Smith-Madrone Chardonnay (Napa Valley) 1999

Regular readers of my wine notes know that Smith-Madrone is one of my favorite boutique Napa wineries. They produce excellent wines at very fair prices. Although the wines are neither cheap nor inexpensive, they offer excellent value for wines of such exceptional quality. I picked up this 99 Chardonnay at the winery when I was in Napa last May. Unlike most California chards, which are falling apart at age 3, this wine was still going strong at age 5. I suspect it would have continued to improve for several more years. The wine is driven more by its fruit than oak, although there is a pleasing undertone of buttery oak flavors. I get pineapples and bananas on both the nose and palate. A very nice note of ripe apple also shows on the finish. If you can find it, buy it (try the winery). The dominance of the fruit over oak makes this an especially useful wine with food, whereas so many California chards really don't play well with dinner. It would go great with cracked crab, for example. Grade: A-