MacDonald Vineyards To-Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
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Jeb
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Robert
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#79 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2019
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is largely cut from the same cloth yet has just a touch more purity and elegance without sacrificing depth or richness. Just a magical wine any way you look at it, this deep purple-colored beauty reveals a heavenly bouquet of crème de cassis, camphor, purple iris, and violets. It’s full-bodied and massive, yet still just dances across the palate with no sensation of weight or heaviness. While it’s already hard to resist today (and don’t feel bad for drinking a bottle), it has the purity, balance, and structure to keep for 3-4 decades. Hats off to the brothers Alex and Graeme MacDonald for this legendary wine.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a relatively gravelly site compared to other parts of the To Kalon vineyard. Most of the fruit comes from vines aged 45 to 65 years old, with a little fruit coming from the younger section of 20-year-old vines. It was made with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and no press wines were used, in order to maintain tannin quality. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant black cherries, warm cassis, blueberry compote and chocolate box notes with touches of aged meat, yeast extract, chargrill and sautéed herbs with hints of pain grille and pencil lead. Full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in poise, with beautifully balanced, crushed black fruits and firm, very finely grained tannins plus a lovely backbone of seamless freshness, finishing epically long and savory with a slight mineral kick to the finish.
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Wine Spectator
Very concentrated, this moves slowly but with authority, as the core of cassis and mulled plum fruit is laced with plum pit, stony mineral, light savory, alder and incense notes. Youthfully tight, but with a long echo of sweet fruit that plays out while serious cut and loamy grip hold a rock-steady rhythm. Should cruise in the cellar. Best from 2021 through 2042.
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In the pioneer days of Napa Valley winemaking, the famed TO-KALON wines, made from grapes sourced in part from MACDONALD’s property, are thought to have garnered more awards than any other winery in the pre-Prohibition era. By the turn of the century the advent of phylloxera had decimated the original vineyards and the vines were removed and replanted to cherries. The expanding orchard and the surrounding acres would eventually become one of the largest cherry plantations in the United States.
In 1954, the MacDonald family planted the first vines on the property since prohibition as the last of the cherry trees were being removed. For 60 years the grapes have been sold exclusively to Robert Mondavi and have been part of his Reserve and To-Kalon blends since their inception. Robert Mondavi used to refer to the family as “the best grape-growers in the Napa Valley” and, when he and MacDonald's Great Uncle resurrected the property’s historic name, the family was included as the only private growers to be part of the Robert Mondavi To-Kalon Vineyard.
In 2010, for the first time in the family’s 60 year stewardship, and in over 140 years of grape-growing history on the property, brothers Alex and Graeme MacDonald were proud to present the first release of MACDONALD.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.