2019 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Community Tasting Notes (24) Avg Score: 98.5 points

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  5/4/2024 - napajournal wrote: 98 Points

  The MacDonald wines come from a historic To-Kalon vineyard, which traces its roots back to George Yount's plantings in the 1800s. This 2019 bottle is a true testament to Oakville’s terroir and its sun-drenched vineyards, generously giving an epic sensory journey that included black and blue fruit, minerality, earthiness, espresso and graphite. Six hours of full air (and a steak pairing) did the job. Cheers! 🍷

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  4/25/2024 - csimm wrote: 100 Points

  I guess I’ll just have to keep giving this wine 100 points. I’ve had the privilege of tapping this wine a number of times now, and every time it just kills it. This time, its prowess was tested against some of the best-est bottles in Napa (blind, I might add). And wouldn’t you know it, the Mac was the group’s favorite. (And then a 2021 Mac popped up and that was my ultimate favorite of the favorite of the favorites). How many favorites can one have?! “And you get 100, and you get 100, and you….!” And to be honest, there were a few perfect wines in that 2019 blind lineup. It’s pretty awesome when all the wines you try blind simply rock. 2019 in Napa at the top level is really a stellar vintage.
  
  My initial notes on the 2019 Mac this time around read, “Wow…super yummy choclately chewy unctuousness; not hot or angular at all; alcohol in total check. Slightly sweet in entry, but perfectly poised. Modern and dark but not ‘over-modern’ nor heavy. Black fruit, mineral, soil, more fruit with air. A slight rusticity on the finish that quickly finds a glide with aeration.”
  
  I wonder what it’s like to be a bottle of MACDONALD, making appearances here and there at swanky parties, having everyone tell you that you are the best in the world and doting over every aspect of your presence and personality, being the topic of everyone’s conversation about why you are so super cool. Oh, to be a bottle of MACDONALD. The Emily Blunt of Napa Cabs.

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  4/14/2024 - MN Wine Junkie Likes this wine: 97 Points

  Champers and Napa Cabs Blind - Fun Times! (Chateau Simms): Prep: ~20 hours of slo-O.
  
  This was in a blind line up of some very prestigious 2019 Napa reds (and one 2016 thrown in), specifically:
  
  2019 MacDonald
  2019 Kinsman Eades La Voleuse Du Chagrin
  2019 Kinsman Eades Anjea Sleeping Lady Vineyard
  2019 Colgin Tychson Hill
  2019 Realm Absurd
  2019 Scarecrow
  2019 Harlan
  2019 Myriad Elysian
  2019 La Pelle Res
  2019 Magnificent 7
  2019 Cliff Lede Songbook
  2016 Colgin Tychson Hill
  
  2019 MacDonald - Let me say I usually stink at blind tastings, but this one was pretty easy to peg. The purity of the dark and red fruit really stood out, along with the silky tannins, the long decant allowed some earth notes, some tobacco, some forest floor and some cocoa. Not sure I understand all the 100 point scores because this undoubtedly will get even better. I score it 97 out of 98 (my benchmark). There were a lot of great wines, and three immediately stood out for me, this was one of them! The other 2 wines were the KE Anjea (shout out to Jennifer....you were right!) and the 2019 Harlan. I will also note the 2019 Scarecrow did not hit this note immediately, but I thought it got there (or at least close) with some additional air. MacDonald wines certainly deserve all the accolades they receive....this blind tasting sure drove that point home! Congrats to the MacDonald brothers...well done!

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  4/14/2024 - bsumoba Likes this wine: 100 Points

  18 hours of decant if I am not mistaken. Tons of fruit, super expressive. Long finish, great balance. Holy shit! In the lineup, it was a complete standout. I was a bit worried since this was wine number one in the blind and I was thinking to myself, wtf, this is wine number one…what is the rest of the tasting going to be like? Super sexy, like seeing a woman with a long slit down the side of her dress. Easy 100 pts.

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  4/14/2024 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 100 Points

  Eyes Wide Shut - Day 2 (A quiet place): Nose: Dark red currants, barely ripe black cherries, lightly spiced clean oak, and fragrant earth.
  
  Palate: Intense and brooding fruits but with surprising class and sophistication, no kinda sleaziness here. Lifted earthiness and dark minerals help keep the flavor profile proper and regal. Ridiculous amounts of oomf in this, really tasty. This shows solid restraint, only showing off if need be (don't need to at all, honestly).
  
  This was the first bottle of the blind, and as we began tasting, the silence was deafening. The murmuring that followed that silence continued to arouse my curiosity, as I'm sure it did the others. More excitement was built as talks of what this could possibly be was being discussed, and especially being this tasty as the first wine of the blind.
  
  The reveal seemed to came to no ones' surprise. This was that good. I couldn't be for certain that this was the MacDonald because I couldn't find the olive note. Didn't need it though, as this still killed it. Set the bar damn high for this blind.. might've screwed me as well.
  
  Double decanted for ~18 hours.

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