I rarely decent..but this I opened an hour before drinking. Dark red. Dense. Does not give much on the nose, probably due to my impatience. Wild on the palate. Lots of dark berries, nice acidity, strong tannins. Balanced, but also very young - at 10 years! Sipping through the night and discovering further nuances. Next bottle in 10 years, and the last one in 2043 - this is for the long run!! Incredible!
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Needs a serous decant. Decanted 4 hours and more would not have hurt. A beautiful wine. Opens with perfume with blackberry, anise, violets and minerals. Full bodied, but not heavy or over ripe. Loaded with layers of flavor. Black and blue fruits, violets, anise, leather, earth. Grippy and chewy tannins, not harch, in a very long finish. Has years of life ahead of it.
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Powerful with many layers of dark fruit, earthy notes and an excellent finish. Yet, it felt restrained to a degree and should benefit from more years of cellaring. May have also benefitted from a longer decant - consumed at 2-3+ hours. An outstanding wine right now to be sure.
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MACDONALD Vertical Dinner (Saga): A lot bigger than the '11 served right before it. More tannins but they are very fine. Lots of the dark fruits. It starts to settle with some time in the glass, but there's a lot of power there. Good to check in, but needs a lot more time.
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Holy blackberry, Batman! I’ve had the privilege of tasting every MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon since its first commercial release in 2010 and the 2013s, 16s and 18s are absolute showstoppers. This 2013 is voluptuous and feels like your favorite winter scarf. It warmly wraps the tongue with a comforting texture. The powerful yet graceful wine provides the signature tastes of the MacDonald family’s cherished To-Kalon Creek area with violets, graphite, river rocks and ripe black and blue fruit. Serious energy and complexity with decades of excellent tasting experiences ahead. We drank this wine after 8 hours of air and it earned wine-of-the-night praises against an all-star line-up.
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Huge nose of purple fruit with a hint of green herbal notes. Purple and black fruit with a green herbal note and refined tannins. There is a judicious use of oak and it is already well integrated into the wine. Texturally fantastic, with enough acid to keep it relatively light on the palate despite it being super concentrated. Very well-made. 14.5%abv.
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Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Double decanted 6 hours before serving, followed over another 4 hours. Dark red/purple to rim. Intense nose of ripe dark fruits with a touch of alcoholic heat. Full bodied, ripe fruit. Not as dense or round or as deep and intense as the 2014 we drank last week, and it lacks the balance of that bottle, showing a touch of alcohol and oak. Perhaps it suffered in comparison to the perfectly balanced 2005 Screaming Eagle served with it. All 6 ranked this behind the Screagle and a pop-n-pour bottle of 2001 Ridge Monte Bello opened nearer the end of the evening. A glass put aside until the end of the evening did show better. I suspect this will be better integrated in 5-10 years. For now it warrants a very good-excellent.
Not notes as it was a big lineup only impressions more around the decanting then the high complexity this wine delivers in spades. 1 of 7 wines tasted with a very good diverse lineup of Cabernet, Grenache, Merlot and represented by Napa, Washington, Italy.
This is a monster! I have never personally decanted a wine this long and was a bit nervous as I have always always preferred for wines to open up in my glass (when time is not an issue) if I am unfamiliar with the vintage, winemaker or wine or (in this case the later) as I feel a tight wine’s structure will benefit (tannins soften) and perhaps the wine opens much more but at the same time you lose some fruit plus other primary components and many times can cause the acidity and tannins to become more pronounced instead of better integrated.
This wine needed it big time. It wasn’t until at least five hours in that it started to budge and shows it’s goods. The ‘18 we had a couple weeks prior I am sure went through a similar transition. We started drinking it at the 9 hour mark and finished the last sip around 12 hours. It has amazing purity with impeccable balance that allows you to effortlessly pick out the individual flavor components as it glides to a very long enjoyable finish. Blackberry, blueberry, dark raspberry with a mineral and clay component that seems to hit a symphony of pleasure. So well done! For me, as good as this is, I will go against the grain and state for my palate the 2018 is the winner by a nose.
MACDONALD vertical 2013-2016 (Bottega Saint Helena): 100 points ALL DAY LONG. You want a To Kalon that can stand the test of time, this dude right here is the one to put your money on. The most gorgeous monster ever, wrapped up in a tight, super grippy blackberry and black raspberry core. So much power and intensity without being edgy or abrasive. A super chewy mid-palate married perfectly with a sophisticated and focused frame. Likely one of the best wines I’ve had in my life…and it’s still evolving. Some chalkiness on the finish somehow lands just right so that it carries the stuffing without being overbearing. It’s such a push-pull delivery that it almost creates its own energy as it wakes up in the glass. This was decanted and placed back in the bottle for approximately 8 hours before consumption. Over the course of dinner, it really kept over-delivering as time went on. It’s a wine that can last decades… And a To Kalon of all things that can last decades. It shames some of the late-picked, over-ripened candy TKs I’ve had (and loved before). Ideally hold and be rewarded, or decant the ever-livin’ crap out of it and feel free to experiment with it now…assuming you have a ton of them to spare (said no one ever). 125 points.
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2013-2016 MacDonald Mini Vertical (Bottega, Yountville): Gave this around 8 hours of air, including a decant, and it still required more. Definitely take Alex's suggestion with a 12+ hour double decant. As this spent time in the glass over the course of about a 4 hour dinner, it kept unfurling and chugging towards perfection like a locomotive. Slightly perfumed nose, with blackberries, licorice, violets and stark mineral driven notes. While the refined tannins are massive and chewy, this wine shows tremendous energy on the palate. It's seriously concentrated, but not at all heavy, with seamless freshness and huge structure. Acid is significant and this certainly is not your typical cult fruit bomb from To Kalon. Instead it is laser focused and precise, with layers for days. It is taut, balanced, profound, super long and utterly impeccable, with the best yet to come in the years ahead. This is one of the few wines I think could literally be a 50 year wine, and still needs at least 5-7 to really be hitting its stride. If you've got these, consider yourself lucky and tuck them away in the cellar for a while.
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The 2013 bottle received a 12 hour full decant. This vintage was 227 cases including all three ages of their vines. The nose was immense with blue/black fruit, violets, graphite, again, similar to the last 3 vintages. The palate was almost perfection. Broad, polished, balanced, silky with an energy that just took this over the top. Spectacular! 99 points
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Dallas CTers visit NYC offline: So excited to try my first MACDONALD! Decanted for about 10 hours prior to tasting. Nose of black berries. On the palate the fruit profile is dark and there are grippy tannins still in play and a refreshing acidity. Notes of tobacco leaf, cedar and earth are lurking beneath the surface but this will need time to come around and show all of its stuff. Great materials but hold these for 10 years or more - they should age beautifullly.
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Decided to open a bottle for bman who was visiting NYC and has not tried a Macdonald cab. Decanted the day before and then poured back into the bottle after a few hours. Aromatic with ripe black and blue fruits but tight and tannic on the palate. There is nothing out of whack here. There is plenty of acidity to keep the ripe fruit and oak in check. There is concentration yet it doesn't weigh down your palate. Needless to say, it is my favorite Napa cab.
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Some sweet oak on the nose, then deep, sweet, rich fruit, good acidity, nice medium structure. Very young, would like to come back to this in 10-15 years.
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Had this at dinner. No formal notes. This is a terrific wine, that after 8 hours in the decanter became somewhat approachable. I would not try to PnP this wine.
A bit more of a restrained style than some of the more modern cabernets, but it is nonetheless very powerful. Deep, dark purple in the glass. Lots of berries, plums, violets and bit of citrus on the nose. This is very taught, structured and yet massively concentrated. Lots of energy, freshness and lift coming from crisp acidity. The tannins are very fine but still super strong. Outrageously long and satisfying finish.
A bit more austere than the 12 Realm Dr Crane drank next to it and definitely of a similar quality. The purity of fruit here is notable. Great wine.
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This is quite a good Cabernet, more in my style than some of the super famous wines. Deep purple in color, with a strikingly pure nose of plum torte, violets, wet stones, then just hints of orange peel and cinnamon stick. The wine has a lifted, lively palate, again showcasing ripe (not overripe) red plums framed by crisp acidity and polished tannins. This is drinking well now, but will benefit from time in the cellar... I would expect the acidity to relax fairly quickly, while the fruit remains fresh and pure... the wine should hit its plateau of maturity by age 12-15. My score will surely rise as the wine opens up (I tend to score based on the actual performance from the bottle, not my projections for the future). Don’t hesitate to try it, if you have a few.
Extra remark added a day later: When first opened, the wine was immediately enjoyable. After 24 hours "slow ox" (in my winekeeper, which is NO2 but has some air get in too), it was actually somewhat harder to drink: the acidity was more evident. On the other hand, the texture became quite velvety, as if the wine gained density with time open. I would NOT decant this wine, no matter what others say: it seems that it closes down with too much air, right now. Maybe in five years that will change, but today, pop and pour.
This will merit 98-99pts at peak.
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~20 hr slow ox. Should have caught this when I popped the bottle, but there was definite TCA present, not overwhelmingly so but enough to spoil the experience. Day 1 to day 2 it did open up and flesh out, so I would definitely recommend a good decant or slow ox if you open soon. Hopefully I will get the full experience with the next bottle.
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This is really to early to rate. This was taken to a dinner with 13 other very highly rated Napa cabs. Day 1 6 + hr decant...just a wall of tannin and acid seemed almost undrinkable. Day 2 after being re-corked and left on the counter, a quarter bottle left and this wine was beautiful! Delicious pure dark Cabernet fruit coming through in waves, still strong tannic grip and good acid but the beautiful fruit and earthy mineral is the star. I am now looking forward to the future releases.
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Pure Napa heaven on the nose, not a hair out of place, and seems to reach higher than I would've thought possible. As the nose indicated, there is a resounding freshness and purity to the fruit, good concentration and well integrated oak. Tier 1 Napa Cabernet.
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First Mac since the disappointing 10. First sip, my teeth feel like fingernails on a chalk board. The most astringent wine in memory, more like hard as nails Italian than a Cab. A four hour decant is recommended, make it 24. Hate to be negative, but why not. My first Mac, the 2010, total fruit bomb. This one, attack of the tannin monster. If you own any, wall them up for some future Indiana Jones to unearth, years from now.
Decanted for 5 hours and consumed over the next two. Lots of blue and red fruit on the nose, along with licorice and spice box. This is a strikingly complex, balanced and pure wine. If Schrader and Forman got together and had a baby, it would be this wine. It is deep and long with outstanding freshness from acidity that will no doubt carry it over the long term. Opening this now is infanticide, but it was well worth it. It kept getting better and better with more air, eventually rounding out some and showing hints of what is to come with more time in the cellar. On this same day we had '13 Fairchild Stones #1 (RP 100) and '14 Bevan Wildfoote (RP 99) and this bested them both. This is tremendous.
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This is a special wine. Dark with earthy/mineral and floral notes. Beautifully rounded mouthfeel and silky tannins. Wonderful finish that just seemed to linger and linger. Can't wait to see how this matures down the road.
Tasted this with Alex at To Kalon. First time meeting him, a real class act. So accommodating and informative. Also first time with this wine and I completely understand why so many love it. Dark as night in the glass, this wine is incredibly concentrated and just oozes blue and black fruit. I love that this is made in a style that you can clearly age a long time. Very well balanced and structured, managing to somewhat restrain the absolute monster within. Mouthfeel is excellent and tannin management is superb. The quality and purity of the fruit shine through. This is a phenomenal effort. Can't wait to try it in 5-10 years.
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Napa Visit 2016; 7/10/2016-7/13/2016: 2013 Cabernet-This is a beast, a monster in slumber, waiting its time to awake in the future. Dark and viscous without being thick. Powerful, edgy black fruit and mineral notes, predominately iron. The tannins are still thick and drying, but oh the potential! 94 points for now, has perfection in its sights within 7-10 years and could age 20 more years. Please let this rest to gain the full throttle of what this is capable of.
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Half bottle sample from the winery, decanted for 5 hrs prior to drinking. Massive in the mouth, structured with great depth from the old vine, long finish, it is enormous but very balanced, definitely age worthy. While it wasn't as interestingly presented on the palate as Harlan 2012, this wine has serious quality to be considered along the best from Napa. Very promising.
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pickup with Alex and Graeme...from half Bottle. Very Primaryand closed but you can see the depth and the last sip was the best. probably going to hit the 100 mark. Beautiful
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Graeme MacDonald's 2013 may be the best wine I've tasted from him so far, combing the merits of the 2011 with those of the 2012. Aromatically this is unsurprisingly quite primary, with a very lifted bouquet of black cherry and details of rich soil and bitter chocolate. On the palate the wine is very large scaled but incredibly focused, with bright acids and a monumental, layered core of fine but firm and savory tannins that give the wine a sense of structural completeness. This is notably more precise than the 2012, and has already married with its cooperage very impressively.
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Megamoon Part I: Napa; 10/13/2015-10/16/2015 (Napa Valley California): Our first experience with MacDonald wines and it didn't disappoint (although of course it's much too young). It is really nice to see some Napa cab folks making wines that are meant for aging and that's clearly the play here. The wine was opened and decanted about five hours before we drank it and it was still a monster - intense dark fruit, some floral notes, a slate midpalette, some dark chocolate. In my notes I have this needs a ton of time, but it could be epic.
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8/25/2023 - Neras Likes this wine: 98 Points
I rarely decent..but this I opened an hour before drinking. Dark red. Dense. Does not give much on the nose, probably due to my impatience. Wild on the palate. Lots of dark berries, nice acidity, strong tannins. Balanced, but also very young - at 10 years! Sipping through the night and discovering further nuances. Next bottle in 10 years, and the last one in 2043 - this is for the long run!! Incredible!
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8/9/2023 - gharter Likes this wine: 99 Points
Needs a serous decant. Decanted 4 hours and more would not have hurt. A beautiful wine. Opens with perfume with blackberry, anise, violets and minerals. Full bodied, but not heavy or over ripe. Loaded with layers of flavor. Black and blue fruits, violets, anise, leather, earth. Grippy and chewy tannins, not harch, in a very long finish. Has years of life ahead of it.
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12/31/2021 - PJHaveron Likes this wine: 94 Points
Powerful with many layers of dark fruit, earthy notes and an excellent finish. Yet, it felt restrained to a degree and should benefit from more years of cellaring. May have also benefitted from a longer decant - consumed at 2-3+ hours. An outstanding wine right now to be sure.
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10/20/2021 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
MACDONALD Vertical Dinner (Saga): A lot bigger than the '11 served right before it. More tannins but they are very fine. Lots of the dark fruits. It starts to settle with some time in the glass, but there's a lot of power there. Good to check in, but needs a lot more time.
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10/17/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine: 100 Points
Holy blackberry, Batman! I’ve had the privilege of tasting every MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon since its first commercial release in 2010 and the 2013s, 16s and 18s are absolute showstoppers. This 2013 is voluptuous and feels like your favorite winter scarf. It warmly wraps the tongue with a comforting texture. The powerful yet graceful wine provides the signature tastes of the MacDonald family’s cherished To-Kalon Creek area with violets, graphite, river rocks and ripe black and blue fruit. Serious energy and complexity with decades of excellent tasting experiences ahead. We drank this wine after 8 hours of air and it earned wine-of-the-night praises against an all-star line-up.
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10/12/2021 - Yagil wrote: 97 Points
Ca. CS (Mu & Mu restaurant, Rehovot): outstanding, rich, complex, hedonistic - still young and requires further aging
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8/21/2021 - brianngibson wrote: 98 Points
Quite tannic even at hour 4-5 of the decant. But really opened up around 6-7 hours. Beautifully perfumed and full bodied.
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8/7/2021 - CMN wrote:
Huge nose of purple fruit with a hint of green herbal notes. Purple and black fruit with a green herbal note and refined tannins. There is a judicious use of oak and it is already well integrated into the wine. Texturally fantastic, with enough acid to keep it relatively light on the palate despite it being super concentrated. Very well-made. 14.5%abv.
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6/26/2021 - dbg wrote:
Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Double decanted 6 hours before serving, followed over another 4 hours. Dark red/purple to rim. Intense nose of ripe dark fruits with a touch of alcoholic heat. Full bodied, ripe fruit. Not as dense or round or as deep and intense as the 2014 we drank last week, and it lacks the balance of that bottle, showing a touch of alcohol and oak. Perhaps it suffered in comparison to the perfectly balanced 2005 Screaming Eagle served with it. All 6 ranked this behind the Screagle and a pop-n-pour bottle of 2001 Ridge Monte Bello opened nearer the end of the evening. A glass put aside until the end of the evening did show better. I suspect this will be better integrated in 5-10 years. For now it warrants a very good-excellent.
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4/22/2021 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 96 Points
Not notes as it was a big lineup only impressions more around the decanting then the high complexity this wine delivers in spades. 1 of 7 wines tasted with a very good diverse lineup of Cabernet, Grenache, Merlot and represented by Napa, Washington, Italy.
This is a monster! I have never personally decanted a wine this long and was a bit nervous as I have always always preferred for wines to open up in my glass (when time is not an issue) if I am unfamiliar with the vintage, winemaker or wine or (in this case the later) as I feel a tight wine’s structure will benefit (tannins soften) and perhaps the wine opens much more but at the same time you lose some fruit plus other primary components and many times can cause the acidity and tannins to become more pronounced instead of better integrated.
This wine needed it big time. It wasn’t until at least five hours in that it started to budge and shows it’s goods. The ‘18 we had a couple weeks prior I am sure went through a similar transition. We started drinking it at the 9 hour mark and finished the last sip around 12 hours. It has amazing purity with impeccable balance that allows you to effortlessly pick out the individual flavor components as it glides to a very long enjoyable finish. Blackberry, blueberry, dark raspberry with a mineral and clay component that seems to hit a symphony of pleasure. So well done! For me, as good as this is, I will go against the grain and state for my palate the 2018 is the winner by a nose.
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12/7/2019 - csimm wrote: 100 Points
MACDONALD vertical 2013-2016 (Bottega Saint Helena): 100 points ALL DAY LONG. You want a To Kalon that can stand the test of time, this dude right here is the one to put your money on. The most gorgeous monster ever, wrapped up in a tight, super grippy blackberry and black raspberry core. So much power and intensity without being edgy or abrasive. A super chewy mid-palate married perfectly with a sophisticated and focused frame. Likely one of the best wines I’ve had in my life…and it’s still evolving. Some chalkiness on the finish somehow lands just right so that it carries the stuffing without being overbearing. It’s such a push-pull delivery that it almost creates its own energy as it wakes up in the glass. This was decanted and placed back in the bottle for approximately 8 hours before consumption. Over the course of dinner, it really kept over-delivering as time went on. It’s a wine that can last decades… And a To Kalon of all things that can last decades. It shames some of the late-picked, over-ripened candy TKs I’ve had (and loved before). Ideally hold and be rewarded, or decant the ever-livin’ crap out of it and feel free to experiment with it now…assuming you have a ton of them to spare (said no one ever). 125 points.
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11/22/2019 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 100 Points
2013-2016 MacDonald Mini Vertical (Bottega, Yountville): Gave this around 8 hours of air, including a decant, and it still required more. Definitely take Alex's suggestion with a 12+ hour double decant. As this spent time in the glass over the course of about a 4 hour dinner, it kept unfurling and chugging towards perfection like a locomotive. Slightly perfumed nose, with blackberries, licorice, violets and stark mineral driven notes. While the refined tannins are massive and chewy, this wine shows tremendous energy on the palate. It's seriously concentrated, but not at all heavy, with seamless freshness and huge structure. Acid is significant and this certainly is not your typical cult fruit bomb from To Kalon. Instead it is laser focused and precise, with layers for days. It is taut, balanced, profound, super long and utterly impeccable, with the best yet to come in the years ahead. This is one of the few wines I think could literally be a 50 year wine, and still needs at least 5-7 to really be hitting its stride. If you've got these, consider yourself lucky and tuck them away in the cellar for a while.
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6/13/2019 - Lateva wrote: 99 Points
The 2013 bottle received a 12 hour full decant. This vintage was 227 cases including all three ages of their vines. The nose was immense with blue/black fruit, violets, graphite, again, similar to the last 3 vintages. The palate was almost perfection. Broad, polished, balanced, silky with an energy that just took this over the top. Spectacular! 99 points
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5/4/2019 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine:
Dallas CTers visit NYC offline: So excited to try my first MACDONALD! Decanted for about 10 hours prior to tasting. Nose of black berries. On the palate the fruit profile is dark and there are grippy tannins still in play and a refreshing acidity. Notes of tobacco leaf, cedar and earth are lurking beneath the surface but this will need time to come around and show all of its stuff. Great materials but hold these for 10 years or more - they should age beautifullly.
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2/24/2019 - DoubleD1969 Likes this wine:
Decided to open a bottle for bman who was visiting NYC and has not tried a Macdonald cab. Decanted the day before and then poured back into the bottle after a few hours. Aromatic with ripe black and blue fruits but tight and tannic on the palate. There is nothing out of whack here. There is plenty of acidity to keep the ripe fruit and oak in check. There is concentration yet it doesn't weigh down your palate. Needless to say, it is my favorite Napa cab.
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6/14/2018 - alanr wrote: 93 Points
Some sweet oak on the nose, then deep, sweet, rich fruit, good acidity, nice medium structure. Very young, would like to come back to this in 10-15 years.
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6/8/2018 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Had this at dinner. No formal notes. This is a terrific wine, that after 8 hours in the decanter became somewhat approachable. I would not try to PnP this wine.
A bit more of a restrained style than some of the more modern cabernets, but it is nonetheless very powerful. Deep, dark purple in the glass. Lots of berries, plums, violets and bit of citrus on the nose. This is very taught, structured and yet massively concentrated. Lots of energy, freshness and lift coming from crisp acidity. The tannins are very fine but still super strong. Outrageously long and satisfying finish.
A bit more austere than the 12 Realm Dr Crane drank next to it and definitely of a similar quality. The purity of fruit here is notable. Great wine.
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10/21/2017 - KPB Likes this wine: 96 Points
This is quite a good Cabernet, more in my style than some of the super famous wines. Deep purple in color, with a strikingly pure nose of plum torte, violets, wet stones, then just hints of orange peel and cinnamon stick. The wine has a lifted, lively palate, again showcasing ripe (not overripe) red plums framed by crisp acidity and polished tannins. This is drinking well now, but will benefit from time in the cellar... I would expect the acidity to relax fairly quickly, while the fruit remains fresh and pure... the wine should hit its plateau of maturity by age 12-15. My score will surely rise as the wine opens up (I tend to score based on the actual performance from the bottle, not my projections for the future). Don’t hesitate to try it, if you have a few.
Extra remark added a day later: When first opened, the wine was immediately enjoyable. After 24 hours "slow ox" (in my winekeeper, which is NO2 but has some air get in too), it was actually somewhat harder to drink: the acidity was more evident. On the other hand, the texture became quite velvety, as if the wine gained density with time open. I would NOT decant this wine, no matter what others say: it seems that it closes down with too much air, right now. Maybe in five years that will change, but today, pop and pour.
This will merit 98-99pts at peak.
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10/19/2017 - Vinophiliac559 wrote: flawed
~20 hr slow ox. Should have caught this when I popped the bottle, but there was definite TCA present, not overwhelmingly so but enough to spoil the experience. Day 1 to day 2 it did open up and flesh out, so I would definitely recommend a good decant or slow ox if you open soon. Hopefully I will get the full experience with the next bottle.
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7/10/2017 - scott w Likes this wine:
This is really to early to rate. This was taken to a dinner with 13 other very highly rated Napa cabs. Day 1 6 + hr decant...just a wall of tannin and acid seemed almost undrinkable. Day 2 after being re-corked and left on the counter, a quarter bottle left and this wine was beautiful! Delicious pure dark Cabernet fruit coming through in waves, still strong tannic grip and good acid but the beautiful fruit and earthy mineral is the star. I am now looking forward to the future releases.
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5/29/2017 - Robert Pavlovich Likes this wine:
Pure Napa heaven on the nose, not a hair out of place, and seems to reach higher than I would've thought possible. As the nose indicated, there is a resounding freshness and purity to the fruit, good concentration and well integrated oak. Tier 1 Napa Cabernet.
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12/11/2016 - shadow wrote: 88 Points
First Mac since the disappointing 10.
First sip, my teeth feel like fingernails on a chalk board.
The most astringent wine in memory, more like hard as nails Italian than a Cab.
A four hour decant is recommended, make it 24.
Hate to be negative, but why not.
My first Mac, the 2010, total fruit bomb.
This one, attack of the tannin monster.
If you own any, wall them up for some future Indiana Jones to unearth, years from now.
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12/4/2016 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Decanted for 5 hours and consumed over the next two. Lots of blue and red fruit on the nose, along with licorice and spice box. This is a strikingly complex, balanced and pure wine. If Schrader and Forman got together and had a baby, it would be this wine. It is deep and long with outstanding freshness from acidity that will no doubt carry it over the long term. Opening this now is infanticide, but it was well worth it. It kept getting better and better with more air, eventually rounding out some and showing hints of what is to come with more time in the cellar. On this same day we had '13 Fairchild Stones #1 (RP 100) and '14 Bevan Wildfoote (RP 99) and this bested them both. This is tremendous.
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11/5/2016 - spkaiser194 Likes this wine: 97 Points
This is a special wine. Dark with earthy/mineral and floral notes. Beautifully rounded mouthfeel and silky tannins. Wonderful finish that just seemed to linger and linger. Can't wait to see how this matures down the road.
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7/24/2016 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Tasted this with Alex at To Kalon. First time meeting him, a real class act. So accommodating and informative. Also first time with this wine and I completely understand why so many love it. Dark as night in the glass, this wine is incredibly concentrated and just oozes blue and black fruit. I love that this is made in a style that you can clearly age a long time. Very well balanced and structured, managing to somewhat restrain the absolute monster within. Mouthfeel is excellent and tannin management is superb. The quality and purity of the fruit shine through. This is a phenomenal effort. Can't wait to try it in 5-10 years.
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7/12/2016 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 94 Points
Napa Visit 2016; 7/10/2016-7/13/2016: 2013 Cabernet-This is a beast, a monster in slumber, waiting its time to awake in the future. Dark and viscous without being thick. Powerful, edgy black fruit and mineral notes, predominately iron. The tannins are still thick and drying, but oh the potential! 94 points for now, has perfection in its sights within 7-10 years and could age 20 more years. Please let this rest to gain the full throttle of what this is capable of.
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7/8/2016 - bacchuszuo Likes this wine: 95 Points
Half bottle sample from the winery, decanted for 5 hrs prior to drinking. Massive in the mouth, structured with great depth from the old vine, long finish, it is enormous but very balanced, definitely age worthy. While it wasn't as interestingly presented on the palate as Harlan 2012, this wine has serious quality to be considered along the best from Napa. Very promising.
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2/18/2016 - JoeDwine wrote: 98 Points
pickup with Alex and Graeme...from half Bottle. Very Primaryand closed but you can see the depth and the last sip was the best. probably going to hit the 100 mark. Beautiful
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12/6/2015 - William Kelley Likes this wine:
Graeme MacDonald's 2013 may be the best wine I've tasted from him so far, combing the merits of the 2011 with those of the 2012. Aromatically this is unsurprisingly quite primary, with a very lifted bouquet of black cherry and details of rich soil and bitter chocolate. On the palate the wine is very large scaled but incredibly focused, with bright acids and a monumental, layered core of fine but firm and savory tannins that give the wine a sense of structural completeness. This is notably more precise than the 2012, and has already married with its cooperage very impressively.
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10/13/2015 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Megamoon Part I: Napa; 10/13/2015-10/16/2015 (Napa Valley California): Our first experience with MacDonald wines and it didn't disappoint (although of course it's much too young). It is really nice to see some Napa cab folks making wines that are meant for aging and that's clearly the play here. The wine was opened and decanted about five hours before we drank it and it was still a monster - intense dark fruit, some floral notes, a slate midpalette, some dark chocolate. In my notes I have this needs a ton of time, but it could be epic.
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