March 17, 2024 - Absolutely astonishing. A very generous friend shared this with me as a celebration. Decanted 6h in advance and showed best around 8-9h.
Aromas leap from the glass, red fruits (red currants and cherry) and new leather. Incredibly complex and layered palate. Dark red cherry, subtle tea, dusty earth, graphite, olive brine. The structure is a massive blanket of velvety tannins that is just barely poking out. Finish lasts longer than you'll wait to take another sip.
I've had a run of some really incredible wines lately, and this is very high on the list. So young, so complex, will probably be best in 15y and cruise until 2055 or so.
Very conservatively scoring this a 96 (could easily give 97 or 98), but there is upside here that must be respected and anticipated.
March 17, 2024 - An excellent showing - 2nd bottle that I have opened, and a confirmation that I need to let my others rest another 5 years before popping another one. Decanted for 6-7 hours and really started to show optimally toward the 8 hour mark. Still very structure driven - imagine a marching band packed into an elevator…so much potential and entropy waiting to be revealed over the coming decades. More red fruited than I was expecting - maraschino cherry, hint of raspberry, some herbal / underbrush notes, the hallmark graphite mineral core with an olive savoriness to round out the profile…such a wine of great depth. Rated based on how it showed today but probably +++ upside….based on a dinner last year, I think the 2014 is in a more optimal window for current consumption w/ 2016 having more upside.
December 31, 2023 - Sorry catching up on holiday wine consumption. I captured our ratings but not detailed notes. So no details - other than to say, I remember this being delicious and incredibly well rounded in the mouth and on the finish with the steaks for Christmas dinner. Decanted for 6 hours.
December 30, 2023 - Wanted to finish/start the year with a bang. Wow, did this deliver. Decanted for ~8 hours and it was open for business. Darkish fruit aromas, a smidge of underbrush, and is that oak? Hmm, not really, more of that elusive pencil shavings thingy people rave about (and honestly is pretty cool). Still has some grippy tannins (which I love) indicating a long future, but also delicious now. Beautiful balance; both red and blue fruits, long, silky, yet grippy mouthfeel. Awesome. Kept wanting you to go back for more, which, in my opinion, is the sign of a great wine. So refreshing from so many other cali cabs/wines that warrant their own OnlyFans account.
December 24, 2023 - Simply an amazing wine. Followed Alex's instructions, 8 hour double decant. Pure elegance in a glass. The fruit is incredible, the tannins perfectly integrated. Drinking beautifully now, but will wait at least another 5 years before opening our second bottle of this vintage. I will never get off this list!
October 6, 2023 - Always an occasion when trying this wine. A remarkable cab with dark berries and cast iron. Beautiful tannin. The fruits are bright and fresh. Oak is nicely integrated - didn’t notice it until I started looking for it. Beautiful and worth checking in every now and then as your will (and stash) permits.
June 2, 2023 - Harlan, Promontory, Colgin, MacDonald - BLIND: Speaking of proper service, having this wine a couple of weeks ago and having it again now just shows how important knowing (or attempting to target) a wine’s sweet spot in terms of air, temperature, storage, decanting, and really just overall presentation and logistical build-up can lead to the success (or unfortunate misstep) to a wine’s performance. This bottle had been double decanted for the entire day, which fully contributed to its incredible showing at this tasting. Slightly more red-fruited than the Harlan and Promontory initially, the MacDonald then turns to a darker profile relatively quickly. There is an alluring chewiness here, revealing an almost juicy and salivating crescendo of flavor – though less salacious than the Colgin served next to it. Leather, violets, and black cherry and raspberry round out the profile. Even with all of the acrobatics involved in trying to get this into tiptop shape this early in its evolution, this is a stacked wine in need of at least another 7+ years. I hope I can hold on to mine for that long before I screw it all up and am left without what is likely one of the best wines of the vintage. Try again in 2030 and prepare to have your scalp peeled off with amazement and wonder.
June 1, 2023 - 2016 Napa Cults Blind - and a few Champs and such for fun: On first pass, and during the blind portion of this tasting, this presents as somewhat reduced, with muted fruit; it shows as both rounder and drier on the finish (if that’s possible?). Shy red fruit and an angular execution signal an immediate need for a TON of air. Wood and spice are trying to be nice, but they battle with the fruit straining desperately to fisticuffs its way past the formidable frame. I felt like we caught this wine in the middle of a dream…You know, the one where you just start to fall asleep but then startle yourself awake because you think you are falling off of the bed. Yeah…that.
After the tinfoil is peeled off the label for the great reveal and the wine is given an opportunity to actually breathe real air, the classiness and beauty here begin to unfold. It stays pretty well locked and loaded, but it also kicks out those MacDonald hallmarks of undeniable focus and refinement. Olive and rock notes begin to play with the intensifying fruit, now darker in profile. I guessed this might be the Scarecrow and, of course, was wrong.
It's worth noting that I had another bottle of this 2016 MacDonald a couple of weeks later and it was absolutely singing. Granted, that second bottle had a whole day of double-decanting acrobatics to really get into gear. This first bottle (from the blind tasting) had only been given a few hours of air (my fault), which I fully believe attributed to its stubbornness on the first go-around. Punchline: Hold these 2016 MacDonalds. They will be long-haulers for sure, especially in an epic vintage like 2016. Oh, and also worth noting, interestingly enough, a 2019 MacDonald got popped right after the blind tasting and that 2019 was on fire from the word, “Go!” A phenomenal gushing guzzle monkey in a totally opposite mood from its 3-year-younger sibling. Isn’t it always the younger kid who is constantly tugging at dad’s jacket and wanting all the attention?!
I noticed that when I had this last year, it needed a couple DAYS to finally show me all the goods. So, if opening now, keep that in mind.
May 30, 2023 - Had this blind next to 18 Promontory, 18 Harlan and 18 Colgin. The only non-2018 of the bunch, and it had far more decant time (most of the day vs an hour or two).
This showed MUCH better than when I had it two weeks ago. I imagine this is owed to a proper decant (thanks Alex!). This was the most unique wine of the bunch. I always find MacDonald to have just a bit different profile than others from To Kalon, with a touch more cherry, spice and crushed dark flower on the nose. While I kept going back and forth between this and the Harlan to determine which was which, after more time it finally became clear. The palate is packed and stacked with enough goodness to rival the Harlan, with dark fruit complimented by significant savory elements. There is a bit more black olive here than in the others, and overall it highlights how wonderfully fresh, age worthy and complex a wine this vineyard can create. Ends with a massive finish. I probably don't need to tell anyone reading this to get it if you can.
May 17, 2023 - This was a 2016 vintage blind of: Abreu Thorevilos, Colgin IX, MacDonald, Scarecrow, Bond St. Eden, Eisele, Futo Oakville, Colgin Tychson and Vice Versa M7. Each wine had a decant of approximately five hours before the first sip, except for MacDonald, which had around three, and the Futo, which I believe was PnP. There were nine tasters, including CSIMM1161, wine proprietors and a prominent winemaker.
I’d really love to post notes on all these wines, but unfortunately time is scarce, and I don’t think I would be able to get to it anytime soon. I am sure CSIMM will post a ton on each, so that should fill the gap. Instead, I am going to give the broad strokes here.
The first thing to note is all these wines could have used more air, especially the MacDonald. We shorted it in the tasting, and I think there was an impact on how it showed. The other thing that could have impacted how the wines showed is bottle shock. Most of these bottles were packed onto an airplane a couple days prior. While I didn’t note any overtly off bottles, there is no doubt it could have played a role.
I know a lot of folks that hate blinds. It can really test your palate, and crowing a winner means the other great bottles must “lose”. If you haven’t done it before, it can also wear you down and things can blend, so it does take a methodology and consistency to do it well. That said, all these wines were spectacular.
While we didn’t have the group rank order them all, we did ask for a top 3. The consensus was 1. Magnificent 7 2. Futo and 3. Scarecrow. There were certainly others than received votes in the top 3, but overall, it was uniform across the group. Those top three were easily 99-100 pt wines, and the others were not far behind. A few comments on each (in no particular order outside the top 3):
1. Magnificent 7: almost universally the #1 wine in the tasting, this had all the elements of perfection. Suave and powerful, with super refined tannins, excellent purity, unreal depth, and a finish for days. Nothing harsh and pure class without any element out of balance.
2. Futo: super focused wine with precision, this wrapped power and grace into a regal package. Showed dark chocolate and powerful fruit intensity backed up by impressive levels of freshness and acidity. Simply outstanding.
3. Scarecrow: the most opulent, plush, and sexy wine of the bunch. While some of the other wines were trying to get all the pieces to fit together, this one was complete on every level. Beautifully integrated with supple tannins and wonderful energy and balance.
4. Colgin IX: the only mountain/hillside wine of the bunch. This wine really progressed over the course of the tasting to the point where it was gaining on the leaders. Lovely red soil profile with deep mineral driven flavors, the mid palate began expanding over time and produced a complex, powerful yet refined wine with fantastic length.
5. MacDonald: this was one of the wines that was a bit discombobulated, and I attribute that mostly to lack of decant time. It showed more spice and woodsy character than usual and was a little rough around the edges despite clearly having the class, pedigree, and overall intensity to be amongst the best wines in Napa.
6. Colgin Tychson: this had a soft, supple entry with opulent fruit and gorgeous floral notes. The mid palate stayed tight throughout, and it never really blossomed into what I am sure will be an epic wine. I love this bottling, and this is going to be spectacular with a bit more time.
7. Eisele: another wine here that needed more time to unfurl. This showed possibly the best complexity of the bunch, both on the nose and in the glass. It had all the hallmark savory character, but the fruit was wound up tight and there was a bit of oak obscuring things. I’ve had this when its blown my mind, just needs more air or more time.
8. Abreu Thorevilos: the most disappointing wine for me in this tasting. I was expecting it to vie for top honors and it couldn’t get out of its own way. It was super unresolved and reductive, with oak and tannin obscuring most everything. This is a fabulous vineyard and winemaker, so I am sure it will come around, and part of me wants to attribute this showing to bottle shock.
9. Bond St Eden: another wine that was within striking distance of the leaders. Rich, textured, beautiful and still grippy, it showed a ton of class with hallmark red earth notes and killer concentration and length.