2016 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Community Tasting Notes (46) Avg Score: 97.9 points

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  3/17/2024 - Rbhan12 Likes this wine: 96 Points

  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.

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  3/17/2024 - J_Smallwood Likes this wine: 95 Points

  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.

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  12/31/2023 - haldolugr wrote: 96 Points

  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.

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  12/30/2023 - njustl Likes this wine: 97 Points

  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.

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  12/24/2023 - RJWallis Likes this wine: 99 Points

  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!

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