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2022 Smith Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District Napa Valley

This Spring Mountain Cabernet comes from one of Napa's most respected family estates.

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2022 Smith Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District Napa Valley

This Spring Mountain Cabernet comes from one of Napa's most respected family estates.

Retail $100
$69.98
/ bottle
You save $30.02
  • "Another Successful Vintage for This Spring Mountain Stalwart"~ Wine Advocate
  • One of Napa Valley's Most Storied Mountain Estates 
  • Awarded Top 100 Wines of 2025 ~ Wine Enthusiast
  • "This is a Great Accomplishment" ~ Owen Bargreen
  • BHW has the Lowest Price Anywhere! 
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Image of 2022 Smith Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District Napa Valley 2022 Smith Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District Napa Valley
$100
$69.98
/ bottle
You save $30.02

About The Wine

There are a handful of Napa Valley wineries that feel like they exist outside of time — places where the wines are made the same way they always have been, because the people behind them genuinely believe that's the right way to do it.

Smith-Madrone is one of those places. Brothers Stuart and Charles Smith founded the estate in 1971, purchasing 200 rugged acres high atop Spring Mountain west of St. Helena. They cleared the land themselves, planted the vines, and built the winery by hand using stone and lumber from the property.

More than 50 years later, they're still here, still farming the same hillsides, still making the same kind of wine.

What makes Smith-Madrone's Cabernet Sauvignon so distinctive starts with where the vines grow. Spring Mountain sits on the eastern face of the Mayacamas range, where elevations between 1,300 and 2,000 feet create a dramatically different growing environment than the famous Napa Valley floor.

The soils are deep red volcanic rock — Aiken loam — that drains quickly and forces vines to work hard, sending roots deep in search of water and nutrients. Smith-Madrone dry-farms their estate entirely, meaning no irrigation whatsoever, a practice virtually unheard of in Napa Valley. The result is fruit of extraordinary concentration and natural balance, with a structural backbone that sets these wines apart from richer, more opulent valley-floor styles.

Critics across the board agree this is a wine built for the long haul, with the kind of structure and depth that rewards patience — and the kind of authenticity that makes you remember why Napa became famous in the first place.

18 months in 50% new French oak

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At A Glance

Varietal:
Cabernet Sauvignon
Varietal:
Cabernet Franc
Region:
Napa Valley
Sub-Appellation:
Spring Mountain District
Alcohol:
14.2%
Size:
750ml

TASTING NOTES

What's in the Glass

PAIRS WITH
Ribs · Beef · Venison · Pasta

Mouthfeel & Acidity

Light Body Full Body
 
 
 
 
 
Low Acidity High Acidity
 
 
 
 
 
Soft Tannins Firm Tannins
Dry Sweet

81.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18.5% Cabernet Franc

Opens with an inviting and layered aromatic profile: black cherry and red currant at the core, lifted by pressed wildflowers, lavender, and sage, with earthy undertones of tobacco leaf, graphite, and cedar.

On the palate, the wine delivers remarkable balance — juicy dark fruit and plum are threaded through with graphite minerality and a backbone of crunchy, well-integrated acidity that gives the wine real lift and focus.

Tannins are firm and structured, built for the long term, yet ripe and polished enough to drink beautifully now with an hour in the decanter. The finish is long, clean, and lingering, with hints of licorice and mountain herbs.

CRITIC REVIEWS

What the Critics Said

Consistency across a large span of time is no small feat in any discipline, but the achievement of such a goal when variables like weather play an outsized role is cause for celebration. Smith-Madrone has been at this for 55 years now, and they are certainly a player to celebrate when it comes to Napa Valley Cabernet. The sort of knowledge that comes with 55 years on the same slopes with the same vines through sun, rain, wind, snow, and fire makes it possible to bring consistency to bear. That’s not to say that the wines that come from this Spring Mountain site are all the same, but there is an evolved house style that eschews trends or fads that come and go. The 2022 shows the warmth of the vintage, but it maintains the classic markers of pepper and dried herbs that fans of the label prize. Dollar for dollar, there is no one better in Napa. ~ 96 Wine Review Online

Focused notes of dried lavender, clove, and mint surrounds concentrated plum and blueberry. Linear waves of graphite and licorice are in rhythm with fruit and floral components. Acidity adds vivacity to the wine’s tension and striking structure. ~ 94 Tasting Panel Magazine

Smith-Madrone's 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is another successful vintage for this Spring Mountain stalwart. Marked by scents of mountain bay and ripe cherries, it's medium- to full-bodied and reasonably supple, with smooth, silky tannins that linger easily on the vibrant, lasting finish. There are no issues with jamminess or over-ripeness in this classically built offering, which actually comes in a hair lower in alcohol than the 2021 vintage (14.2% versus 14.3%). It's a terrific value given the quality and provenance, just don't expect a big, plush style. ~ 93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Coming from their estate in the Spring Mountain District, the 2022 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon is polished and round from this hot vintage. Tar, tobacco leaf and black currants all combine on the palate, with bright acidity. This is a great accomplishment from this tough vintage. Drink 2026-2036 ~ 93 Owen Bargreen

THE PRODUCER

Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Winery

Founded in 1971 by brothers Stuart and Charles Smith, Smith-Madrone is a true Napa original — a family-owned, estate-only winery perched atop Spring Mountain at elevations between 1,300 and 2,000 feet.

While the rest of Napa Valley transformed around them, the Smiths never wavered: same mountain, same vineyards, same commitment to dry-farming and minimal intervention winemaking. They even built the winery by hand using stone and timber from the property. Over 50 years later, Smith-Madrone remains one of the valley's most authentic producers — making wines that speak of place, not trend.

Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Winery

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