Madrigal Family Winery

Madrigal Family Winery is located a shoe strings length from Highway 29 and just a bit north of Bale Lane north of the town of St. Helena. Their first vintage was in 1995 of Petite Sirah; they crushed at Napa Wine Co for many years, and put the finishing touches on their new winery in mid 2007. The facility is also home to several small premium producers who custom crush on site.

The Madrigal family has a long history in Napa Valley starting with grandfather Jacinto Magrigal who came to the Napa Valley from Mexico in 1938. The Madrigal’s were the first Latino family to settle in Calistoga. At the time he settled about halfway between St. Helena to the south and Calistoga to the North. Farming in the valley back then was orchards of apples, pears, walnuts as well as grapes. The Napa Valley of the 1930’s and 1940’s was a different Napa Valley then – not the wine grape monoculture crop as today.

Jacinto’s son Jess began a vineyard management company in 1984 with as they say, “a pickup truck and several pairs of pruning sheers!” Their first client was Duckhorn’s well-regarded Three Palms Vineyard just south of Calistoga. Currently this company farms over 800 acres of vines with a focus on Calistoga and Howell Mountain. Forty estate acres of their own vines surround the winery on land that is both alluvial (close to Highway 29) and becoming more clay-like on the portions of their property that border the Napa River. Ten varietals are planted on site.

Chris Madrigal, Jess’s son founded the winery and usually hangs around the tasting room.

Your tasting is often conducted by one of the family members and is very relaxed, no hype and no pressure. With a winery such as this one that has low production, relationships with customers is key and they often know many of their clientele. They are very hospitable. The tasting is held at the small bar inside the winery or weather permitting outside on their deck among a number of tables and chairs.

Madrigal is not making homogenized wines – these wines are all unique with their own characteristics both on the bouquet and palate – focusing more on the varietal rather than the wine making styles.

The 2014 Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from vines in Yountville – some of which are up to 50 years old (certainly among the oldest Sauvignon Blanc vines in the Napa Valley). The wine is 100% varietal from vines that are mostly dry farmed. This wine shows nice notes of peach married with citrus blossom aromatics. As the wine opens it becomes slightly tropical showing notes of honeysuckle. On the palate the fruit is ripe but not over ripe – it is a balanced with with good acidity – a lingering crispness of lime zest shows.

Chris enjoys making a Tempranillo – a lighter red as well as a tribute to a varietal that was commonly planted in earlier field blends in the valley. The 2013 Tempranillo shows generous fruit aromas on the bouquet – tinged with an earthiness and a subtle smoky characteristic. On the palate chocolate, red cherry and strawberry show.

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon is from vines farmed at an elevation of about 1300 feet on the slopes of Atlas Peak. The bouquet shows a white pepper component along with dusty/earthy aromas. As the bouquet continues to open more fruit shows and the other aromas are relegated to the background. This wine has an appealing flavor profile with good acidity. A tartness lingers on the finish for some time framed by delicate tannins that show more on the front of the palate than the back and are slightly chalky in nature.

The 2005 Pinot noir sourced from the cooler growing climate of Anderson Valley. They have managed vineyards in this valley for a number of years and know all the “sweet spots” for the premium fruit. This is a rich full bodied wine and one of the few Anderson Valley Pinots you will find from a winery located in the northern part of the valley. The aromas remind one of leather and cedar followed by pleasant fruit flavors including strawberry and cherry. They are well-known for their Petite Syrah with lots of fruit aromas and flavors in this wine; it would be great with grilled or BBQ meat. Also nice Merlots and Cabernets.

Enjoy a good port? Their port of Petite Syrah is delicious. This is a varietal that is not often made into a Port in the Napa area. This one doesn’t grab you like some ports that use cheap brandy, rather it is light without syrupy characteristics so that the fruit flavors really show through. Their wines are structured so that they can be consumed now or also aged.

The 2012 Petite Sirah is a remarkable wine and an example of a wine from this varietal that is in balance (not always the case with a young Petite Sirah). It is noticeably dark in the glass as this varietal tends to be. The bouquet is well-layered and continues to shows additional complexities of aromas as it opens. It is meaty and savory with plenty of black fruit including blackberry. On the palate it is juicy and layered with an almost sediment like tannin framework that lingers for some time. Some tannins from Petite Sirahs are massive – this is not one of those.

If you are going to be in the valley in September, Madrigal has an annual harvest party which is always a blast. Check their website for details.

In August 2014, the Madrigal’s opened a tasting room in Sausalito located at 819 Bridgeway – a few minutes from the Ferry Terminal. From a hospitality point of view this was a smart move – the Napa Valley is full of tasting rooms (perhaps to the point of over saturation), with plenty of choose from ranging from Calistoga to the city of Napa. Sausalito has not yet been a destination for winery tasting rooms – yet this location makes perfect sense. Many people from San Francisco come over for the weekend – either biking across the Golden Gate Bridge and then returning on the ferry back; Sausalito is certainly also on the radar for many tourists who visit San Francisco.

The ferry is only about a 25 minute ride from the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Once in Sausalito, one is treated to stellar views overlooking the Bay and San Francisco in the distance. Sausalito is known for boutique shops and restaurants.

The tasting room holds a number of private events – and often works with tech companies who want to treat employees to wine tasting and special events including blind tastings. In addition, Sausalito holds several prominent events each year including the Jazz & Blues by the Bay and the Art Festival. Madrigal Vineyards participates in both of these events.

For more information, visit: www.madrigalvineyards.com

Madrigal Winery, Calistoga

Madrigal Tasting Room, Sausalito