Smith-Madrone, Napa Valley (California) Chardonnay 2018

 Smith-Madrone has been around for 50 years and so the Smith brothers, Charlie and Stu, have pretty much explored every possibility when working with Spring Mountain Chardonnay.  Still, I’m surprised at how bold and daring this 2018 is.  It is big and luxurious, but not over-the-top.  The color is definitely yellow, but shows some green tints.  Ripe apple, spice, some pineapple, lemon meringue and creamy leesy aromas jump out of the glass.  Creamy and opulent in texture, it comes across with lively, lemon zest, ripe apple, oak spice flavors that all work together and take us to some tangy acidity in the finish.  This is not one of those buttery, over-oaked Chardonnays.  Yes, it is big, but it also offers up lots of layered flavors and good acidity.  How to rate this?  Though not my style of Chardonnay, it is impressive.