93 Points: Tom Capo Wine Enthusiast - April 2025

“This softly extracted Pinot sourced exclusively from the Swan clone delivers a floral nose with aromas of raspberries, tart strawberries, lilacs and roses. The palate is soft and acid driven, with waves of dusty Bing cherries, cola spice, san­dalwood and sage across the finish.”

94 Points: Rich Cook Wine Review Online - March 2025

“This so-called ‘heritage’ California clone has found a fine home in Petaluma Gap, with bright red fruit, pepper, toasty oak and brown spice. It’s lean and not too mean, with a bright texture and a long finish that shows a wine working toward integration. As with all things MacRostie, fear not – it will happen, and it will happen with style.”

93 Points: Clive Pursehouse Decanter - March 2025

“The Swan clone for this single clone bottling comes from Block 16 of the Nightwing Vineyard, at 1,200ft of elevation in Sonoma's Petaluma Gap AVA. Red fruited intensity on the aromas as tart red berries and salty ocean air pop against a backdrop of rose petals and dried mint. The palate is saline to its core. Bright and grippy wild blue fruits are highlighted with a dusty minerality and dried herb finish.”

The 2022 vintage was impacted by a third consecutive year of drought that resulted in a 10-30% reduction in yields. The growing season was temperate, which in grape growing means we were on track, or ahead of normal growth. Then we saw some heat spikes that prompted our first picks. 2022 was a year for vintage-to-vintage variation and differentiation between vineyards. Planted to respect the land’s natural topography and diverse soil types, Nightwing includes 24 blocks of Pinot Noir featuring 19 clones and six different rootstocks, with some blocks as small as 0.2 acres. To spotlight the profound differences between different block and clonal combinations, beginning in 2022 we created our Single Block, Single Clone Nightwing Pinot Noirs. This wine came exclusively from our 0.6-acre Block 16 Swan Clone planting, which yielded 1.85 tons per acre in 2022. It was harvested by hand at night on August 19th, at 26° Brix.

Nightwing Vineyard was planted in 2018 and is named after the indigenous nocturnal birds that keep a watchful eye on the land. The name is also a nod to the original guardian of the property, Vernon Morelli, a former WWII pilot who built a landing strip amid the vineyard. Located in the acclaimed Petaluma Gap AVA, Nightwing Vineyard is perched at 1,200 feet above sea level, where it basks in cool ocean winds and long, sunny days.

• composition:

  100% Pinot Noir

• alcohol: 14.4%
• cases made:

  48 cases

• bottling date: 08/09/2023
• aging:

  Aged 10 months in French oak, 100% once-filled

• fermentation:

  Gently desteemed into open-top fermenters; three day cold soak; cap management included pump-overs & punch-downs

The 2022 vintage was impacted by a third consecutive year of drought that resulted in a reduction in yields from 10-30%. The growing season was temperate, which in grape growing means we were on track, or ahead of normal growth. We harvested our Soberanes Vineyard grapes on September 13, 2022.

The name Soberanes (Sew-bear-on-es) has long historical roots in Monterey County. Josi Maria Soberanes came to California during the Portola Expedition; the first recorded overland exploration of present-day California by the Spanish. The 8,900 acres of land is still in the hands of a direct descendant. The Pisoni and Franscioni families planted the vineyard in 2008 and are the caring stewards of the land. The Soberanes Vineyard is tightly spaced and is located in the heart of the esteemed Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. The land is an eastward-facing alluvial terrace with gentle slopes to the valley floor.

• composition:

  100% Pinot Noir

• alcohol: 14.8%
• cases made:

  130 Cases

• bottling date: 08/01/2023
• aging:

  Aged 10 months in French oak, 20% new and 80% once-filled

• fermentation:

  Gently desteemed into open-top fermenters; three day cold soak; cap management included pump-overs & punch-downs

The 2022 vintage was impacted by a third consecutive year of drought that resulted in a reduction in yields from 10-30%. The growing season was temperate, keeping us on track or ahead of normal growth. Then we saw some heat spikes that prompted our first picks. We hand-harvested the grapes in the cool evening hours of September 8th, 2022.

Huichica Hills is a unique vineyard located in the Carneros AVA that is planted across both Sonoma and Napa Counties, with 140 acres on the Sonoma County side where our block is located. It is an expansive and extremely contoured vineyard. The cool winds from the Pacific Ocean sweep across the rolling hills of this vineyard, shaping the vibrant character of its wines.

• composition:

  100% Pinot Noir

• alcohol: 14.9
• cases made:

  646 Cases

• bottling date: 08/02/2023
• aging:

  Aged 10 months in French oak, 38% new

• fermentation:

  Gently desteemed into open-top fermenters; three day cold soak; cap management included pump-overs & punch-downs

91 Points: James Suckling JamesSuckling.com - October 24, 2024

“It's a nervy, red-fruited, tangy wine with mouthwatering acidity and vivid herbal accents. Distinctive pine, rosemary and sage aromas lead to red cherry, cranberry and black tea flavors. A light to medium body. Drink now or hold.”

The 2022 vintage was impacted by a third consecutive year of drought that resulted in a reduction in yields from 10-30%. The growing season was temperate, which in grape growing means we were on track, or ahead of normal growth. Then we saw some heat spikes that prompted our first picks. 2022 was a year for vintage-to-vintage variation and differentiation between vineyards. The grapes for this wine came from two prized blocks: Arrow Block and Saddle Block. Both were planted to Clone 667, in 2000 and 1998 respectively, and both were harvested on August 23rd, 2022.

The grapes for this Pinot Noir came exclusively from our Wildcat Mountain Vineyard, owned by Steve MacRostie and his partners Nancy and Tony Lilly. On Wildcat Mountain, 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.

• composition:

  100% Pinot Noir

• alcohol: 13.3%
• cases made:

  553 Cases

• bottling date: 07/31/2023
• aging:

  Aged 10 months in French oak, 33% new oak and 29% one-year-old

• fermentation:

  Gently desteemed into open-top fermenters; three day cold soak; cap management included pump-overs & punch-downs

91 Points: James Suckling jamessuckling.com - 5/23/17

"Fruity and straight-forward with sliced cherry, lemon and strawberry aromas and flavors. Medium body, fresh finish. Screw cap. Drink now."

90 Points: Wine Enthusiast

2014 had ideal temperatures and growing conditions. The fruit came in the door healthy, ripe and luscious. The fruit was hand harvested in the cool evening hours on September 24, 2014.

The grapes for this Pinot Noir came exclusively from a vineyard farmed by the renowned Dutton Family. The Dutton family has been growing grapes in Sonoma County — specifically the Russian River Valley — for generations. Their fruit is highly prized, as their meticulous farming has shown consistency and quality over the years. Manzana vineyard is located in Green Valley of Russian River Valley, a sub-appellation known for its even colder temperatures which gives wines deeper color and intense aromatics. The best barrels from this vineyard were used to assemble this wine. Each was specifically selected for showing ideal and unique traits for this wine.

• composition:

  100% Pinot Noir

• alcohol: 14.20%
• bottling date: 08/01/2015
• aging:

  Aged 12 months in French oak, 25% new

• fermentation:

  Gently desteemed into open-top fermenters; three day cold soak; cap management included pump-overs & punch-downs

93 Points: Lisa Perrotti-Brown Wine Advocate - June 2018

“The 2016 Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir is pale ruby-purple in color and scented of freshly crushed raspberries, wild strawberries and cranberries with hints of violets, fertile loam, underbrush and truffles. Medium-bodied with wonderful elegance and a beautiful quiet intensity, it has a solid frame of finely grained tannins and great freshness, finishing long.”

91 Points: Josh Greene Wine & Spirits - April 2019

“Meaty black-cherry flavors integrate with this wine’s smoky oak, the round, supple fruit winning out in the end. There’s an umami, ramen-broth character to the tannins, adding to the wine’s clean richness and nourishing feel. Steve MacRostie planted this vineyard in 1998, in the fog and wind of the Petaluma Gap.”

90 Points: Virginie Boone Wine Enthusiast - February 2019

“This is a soft, delicate and lightly styled red from the appellation, earthy and quietly rich in caramelized oak and baked cherry. It has a nice balance of nutmeg and cola on the finish.”

The 2016 vintage started out with an early bud break followed by a warm growing season. Just when we were about to start picking we had a cool spell in late August. This helped slow things down and spread out the harvest. The grapes for our Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir came from a few different blocks of Wildcat Mountain. Clone 667 from the Arrow and Saddle blocks made up the majority of the blend, with a small amount being Pommard Clone 5. All of these grapes were hand harvested in the cool early mornings on different days from September 9th through September 22nd, 2016.

The grapes for this Pinot Noir came exclusively from our Wildcat Mountain Vineyard, owned by Steve MacRostie and his partners Nancy and Tony Lilly. There, 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.

• composition:

  100% Pinot Noir

• alcohol: 14.10%
• bottling date: 08/17/2017
• aging:

  Aged 10 months in French oak

• fermentation:

  Gently desteemed into open-top fermenters; three day cold soak; cap management included pump-overs & punch-downs