I first heard of "MacRostie Winery" and associated it with tartans and thistles. Kilts. Bagpipes and things.
Made me crave a wee dram, not a Chard. It's the rule of association. But rules are meant to be broken. And this wine shattered them.
Next thing I knew, I craved MacRostie Chardonnay whenever I saw a kilt.
Maybe it’s their frugal Celtic heritage that inspired the MacRosties to craft a wine that's as hauntingly memorable as a piper on a foggy moor and easy on the pocketbook as well. No spendthrifts, we Scots!
The Wine
Steve Macrostie hired Heidi Bridenhagen in 2011 when she was just 25 years old and the ink on her diploma was barely dry. After two short years under the previous MacRostie winemaker, Steve gave her the helm and they've never looked back. Under her stewardship, the wines have improved, the awards have flowed, and the traffic to the tasting room has exploded! (um, in the Before Times, that is)
The wine is a fine example of Sonoma Chardonnay in the contemporary style, with proponents of the wine on its own, with the first course, and all the way through the meal. What does that mean? The wine has enough natural crispness to refresh the palate at the table, and enough richness to stand on its own during the cocktail hour. Moderate alcohol (13.8%) and under 20% new oak, so the lumberyard characteristics are subliminal - with the oak vanilla and spice adding pleasant harmony without insisting on the spotlight.
