Smith Madrone Estate Cook's Flat Reserve 2012

- FORBES, Michelle Williams (2/2019): "Seductive—dark fruit, highly herbaceous, baking spice, graphite, dark chocolate, and cedar; tension between power and restraint, balanced and layered with beautiful structure; words lack in describing this beautiful wine. Limited production, purchase direct from winery."

- FRED SWAN (8/2018): "This special, single-vineyard wine is a current release, having been given extra aging in both barrel and bottle. It’s a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and 17% Merlot from vines planted in 1972 in a historic, eight-acre plot. Only 112 cases were made.
The Smith-Madrone Cook’s Flat Reserve is layered and profound with classic Bordeaux-blend hallmarks. The expressive nose offers black currant, iron, graphite, dried bay leaf, mint and aged wood. The palate is medium-plus in body building to full with air. A plethora of plush, fine-grained tannins provide structure and carry flavors though the very extended finish.
While the nose is predominantly savory, the palate is fruit-driven with rich black currant wrapped in dark chocolate and accented by cedar. With air, the palate becomes increasingly savory, emphasizing mineral and bay leaf characters. The wine’s ready to drink now, but will age and gain further complexity at least another 20 years."

- 95 Punkte GOOD VITIS, Aaron Menenberg (12/2017): "...Here are my twelve most memorable wines from the past twelve months
#2: 2012 Smith-Madrone Cook’s Flat Reserve. Stu Smith and his family are some of my favorite people in the wine industry, and among the most generous I’ve met. He’s also one of the best winemakers in a state known for attracting many of the best winemakers in the world. Cooks’ Flat is his reserve wine, which he makes during good vintages. It retails for $225. Given the region, that’s a steal for a wine of this quality and, in one of many manifestations, evidence of his generosity. I’m not a lover of most California wine, and I don’t get the California Cult Cab thing with its focus on fruit and tannin. Stu could care less whether his wines were considered “cult,” but it certainly tops the list of cabernets from the Sunshine State that I’ve had. The fact that any California cab made my most memorable wine list is personally surprising, but that it landed at #2? It’s just that good.
Tasting note: December 7, 2017 – This seems to me to be what Napa cab should be all about. It hits the palate with a velvety lushness, and is followed by waves of red, blue and black fruit that polish a core of dark minerals and Earth that broadens the mid palate and adds depth to the wine. The acid is towards the higher end of the Napa range, adding juiciness to the fruit and levity to the body. Unlike many California cabs, the tannins are well-kept and aren’t allowed to dry the palate and prematurely kill the finish. This is elegant and refined wine. Given the price of reserve wines from Napa, the Cook’s Flat is a downright steel."

2450 individually numbered bottles

BEWERTUNGEN FÜR DEN JAHRGANG 2013:
-TalkAVino, Anatoly Levine, (12/2019): „This might be how you spell “PHENOMENAL”. This wine was a pure pleasure. Pure, hedonistic, unadulterated pleasure. This is the wine at the level of magic – you take a sip, you whisper “wow”, you quietly reflect on what is happening, immersing into the moment. Then you take another sip and repeat. YES, MAGIC.“

-Advinetures, Allison & Chris Wallace (5/2020): „Cook’s Flat is what the locals used to call the 8 acre plot planted in 1972 and used to grow the grapes for this red blend. This vintage the cuvée was 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, with roughly equal parts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Many Napa proprietary blends or luxury cuvées are distinguished by their power. The Smiths, always marching to the beat of their own drum, have focused on elegance in this wine. More toward the black fruit end of the spectrum than their regular Cabernet, this wine showed great intensity without any heaviness. The tannins are medium+, but they are ripe and polished. A rich mouthfeel makes it a pleasure to drink now but Stu assured us this has a long future in the cellar. With such precise balance, we have no reason to doubt him.“- Blog The Syrah Queen, Rupal Shankar, am 28. August 2019: „The Cook’s Flat Reserve is one of my all-time favorite Napa Valley wine. I have had the honor to taste the 2012 and the 2013. Charlie very generously opened a bottle of 2013 for me, and I had the opportunity to try the 2012 last year with a group of fellow wine writers. The Cook’s Flat Reserve is a wine that will appeal to all Bordeaux lovers.  

The 2013 that Charlie poured in my glass, is a blend of 46% Cabernet Franc, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot. It is an exceptional wine with rich red fruit and spice. There are hints of blackberry, currants, black pepper, dark chocolate, nutmeg, leather, and tobacco. The wine is powerful with silky tannins. Its precise balance is reminiscent of an old-world style wine.

My time with Charlie at Smith-Madrone Vineyards was very humbling and grounding; he epitomized what all winemaking should be like. The wines are world-class in every way – real, authentic and beautiful. The vineyards atop Spring Mountain are magical, an untouched part of Napa Valley. A bit off the beaten path, Smith-Madrone is definitely a winery that needs to be explored by all Napa Valley wine lovers.“

- Notizen des Weinguts: „This is a limited production wine of 194 cases created by the careful selection and blending of a small group of the best barrels the vintage had to offer. In 2013, this means the wine is 46% Cabernet Franc, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot, aged for19 months in 100% new French oak from the forests of Tronçais, Nevers and Allier. Following barrel aging, the wine rested for two and a half years in the bottle before its release on November 13, 2018. Cook’s Flat Reserve represents our uncompromisingpursuit of perfection in winemaking. Each bottle is numbered and tissue wrapped with a copy of the U.S. Land Office patent which was signed by President Chester A. Arthur, granting ownership of the land to George Cook. That original document hangs in the winery and is an important part of our history. We chose this name in tribute to George Cook, the first owner of the property and the person who originally planted the vines here in the 1880s.The 2013 Cook’s Flat Reserve is a text-­-book example of the wonderful complexities available in fine wine to those who are willing to slow down and savor the moment. Aromatically fascinating, this wine is a nearly inexhaustible cornucopia of alluring fragrances. It leads with a deep black/red core of fruit surrounded by grace notes of leather, tobacco, nutmeg, violets and cedar. There is even a hint, a mere suggestion, perhaps something like orange zest sprinkled on a dab of brown sugar. An aroma of this complexity is so haunting as to be an end in itself. Happily, after such a glorious start the wine has terrific follow-­-through on the palate. The black/red fruit that forms the core of the aroma happily repeats itself as it wells up deliciously in the mid-­-palate with sumptuous portions of black currants and blackberries. A sleek and creamy texture overlays an under-­-current of light acidity and graceful tannins that promise a long and happy life for those inclined to wait. All in all, the wine is generous without being over-­-the-­-top, beautifully composed, harmonious, complete and lingering.“