MacRostie Wildcat Mountain Pinot Noir
TASTING NOTES:
Dark garnet in color, this complex and alluring wine displays a nose layered with aromas of red cherry and cinnamon spice. On the palate sophisticated elements of cocoa and leather combine with the red berry fruit and spice, giving this wine a strong mid-palate and a lengthy finish.
WINEMAKING NOTES:
The fruit was gently destemmed into small open-top fermenters, using state-of-the-art equipment and procedures to avoid any pumping of must. Inoculation with select yeast strains followed a three-day cold soak, and the caps were managed with a combination of pump-overs and punch-downs. Blending fruit from different areas of the vineyard and different clones gives this wine depth and complexity. The clones of Pinot Noir from Arrow Block are early ripening Dijon clones that add lively fruit aromatics. The clone 5 introduces structure and acidity. Saddle Block is an area of the vineyard that is very exposed to the wind, which creates dense earthy aromas and a long finish to the wine. After 10 months of aging in exclusively French oak barrels, we bottled in August of 2015.
HARVEST NOTES: 2014 had ideal temperatures and growing conditions. The fruit came in the door healthy, ripe and luscious. The grapes that made the Wildcat Mountain Pinot Noir this vintage came from a few different blocks of Wildcat Mountain. The first was clone 5 grapes from a prized original block planted in 1998. The rest of the grapes were from vines planted in 2000, and feature our Arrow Block clone 667 and 115 grapes, as well as more clone 667 grapes from our Saddle Block. The fruit was harvested by hand in the cool early mornings of September 10th and 22nd.
ORIGIN: The grapes for this Pinot Noir came exclusively from our 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 site, cool and challenging, and produces wines of great distinction.
91 Points Excellent; Highly recommended
Wine Enthusiast
Earthy in anise and blue fruit, this wine is inexplicably crisp and plush at the same time, showing the allure of the variety in its rose petal aromas. Mediumbodied and velvety, it follows through in cassis and pomegranate flavors.
- Virginie Boone (2014 vintage)
90 Points
Wine Advocate
Pale ruby in color, the 2014 Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir gives notes of Bing cherries, cranberries and red roses with hints of wild thyme, underbrush and black pepper. Medium-bodied, understated and with a pleasantly earthy edge to the palate, it gives a good intensity of red berry flavors and firm grainy tannins, finishing long.
- Lisa Perrotti-Brown (2014 vintage)
95 Points
Wine Review Online
MacRostie ’s Wildcat Mountain Pinot from this vintage is a firmly structured beauty that exhibits notes of violets and spice on the nose, with layers of blueberry and strawberry fruit, and fresh acidity that lifts the flavors. It finishes with a touch of leafy earthiness. A stunning wine that will only get better.
- Robert Whitley (2013 vintage)
94 Points
Wine Review Online
I love wineries that stay true to a house style over the years, and MacRostie is definitely on this track, continuing to produce food friendly Pinot Noir with depth and complexity. This vintage of the Wildcat Mountain shows cherry, dusty earth, cinnamon, moderate oak toast and a touch of sea spray that commingle beautifully and remain integrate through the long finish that brings in a zesty character that keeps you fresh. Salmon time!
- Rich Cook (2013 vintage)
91 Points
Wine Enthusiast
Light, clear and varietal, this wine is pungent in earth, chocolate, black tea and leather, medium- to full-bodied with remarkable offerings of sage, rosemary and savory mushroom. Cherry and cinnamon add to the intrigue and flavor
- Virginie Boone (2013 vintage)