2020 Wildcat Mountain Magnum

Chardonnay
Sonoma Coast

1.5L BOTTLE

MEMBER PRICE

Sold Out

About this Wine

The grapes for this Chardonnay came exclusively from Wildcat Mountain Vineyard, owned by Steve MacRostie and his partners, Nancy and Tony Lilly. The 2020 Wildcat Mountain Chardonnay has an opulent golden straw color in the glass. There is a signature aroma of honey and the faintest of butterscotch that is the calling card of Wildcat Chardonnay.

1.5L Magnum

93 Points

“Prominent toasted-oak and butter aromas precede rich pastry-shop flavors in this full-bodied, full-bore wine. Poached pears, vanilla and hazelnuts register on the palate, while a creamy texture carries them into a lingering finish.”

Jim Gordon

Wine Enthusiast, December 2022

Tasting Notes

Accolades

Winemaking

Vintage

Vineyard

Tech. Notes

additional notes

Tasting Notes

The 2020 Wildcat Mountain Chardonnay has an opulent golden straw color in the glass. As you swirl your wine, aromas of honeysuckle and spring wildflowers waft. There is a signature aroma of honey and the faintest of butterscotch that is the calling card of Wildcat Chardonnay. As you sip the wine, it is crisp, and right before you think it will be tart the acid melds with a rich and textured palate. There is a juxtaposition of bright acid and viscosity that continues to the finish, which is lively, fruity, satiny, and long.

Accolades

93 Points: Jim Gordon Wine Enthusiast - December 2022

92 Points: MaryAnn Worobiec Wine Spectator - July 2022

“Intense and distinctive, with hints of tarragon and lemon verbena adding appealing aromatic details to the core of fresh Fuji apple, melon and dried pineapple. A note of white pepper minerality lingers on the finish. Drink now through 2032.”

Winemaking

The grapes went directly to press as whole clusters. The resulting juice was cold settled, racked off of its press lees, and moved directly to barrel for a cool fermentation. It was then aged in these same French oak barrels for 12 months, with 28% of the oak being new and 38% once used. The fermentation lees were stirred several times throughout the aging process. The wine went through a partial malolactic fermentation to preserve its natural acidity. The very best barrels were then selected for our Wildcat Mountain Chardonnay. The wine was bottled on November 18th, 2021.

Vintage

The season began with a warm winter with no frost issues and a mild spring that resulted in a nice, even fruit set. While the summer was quite warm, there were only a couple of short heat spikes, which ensured that the grapes were able to fully ripen while retaining the natural acidity we love. As a result, or Chardonnay crop was balanced and healthy, yielding wines with vibrant flavors and excellent depth and energy. Grapes were picked from two distinct blocks planted to two different clones: 95 and 76, on September 19th, 2020.

Vineyard

The grapes for this Chardonnay came exclusively from Wildcat Mountain Vineyard, owned by Steve MacRostie and his partners, Nancy and Tony Lilly. At Wildcat, 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, it yields wines of great distinction.

Technical Notes

composition:
100% Chardonnay
alcohol: 14.2%
bottling date: 11/18/2021
aging:
Aged 10 months in French oak, 28% new, 38% once used
fermentation:
Whole cluster pressed, cold settled, then racked to barrel for cool fermentation.

additional notes