Winemaking

Chardonnay
Since the release of its inaugural 1987 Carneros Chardonnay, MacRostie Winery and Vineyards has worked to create a consistent house style. Crafted using grapes from elite small vineyards from both the Napa and Sonoma sides of Carneros, as well as fruit from its own Wildcat Mountain Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast, the MacRostie Chardonnay program emphasizes lush and balanced wines that embody the elegance of their cool-climate origins. As one of the pioneers of the Carneros region, Steve MacRostie was one of the early champions of this more fresh and sophisticated style. Reflecting this approach, MacRostie’s Carneros Chardonnay displays signature flavors of lemon oil and sweet custard, while its Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Chardonnay has earned acclaim for its bright citrus aromatics, intense flavors, and Old World spice and minerality.

Chardonnay Winemaking
Though winemaker Kevin Holt employs winemaking techniques such as whole-cluster pressing, cool fermentations, secondary malolactic fermentations, and sur lie aging using French and Hungarian oak, he applies a light hand to ensure that the wines maintain their fresh purity. In practice this means limited barrel aging (only six to 10 months), minimal new oak (20 percent) and only infrequent stirring of the lees. This restrained approach results in appealing Chardonnays that balance bright, enticing elements with rich, round flavors.

Pinot Noir
Crafted using grapes from a handful of exceptional vineyards on the Napa side of Carneros and from Wildcat Mountain Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast, the wines in MacRostie’s Pinot Noir program focus on depth and harmony. “My goal,” says Kevin, “is to find that elusive balance point. In practice that means striving for a dark, extracted, rich, ripe style without sacrificing the essential elegance that defines great Pinot Noir.” Known for enticing aromatics and graceful flavors, MacRostie Pinot Noirs consistently display layers of black cherry and black raspberry fruit with enticing notes of cinnamon spice.

Pinot Noir Winemaking
In order to harvest at the ideal time, picking decisions are made by taste, not predetermined sugar levels, with ripeness (not over-ripeness) being the goal. The fruit is destemmed into open-top fermenters where it receives a long pre-fermentation cold soak (three to five days) to enhance color without increasing tannins. After the cold soak, a controlled warm fermentation is applied. In order to get excellent extraction while preserving the freshness and delicacy of the fruit, the fermentation is not allowed to go above 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Early on the wine receives numerous punchdowns, with a switch to the more gentle pumpover method near the end of fermentation, thereby reducing tannins. The barrel program is all French oak (roughly 30 percent new), and the wine is aged in barrel for only 10 months. This allows the wine to get the enriching elements of the oak without losing the more delicate fruit elements. To limit air exposure, a single gentle racking under inert gas is applied to Pinot Noir.

Merlot
Grapes for MacRostie Merlot come entirely from the Napa side of Carneros, with a Cabernet Sauvignon component from Napa Valley proper. The result is a wine that brings together the pure fruit elegance of Merlot with the structure and character derived from blending with a small amount of high quality Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine consistently offers rich blackberry jam flavors enlivened by soft, round tannins and spice and herb elements from the Cabernet.

Merlot Winemaking
At MacRostie, the winemaking techniques used for crafting Merlot are close to those used for making Pinot Noir, with a similar aim of achieving a rich, expressive wine that still honors its natural varietal character. The fruit is destemmed (with no crushing) into closed-top fermenters for a short cold soak. This is followed by a warm fermentation (maximum 90 degrees Fahrenheit) for approximately 10 days. To get dark color and richness without harsh tannins the wine receives pumpovers during fermentation. The wine is pressed gently—with no final hard press—before going into French and a small amount of American oak (which adds a hint of sweetness). Approximately 30 percent of the oak is new. The wine is usually racked three times, with the blend occurring at the first or second racking in order to give the wine ample time to integrate during a total of roughly 15 months of barrel aging.

Syrah
A totally unblended wine, the grapes for the Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Syrah come from one exceptional, four-acre block of MacRostie’s mountain vineyard on the Sonoma Coast. Because Wildcat possesses a distinctive microclimate, this Syrah captures the more Old World pepper, spice and herbal qualities common to cooler sites, while still displaying the dense, boysenberry jam character of Syrah from a warmer vineyard. A unique marriage of Rhône and California styles, the final wine is complex and charismatic.

Syrah Winemaking
A true single-site wine, Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Syrah is crafted to capture the essence of its unique terroir. To achieve this goal, the wine is fermented in open-top fermenters, and is allowed to ferment warmer, but spends less time in tank than Pinot prior to pressing. To achieve excellent extraction the wine is punched-down during fermentation. Next it is transferred to a mix of French and American oak. Because Syrah handles it quite well, approximately 40 percent of the oak is new, with a small amount being American. In addition, the wine is racked every six to eight weeks to ensure that it receives enough oxygen (the opposite of Pinot Noir, where a reductive environment is preferred). To maintain the wine’s fresh blueberry fruit notes, and to limit the overall oak influence, the wine is bottled after 10 months. Finally, it is allowed to continue aging for up to 18 months in bottle prior to release.