Smith-Madrone, Spring Mountain District – Napa Valley (California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

 First the review notes, then the commentary.  I find the wine enjoyable, one with bright red berries and green herbal flavors – greenbriers, not mint or eucalyptus, come to mind – with good weight and a lean structure.  Having said that, there are those who will not prefer the wine because of these green notes, which they equate (rightly or wrongly) with early-picked fruit.  I drank Bordeaux reds from the 1970s and grew to accept that green tartness, which some see as a winemaking flaw.  I do not, but instead see it as a conscious preference of the winemaker, as other Smith-Madrone Cabs I have tasted also have these green notes.  To me, it is part of a spectrum – some grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Carménère have a tendency to harbor these flavors.  While I don’t prefer them, I do like them.  And I don’t see them as flawed.