2014 To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon
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The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon from MacDonald comes from the To Kalon Vineyard just outside of Oakville. It’s a classic 2014 possessing the purity, elegance, and sheer charm that’s the hallmark of this terrific vintage in the Valley. Crème de cassis, black raspberries, crushed flowers, and incense notes all develop with time in the glass, and while it starts out reticent and lightly textured, it gains incredible depth and length over the evening. This is Napa Valley at its most finesse-driven and elegant, and it’s going to drink beautifully for another two decades.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is the most polished, refined young wine I have tasted at MacDonald. Even so, there is not shortage of depth, but in 2014 the young Cabernet is also exceptionally finessed. Interestingly, the fruit tonalities tend more towards red and purple rather than the bluer shades that are typical here. Rose petal, mint, lavender and red stone fruits build into the tense, brilliant finish. What a gorgeous wine this is.
MacDonald's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is absolutely gorgeous. In this vintage, the Cabernet is especially savory and mineral-driven. Graphite, smoke, plums, crème de cassis, lavender and rose petal notes are all laced together. The MacDonald Cabernet is usually inky and super-concentrated, but the 2014 is a wine built on restraint and nuance. According to Graeme MacDonald the vines were severely stressed in 2014, the third year of the drought cycle, but learned to be more efficient with the resources they had at their disposal. This a highly promising 2014 from the MacDonald brothers.
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon from MacDonald is an absolute delight. Aromatic, lifted and finessed, the 2014 is also an unusual vintage for a wine that is often quite inky and deep. On the other hand, this is aromatic, silky and medium in body, almost Burgundian in feel texturally. Although a lighter wine by Napa Valley standards, the 2014 possesses fine depth. More than anything else, I am so impressed with the wine’s freshness and overall poise. Rose petal, blood orange, cinnamon, spice and lavender are some of the many notes that grace this exquisite Cabernet Sauvignon.