2020 The Key

93 Points: Jim Gordon Wine Enthusiast - December 2022

“Fragrant and honeyed, this wine is balanced by acidity, providing a good back and forth between ripe peaches and crisp lemons. Vanilla, toast and ginger notes reveal as you sip, showing the nice shaping influence of new oak in the aging process of this wine.”

We pride ourselves on working with growers who know the land intimately. Vintage after vintage, the partnerships we have with our growers provide us with beautiful fruit. Among its key vineyards, this blend combines fruit from four of our most prized sources; Olivet Lane, the Martinelli family’s Woolsey Road, Mirabelle Vineyard, and Day Ranch in Anderson Valley. Each component is carefully selected by our winemaking team to create the harmonious symphony that is “The Key.”

We are now in our seventh year of crafting master blends of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. We named these wines The Loch and The Key, both as a nod to our founder Steve MacRostie’s Scottish heritage and to his early experiences as a cryptographer in Europe for the U.S. Army. Combining decades of winemaking mastery with our rich history, The Loch and The Key are consummate blends, artfully crafted from our best blocks and barrels of wine. “Our goal is simple, but not easy,” says Winemaker Heidi Bridenhagen. “We search our cellar for our most beautiful wines of the vintage—stirring wines that sing on the palate. Then we begin blending.” Like a secret code unlocked by our winemakers, The Key embodies everything that we know about making great Chardonnay.

• composition:

  100% Chardonnay

• alcohol: 14.1
• cases made:

  271

• bottling date: 03/16/2022
• aging:

  Aged sur-lie 10 months French oak: 42% new; 33% once-filled.

• fermentation:

  Whole cluster pressed then racked into French oak for primary and malolactic fermentation.