Introducing Wildcat Mountain Vineyard
The view from Wildcat Vineyard on a clear December day.
For those of you who have been reading this site you are already familiar with my drool-instinct when it comes to one Wildcat Mountain Vineyard. The vineyard is a result of a partnership between two iconic families of the Sonoma Carneros– Steve MacRostie and the Lilly family. In typical Carneros fashion though the merits of both are not as widely sung as they should be. Here is a little bio:
Steve started Macrostie Winery in 1987 and has turned it into THE source for excellent Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot, and now Syrah that is truly indicative of Carneros. There are not many better $20 Pinot Noir around then his basic Carneros bottling. All this experience also means that he knows the diversity of the Carneros like the back of his hand. He is an excellent winemaker in his own right, and he now also has the capable help of Kevin Holt as head winemaker.
Nancy and Tony Lilly are lovely folk. One may not be able to say that Berkeley’s beloved Chez Panisse would not exist without Nancy’s help, but it may not have become the looming California icon that it is without her. Nancy is also the sister of Sandy Donnell, who with her husband Justin Faggioli, owns a large amount of vineyard land in prime Carneros territory as well. Ravenswood made an excellent Donnell Merlot (the 1997 was particularly wonderful) in the years prior to the Constellation storm-trooping. Justin was vice-president of Ravenswood as well prior to the sale. All in all, one of those things which show what a small, tight-knit community Sonoma still is. For those of you familiar with the excellent Neyers El Novillero Chardonnay, you have tasted the fruits of Nancy and Tony’s efforts. Another vineyard, Tallgrass, finds its way into a number of excellent Carneros bottlings. Also, their son is starting Uncommon Brewers in Santa Cruz, which is definitely worth checking out– not your normal microbrew….
In 1998 Steve and the Lilly’s decided to develop a vineyard on a remote, exposed, patch of volcanic soil overlooking the San Pablo Bay. They decided to plant multiple clones of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and a small amount of clone 1 Syrah. The resulting vines, struggling from water deficit, fog, and wind, have struggled to gain a hold into the soil. Crop levels are obscenely low and the resulting wines are marvelously concentrated and balanced.
Map of Wildcat. Red is Pinot Noir, Yellow is Chardonnay, and Purple is Syrah.
I first had Macrostie Wildcat Syrah at an excellent little restaurant in Sonoma called Harvest Moon. The 2002 was being offered by the bottle and I was having a lamb dish so it seemed a natural combination. The wine was brilliant. It was black-purple in color and offered up savage, northern rhone like aromatics of game, funk, violets, and deep black fruits. It was Cornas come to California. What I appreciated though was that this was a wine that was powerful but appropriate with food and the same time. As much as I like some of the wines from houses like Pax, Novy, and Carlisle, I often find them hard to consume with food. This bottling had the requisite acidity, judicious use of oak (around 30%), and above all, fascinating aromatics that I loved in Syrah. What a thrill to make wine from this site I thought. It was 2005 however and my little winery was still a bit of a pip-dream.
That year, when I worked at Ravenswood, the then-assistant winemaker Jen Beloz and her husband, Alex, were able to make a small amount of Syrah from Wildcat. Alex, formerly an assistant at Macrostie, had talked Steve into giving him a small amount of fruit. In contrast to Steve they used a small amount of whole clusters and fermented in barrel. The resulting wine, just released a month ago is called Lavoro, and it is a testament to the uniqueness of the site and Jen and Alex’s excellent winemaking skills. I got to taste some of it as a barrel sample and was absolutely impressed.
Then, my father told me that he had won an auction lot at the Sonoma Valley Wine Auction which included six cases of a custom blend of 2006 Wildcat Mountain Pinot Noir. This allowed us to taste through the multiple clones of vinified juice and assemble a barrel of our own blend. Not only was it a testament to the difference in clones on a single site, it was also a excellent example of how unique Wildcat was as a site. It was here that I realized that Wildcat was not really a Carneros vineyard– the wines had much greater density and poise than many of the Pinot’s grown further inland and on slightly richer soils. There was none of the “weediness” that I associate with some wines. The same elements that I loved in the Syrah were apparent in the Pinot– it was so varietal, so rich, and so elegant.
Due to these combination of factors Wildcat Mountain Vineyard jumped to the top of my “dream-list” of vineyards. I contacted Steve and waited….
This week, while picking up the finished 2006 Pinot blend (which is excellent by the way, dominated by 667 with the balance being 115 and 777), Steve told me that he would be willing to sell me a small amount of Wildcat Syrah. Trying to look stead and business-like my insides were jumping around like a little kid at Christmas. WOOOOO-HOOOOOOO!!!
And that is how Wildcat Mountain Vineyard is the newest addition to the Bedrock Wine Company family.
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You’re currently reading “Introducing Wildcat Mountain Vineyard,” an entry on Bedrock Wine Co.
- Published:
- 12.23.07 / 1pm
- Category:
- The Process, The Vineyards
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