2017 Smith-Madrone Riesling Spring Mountain 750 ml

There’s nothing like Smith-Madrone’s Spring Mountain Riesling, a wine we chased for years because it’s one of the unquestionable Napa Valley greats. It stepped boldly onto the global stage in 1979, winning Best Riesling in the World from the French restaurant guide Gault Millau, and has remained an upper-echelon benchmark since then. 

Decanter called the Spring Mountain Riesling “Napa’s finest,” and Wine Enthusiast gave 94 points to the 2017 edition of this famously long-lived bottling. That matched the score given by James Suckling, who started his review by calling it “A show-stopper!”

With mineral-etched citrus, juicy stone-fruit, and a vibrant acid backbone, this dual-94-point Spring Mountain takes its cues from the well-structured Rieslings of Alsace. Nearly 50-year-old Riesling vines cling to east-facing slopes with inclines over 30 degrees. The rocky clay-loam soils are dry farmed, pushing the vines to the limit in their struggle for ripeness and survival, but ultimately yielding pearl-like Riesling berries of stunning concentration and aromatic intensity. 

The result is a truly world-class Riesling, bred for honesty, seamlessness, and long-term aging. Showing a luminous and lively gold color, the aromas are led by lemon preserve, honeysuckle, and jasmine, with hints of spice. The mouthfeel is bright and precise, with zippy acidity, a kiss of ripe apricot, and crushed limestone leading into a long finish. 

This wine, as Wine Enthusiast put it simply, just “shines.” Expect this to deliver in spades for as long as you can keep your hands off it. We recommend cellaring in bulk.