Alex MacDonald visited a number of friends & customers in the Dallas / Fort Worth area this past weekend. In addition to him generously bringing a few bottles of the unreleased '13 MacDonald, Alex also brought a bottle of the never released 2008 MacDonald of which they only made 12 cases.
We were able to convince Alex to bring such a treasure with the promise of us supplying the '09/'10/'11/'12 to complete this vertical. Since Alex admitted that neither he nor Graeme had ever tried more than a 3 vintage vertical, it would seem that the (grape) juice was worth the squeeze!
We brought all 6 bottles to a very nice byob restaurant in Dallas and everyone drank them in order, with us bringing the remainder back after dinner and trying them throughout the night.
The bottles were all opened at the restaurant, so no decant which is standard SOP with MacDonald Cabernet. Below are my observations on the various vintages:
2008: The most unique of the 6, this was aged in a used French oak barrel and had a very bright acidity that was very Bordeaux-like. The tannins were nicely balanced, and the general consensus was that this would still need a few years before it reached full maturity, but when it gets there it be a sight to behold. Sadly only 2 or 3 cases remain and all are owned by the winery. Truly a once in lifetime experience!
2009: Interestingly this wine had a much more mature profile. Solid fruit on the nose, and tannins that had really softened. A complex wine that should sit here for years to come. It will be fun to hopefully revisit this one in a few years and see how it continues to develop.
2010: A legend in the making. Very closed and tight in the first hour after opening. In our defense, we should have probably opened and decanted the '10 that morning or the day before even because 6 hours after we opened it, it was still continuing to open up. I have been fortunate enough to have this wine a couple of times in the past few months and both times I couldn’t believe how much better it got with ever hour it had been opened. Alex MacDonald once said that with the wine the last sip is always the best! Others have stated, and I agree, that this wine could possibly take 10 - 20 years to reach it’s full potential, and will most likely stay there for decades afterward. I hope I am lucky enough to be able to try this again in 30 years just to see for myself where it ends up!
2011: Very well-balanced wine. Unlike some other valley floor wine’s from the '11 vintage, this wine really defies most characteristics commonly associated with the vintage. This wine is a testament to the viticulture and winemaking skills of Graeme and Alex. Very Bordeaux-like, it exudes the balance and complexity of a 1st or 2nd growth Bordeaux, but is even more approachable in its youth. Very mild tannis and moderate acidity. Sadly for this wine, it has to fall between the '10 and '12 after. Either way, this wine has improved every time I have tried it, and is going to keep getting better with age.
2012: Intensely fruit forward wine with a nose so big that it’s hard to comprehend. Most other napa '12s that I have tried have been very approachable and silky smooth. This wine however is such a big wine that you would have a really hard time thinking this was from the '12 vintage when compared to it’s contemporaries. Put this next to a '12 Schrader To Kalon and you would be blown away with the complexity this wine presents. The finish goes on for ever. Easily my favorite the 5 wines described so far. I think this wine more than any other embodies what MacDonald cab really is. While I know that each vintage presents its own set of complexities, I really think that this is going to be standard against which most of their wines are measured.
2013: Despite the Parker/Galoni - like exuberance that I displayed in describing the above 5 wines 
(can you tell how much I like this wine!!!) the 2013 MacDonald Cabernet is honestly like nothing I have ever had. Pure and utter perfection. Seriously. This is it. A monster of a wine. I have had the good fortune to try this wine 3 times since the spring. First time was side by side with a '12 Scarecrow (which while different in so many ways is still no slouch), and it was like bringing a gun to a knife fight. This wine is huge. Not only that, it has the acidity and tannic structure to seemingly last forever. There was a thread earlier about the best wine ever made in Napa, and seriously think this wine enters that discussion. Best Napa Cab I have ever tasted. #MicDropped
At dinner we also had a few change of pace wines. Notable among them was a '97 Harlan. Really magnificent after about 5 or 10 minutes in the glass, but after about 30 minutes it really started falling apart and faded quickly. Yes, it was 20 years old, but the MacDonald really outclassed it.
My thanks again to Alex MacDonald for making the trip, and his generosity. I am looking forward to a lifetime of their wines!
-Alex
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