MacRostie Winery

 

We’ve been talking for a long time to Steve MacRostie (owner & winemaker of MacRostie Winery) hoping he’d eventually bring his wines to Hawaii.   Since the mid- 1970’s, Steve’s sole profession has been that of winemaker, crafting some of Carneros’ best chardonnays and pinot noir.  In 1998, Steve moved into a new winery in Sonoma and planted his first estate vineyard on Wildcat Mountain in the highlands of western Carneros.  This steep, windswept hillside is truly a remarkable site --- and Steve really did his homework before planting it to the best clones of chardonnay, syrah and pinot noir. Volcanic like Sonoma Mountain to the north, these stark, hillside vineyards are showing incredible potential.  We’re very excited about what we’re tasting from MacRostie Winery...

 

Current releases:

#9750 MacRostie Chardonnay “Carneros” 2004 12/750 ml. $204.00/Case $17.00/Bottle

90 POINTS, “Smart Buy”: The Wine Spectator. A simply delicious Carneros District Chard; crisp and juicy with lovely sweet oak and racy acidity. The grapes for this Chardonnay came from several prime vineyards on both the Sonoma and Napa sides of Carneros, including Sangiacomo, Beresini, Beckstoffer, McCall, Thornton, Hi Vista, and Mitsuko’s vineyard. MacRostie’s own Wildcat Mountain Estate Vineyard, high up in the hills on the extreme western edge of the Carneros AVA, played a significant role in the blend as well, adding additional grace notes and character.  Barrel fermented, then aged for an additional six months in 20% new French oak.

 

#9752 MacRostie Chardonnay “Wildcat Mountain” 2004 6/750 ml. $162.00/Case $27.00/Bottle

92 POINTS, The Wine Spectator. "Brilliant flavors, lively and refreshing, with layers of fresh apple, pear, nectarine and cedary oak, offering richness, depth and concentration, all the while maintaining a sense of delicacy and finesse. Drink now through 2009."- J.L.  The grapes for this Chardonnay came exclusively from the “Estate”  Wildcat Mountain Vineyard, owned by Steve MacRostie and his partners Nancy and Tony Lilly. Here the vines dig into the sparse volcanic soil and stand firm against the strong winds that race in off of the Pacific Ocean most afternoons. This fog-shrouded mountaintop vineyard is a classic “Sonoma Coast-type- site”, cool and challenging, but produces wines of great distinction. Two outstanding blocks from Wildcat were selected for this blend: the Wente clone and the Dijon 95. Yields were customarily low, at just over two tons per acre, resulting in fruit of intense flavor. The grapes went direct to press as whole clusters. The resulting juice was cold settled, racked off its press lees, and moved directly to barrel for a cool fermentation. It was aged in these same French oak barrels, 20% of which were new, for 15 months. The best barrels from each lot were selected to form the Wildcat Mountain Vineyard blend.

 

#9754 MacRostie Pinot Noir “Carneros” 2003 12/750 ml. $264.00/Case $22.00/Bottle

90 POINTS - 1 Puff, Connoiseur’s Guide.  In a world full of “over-the-top” pinot noir doing their best impressions of syrah, this MacRostie pinot is more suited to the purists --- a wine geek’s pinot noir!  It is one of great balance with ripe berries and just a touch of oak. It’s a perfectly delicious medium bodied wine that is classic Pinot Noir, with the potential to develop for a few years. And at a great price, we might add!  The grapes for this Pinot Noir came from several prime vineyards on both the Sonoma and Napa sides of Carneros, including Sangiacomo, Beresini, Ferguson, Domaine Chandon, and Stanley Ranch. MacRostie’s own Wildcat Mountain Estate Vineyard, high up in the hills on the extreme western edge of the Carneros AVA, played a significant role in the blend as well, adding additional richness and depth to the wine.  All are at about seven or eight hundred foot elevation, looking down on San Francisco Bay. It’s just amazing how they fare way up there with the winds blowing so cold...

#9756 MacRostie Syrah “Wildcat Mountain” 2002 6/750 ml. $162.00/Case $27.00/Bottle

92 POINTS & 2 PUFFS: Connoisseurs' Guide.  “Layers of Syrah personality reveal themselves in a nose that ranges from smoke and meat with a hint of black earth to extracted blackberry scents. The wine is nicely proportioned and somewhat supple in its early feel on the palate, and it holds on well into a rich, smoky, fruity finish of admirable length.” Yields were quite low (less than two tons per acre) resulting in very rich flavors. Two blocks of different ages, both planted with the Syrah Noir clone, were selected for this wine. The grapes were harvested by hand on October 1 and October 9, 2002. The bulk of the fruit was gently destemmed, with about 10% whole clusters added to the open-top fermenters. The wine was aged in French oak barrels, about 40% new, for 16 months.

 

All MacRostie Wines are Very Limited