may be viewed here: Revisit

 Smith-Madrone 2011 Fact Sheet

Peirson Meyer 2010 Sauvignon Blanc

I don’t usually write a review for just one wine, but this one is really exceptional and we have not been to the winery to write our usual winery review.  Recently I visited a wine store in Yountville, Groezingers Wine Merchants, looking for my favorite California Sauvignon Blanc, namely the Kelly Fleming. They were temporarily out but Rick Beard recommended the Peirson Meyer.  I’m glad he did.

Peirson Meyer 2010 Ryan’s Vineyard, Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.  ($28.) Intoxicating aroma of mostly lemon and lime with lively fruit on the palate of peach, apple and melon, rather than the usual grapefruit that is found frequently in California Sauvignon Blancs. It had good but smooth acid, and a very nice balance.  Fresh and bursting with fruit, with great texture, this is one of the finest California Sauvignon Blancs I’ve tasted.  It was barrel aged for 8 months in neutral oak without any MLF.  I’d put this one up there with the Kelly Fleming and Marston Family as one of the finest Napa Valley Sauvignon Blancs I’ve encountered. Although it won’t quite replace the Kelly Fleming as my favorite, this Sauvignon Blanc is very seductive and is most highly recommended.  At this price, it is a real bargain. Robert Meyer is the winemaker.  I’d love to visit this winery.

Here is the web page for Peirson Meyer Winery:

Peirson Meyer Winery

Kent Rasmussen Esoterica Petite Sirah

I've had multiple bottles of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 and highly recommend the 2007 and 2009.

Kent Rasmussen Esoterica 2007 Petite Sirah-$20 if you were able to get some on Wine Woot otherwise it retails for twice the price but is certainly well worth the price. This wine was given a well-deserved 94 points by Wine Enthusiast.  I liked it better than the Kent Rasmussen Esoterica 2008 Petite Sirah which was simpler and more fruit forward in presentation, but still nice.  For many years I have loved Petite Sirahs even though the grape is now known to be the same as the Durif varietal in France, where it is raredly grown anymore.  Petite Sirah, like Zinfandel, is something of an "all American" varietal, (North American or U.S. to be more specific.) even though it did not originate in the Americas.

Deep purple and gorgeous to the eye, this Petite Syrah has great fruit, but is not fruit forward and is still rather dry, perfectly balanced and intense with blackberry and interlaced tannins. No excessive fruit, high octane or overpowering tannin as with some Petite Sirahs, this one is actually rather elegant for a Petite Sirah despite its boldness because it is so well balanced and has layers of complexity to it.   Some Petite Sirahs will improve with age, and this one should, but it is extremely drinkable now.  The Kent Rasmussen Esoterica 2007 Petite Sirah is one of the finest Petite Sirahs I’ve ever had in the past 44 years.  And I have had many of them and have attended blind tastings of Petite Sirah and Petite Sirah festivals.  A wonderful Petite Sirah!!!

I even wrote to Kent Rasmussen about it thanking him, something I rarely do. I've read that they also make an interesting Pinot Noir but I have yet to locate a bottle. I've tried to arrange a visit to this winery but have not been able to do so. Here is their web page: Kent Rasmussen Winery

Addendum:  I later had three bottles of the Kent Rasmussen Esoterica 2009 Petite Sirah and liked it almost as well as the 2007.  Point wise I would give the 2007 a 95, the 2009 a 93 and the 2008 an 87.