Macdonald, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville

Initially pop and pour but ended up decanting the bottle. I tasted it about 2 hours later. Color was as expected - youthful appearance probably hadn’t changed much from release. But the nose seemed very close and tight, and the palate was a wall of tannin. Bury these bottles at the back of your cellar. I don’t know what people are drinking.

2016 vintage

This was my first taste of the 2016 and it was great way to kick off the new year. I don't think there is anything more I can say that has not already been said by the previous 55 notes.

2016 vintage

Beautiful stony brilliance.

2016 vintage

Perfumed, expressive, powerful. Friend brought over for our annual gathering. We decanted for 3 hours after it was double decanted the night before and it was opened for business.

2016 vintage

Drinking well at PnP. Very surprising as the tannins were mild and faded with only a few minutes in the glass. At one hour it became a bit flat. Over the next 4 hours, it opened into a wonderful balance of fruit, acid and tannin. Very different experience from the 2015 opened last year. That took a day to open up!

2016 vintage

2025 Macdonald Vertical (Proxi Restaurant) : Double decanted 6 hours. Once again wow. this is why we do this. This and the 13 are really flawless at this point. the wine is so well integrated it reminds me of Allen Meadows calling wines spherical or zen like. The 16 has great fruit that goes on and on. Tannins are hardly noticeable. I would've no issue with popping these now but please make sure you decant so you get the full …

2016 vintage

MacDonald vertical (Chicago, IL) : My favourite of the evening. Kind of has a juicy, Swedish berry quality to the fruit here. It's so incredibly perfumed and expressive, but with a lovely freshness to the fruit as well. Silky tannins that are nowhere as prominent as the 2015. For my palate, this comes across like a more refined, fuller 2014, in that the fruit profile leans red, but in this case, riper. Crystalline purity to that fruit, too. Brilliant.

2016 vintage

Tasted at a wine dinner with two verticals of MacDonald, so I do not have detailed notes, but this was exquisite; a standout among standouts. Minty hit. Beautiful.

2016 vintage

MACDONALD vertical 2012-2016 + 2020 & 2022 : Full and flowing, the 2016 MacDonald cascades with flavor and intensity. Black and redder-black fruits dominate, with less black olive ruling the roost this go-around. Soil and spice accompany the otherwise fruit-strong profile. Finishes rounder and a little broader than the chiseled 2015 and the super-hyper-chiseled 2013 (THAT wine OWNS!). The 2016’s mid-palate is beautiful, contouring the delivery with both power and voluptuousness. Continue to hold, as these show the potential to …

2016 vintage

MACDONALD vertical 2012-2016 + 2020 & 2022 : Whaaaaat?! If this was blind (and in retrospect I wish it would have been just to put a double period of confidence on the end of this sentence), I would’ve called this out as not just a stronger vintage of MacDonald, but as a STRONG vintage of MacDonald. This 2020 MacDonald is super rich and texturally chewy, with deep black and black-purple fruit. I mean, this is exceptionally, crazy good. It is …

2020 vintage

Wonderful wine with Thanksgiving steak tacos. Decanted all day (8+ hours). Darkness and depth and texture and just so balanced.

2016 vintage

Same bottle as Nutty08. I think he’s holding out a little on the score. I tasted this after being decanted almost 24h (from a nearly full bottle). And what a generous pull it was. The sense of compact berries is really present here, boysenberry and blackberry, blackcurrant and pencil lead, it has such wonderful concentration and sunny charm, and not a hint of smoke at the moment. Thanks for opening such a rare bird!

2020 vintage

Needs air for sure. This had a 2hr decant. Pretty rough and angular initially. Dark almost opaque with purple rim. Later has a wonderful nose of black currants and coconut. Palate really explodes with layers of berries, mostly blacks and blues. Rather austere and tanninc on the finish—bordering on over drying— but man that finish is long and complex. Despite the scale and concentration doesn’t seem heavy at all. But it’s rather brutish and lacking harmony at the moment. Wow, …

2020 vintage

Decanted 4 hours and it needs it. Don't be afraid to decant longer. Beautiful aromas of black fruit, cassis, leather, earth, black olive, spice, black cherry, pencil lead and tobacco. Layers of flavor. black fruit, cassis, anise, leather, earth, tobacco, spice, graphite. Medium body and medium tannins in a long finish. Plan to wait another 3-5 years to open the next bottle.

2016 vintage

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 …

2016 vintage

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 …

2016 vintage

My contribution to the CDV713 MacDonald tasting. With 11-21 being shown this was one of the gaps to be filled when building the lineup. Hefty tannins but no acrid ashy taste that I've experienced with other 2020 wines. I'm glad that Alex and Graeme decided to release this wine after explore the almost full vertical. A majority of the group complimented 11, 13, 14 & 21 as being the more ready wines right now. I'm in the camp that these …

2020 vintage

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.

2016 vintage

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. …

2016 vintage

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!

2016 vintage

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.

2016 vintage

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 …

2016 vintage

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 …

2016 vintage

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 …

2016 vintage

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, …

2016 vintage

A few days in Napa with fellow CT'r Cristal2000 : (If you want the punchline, skip all the drivel and just go to the last sentence at the bottom of this lingual mess I’ve created here). Sure, you can talk about 2020 until you’re blue in the face. You can pick it apart and bust out your 2020 calendar (which of course I had handy in my jacket pocket) and go day by day leading up to the fires, asking …

2020 vintage

Macdonald is here to slay the 2020 dragon, and amazingly they pulled it off. Using only old vines, which are less compromised by smoke, they produced 150 cases. That means most list members will get a bottle or two in their allocation. As we all know, this was a downright miserable vintage, even if you avoided smoke taint. So even with a tremendous effort, this isn't going to be a 16, 18, or 19 vintage. To my palate, it most …

2020 vintage

Took to a steakhouse, opened without a decant but let it breath for about an hour before diving in. Was a great night and the wine was delicious. Paired great with the steaks and side dishes. Bold enough to hold up but not overpowering. Smooth and elegant. Picked up some chocolate and tobacco notes this time with the fruit. An elegant cab.

2016 vintage

Testing (or tasting) out a couple of '20s (Napa) : Nose of dark red fruits, amazing red flowers, and soft black olives (more fruit-like than the way it is normally perceived like as a topping for example). Dark green brambles and fruited earth. So perfumed and aromatic. Flavors of dark red fruits with a pitch of black fruits, and nice olive notes. Fruit-coated graphite veins (imagine veins the size of tree roots), and awesome savoriness in the minerals with a …

2020 vintage

No discernable smoke on the palate. Lots of blue fruits, plums, mushrooms and some toasty oak. Slight black licorice note as well. 16 hour double decant. There is a mid palate complexity to this wine that I enjoyed. Tannins are still a bit grippy even after the air treatment. For 2020, surprisingly balanced. Only older 69 and 48 yo vines in this wine. Younger vines were left out of the blend on purpose which sort of mimicked the older vintages …

2020 vintage

7 Hours In Napa: VHR; Roy Piper; Spottswoode; & MACDONALD (Napa, CA) : The fourth and final tasting of our 7 hours in Napa was with Alex MacDonald. Spending an afternoon with Alex is more of a history lesson than a tasting and it is always a highlight of my trips whenever we are able to coordinate a visit. The history lesson started out with walking the perimeter of the MACDONALD portion of the To Kalon Vineyard in the cold …

2020 vintage

Tasted with Alex. The only '20 Napa Cab I've tried to date. If you have old vine Cabernet grapes and know what you're doing (they do) you can make a fantastic 2020 Napa Cabernet This is it. Full stop. Brad - heavypourwine.com

2020 vintage

My first time having MacDonald. Chocolate, dark berries, and perfect balance. Big, but not too big, you know? Also, very reluctant. Drank its best at about 6 hours of air over 2 days. Are the 2016's in my cellar all going to sleep for the next few years? Maybe...

2016 vintage

Very excited for this one. Double decant 2hrs ahead and straight into the decanter for another hr or so during dinner. Showed very well. Nose was amazing. Took a while to really open. Palate remained tight but had perfect balance and has many years ahead. 16 is one of my favorite vintages thus far, such great balance. Really looking forward to trying this with some more age.

2016 vintage

Wow. As always, I did not decant. But the greatness of this wine cannot be subdued. So tasty, so balanced and still light on its feet. Wonderful !

2016 vintage

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Macdonald, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville

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