10-Year Macdonald Vertical Dinner with Alex and Graeme (12/15/22, Manhattan Beach, CA)

WINE TALK
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Alex and Graeme MacDonald joined 17 Berserkers for the most complete vertical tasting yet of MacDonald Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon on 12/15/22 at BOA Steakhouse in Manhattan Beach.

I wanted to get the thread started so that I could thank all the Berserkers who showed up for this wonderful event, truly better than anticipated and the expectations were very high. Thanks to all who shared these rare and valuable bottles, giving us the opportunity to try the full vertical, learn more about the wines, the history, the people behind it, Of course I delight in the opportunity to meet more of the Wine Berserkers community, and we definitely had a fun time. Had a few from the Midwest there as well - Saint Louis and Chicago!

My standouts were 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2016, with details forthcoming. Food was far better than expected - amazing steaks, perfectly cooked (and most of us are quite picky with our beef thanks to Flannery and Morgan Ranch!), and the sides were delicious as well.

Thanks again, all, @Alex_MacDonald and Graeme for coming out to join us, @Brent_S , and @T_Turney for becoming the planning committee with me.

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Damn!..That sounds like a really fun event!..I can’t wait to read some of the TN’s from the group

I have never had the pleasure to drink a Macdonald Cab, maybe someday…

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I had some wonderful conversations with @Scott_McDonald and @Scott_Wanamaker on the flights as we tasted them - for the most part, we agreed on details and overall ‘ratings’ in the flights.

Flights tasted:

Flight 1: 2010, 2011, 2012

2010: Everybody’s (at least in my area) reaction on first sniff and sip was that it is extraordinary, a fantastic start to the evening. Fruit was so beautifully integrated, expressive, and the mouthfeel was silky with fully resolved tannins - in a ‘perfect’ start to its secondary phase, to me.

2011: Structure, structure, structure! Where the 2010 fell short (after sampling the 2011) is definitely in structure - this wine had super fine gum-drying tannins, Fruit had a nice ripeness but was quite subdued - likely exacerbated by it following the 2010. I loved this wine, table seemed a bit split on it.

2012: This vintage had the fruit profile of the 2010 and the structure of the 2011, truly both wines in one. However, for that reason, I didn’t like this as much as the prior two as it seemed to lack an identity, lol. Overall this flight was fantastic, very difficult to pick a winner, I found when asking around. Any on this flight is ready to drink with a good long decant.

Flight 2: 2013, 2014, 2015

2013: Hello, Bordeaux! Nice dose of florals, sharp graphite on the nose, beautiful red and blue fruits, tannins carrying some of the fruit profile but still not yet resolved, gorgeous wine, as expected for the vintage. I think this has the stuffing to go a LONG time, and slowly changed and developed further in the glass, a treat.

2014: Drink up on this vintage. This one is lacking acidity and tannic structure, really comes across as ‘flabby’ when compared to the other high-structured wines. Fruit is lovely and sweet, has the mouthfeel of a Merlot to me. A wine that might be gorgeous if not tasted as part of a flight this amazing.

2015: Similar to the 2013, a bit more fruit-centric than the 2013, this also was adopting some Bordeaux-like qualities, saddle leather. We noticed this wine was slightly different from the others, stylistically, and actually Graeme pointed out there was literally a stylistic change in winemaking style - this (and the future vintages) have an extended maceration, I believe.

Flight 3: 2016, 2017
Flight 4: 2018, 2019

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Great evening and i would agree with you favorites Todd. worth noting i think both 18/19 are exceptional and may join but they are still babies and too early for my simple palate to project

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Wow! What an event. Looking forward to seeing some TNs and living vicariously through those that attended!

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Sad to miss this one, sounds like a great event!

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I’m planning to open a bottle or two for Christmas. What vintages were the most open or ready to drink? Looks like an incredible tasting.

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in addition to any tasting notes, would appreciate knowing how long bottles were opened/decanted prior to consumption

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That’s further upthread in the Event post, here

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Fantastic event! Wish I could have attended.

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Trust me that more details will come with notes and thoughts from everyone, as we really had a good amount of time with each wine, ample pours all around.

General consensus on our section of the table was that 2014 is not going to age much longer, won’t improve. If you have that, definitely open it. If you have newer vintages, 2016 was quite enjoyable with a long decant, that’s what I would open (and might have to when my wife hears the results from the event, as we only have 2015-onward)

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Bottles were double decanted per the instruction below:

"Here are our double decanting suggestions for each vintage:

2010 - 8 hours

2011 - 1 hour

2012 - 1 hour

2013 - 8 hours

2014 - 4 hours

2015 - 8 hours

2016 - 8 hours

2017 - 8 hours

2018 - 12 hours

2019 - 12 hours"

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thanks for this. I can’t wait till more notes come out. I was actually thinking about hosting an event like this myself.

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My notes posted on the first two flights upthread a bit -

I have to hit the road so I will finish tomorrow or later tonight.

What an amazing evening, truly.

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Thanks to Todd and the group for an amazing night. And a big thanks to the brothers for coming down and spending time with us and answering our (my) many questions!

I thought the 2018 was the wine of the night. Beautifully balanced with wonderful fruit and showing just the right amount of structure and acidity.

For the future the 2010 and 2013 should be providing lots of pleasure for us and our children! I also appreciated 2016 and 2012 and enjoyed tasting 2017/11 which were more complicated vintages but really highlight some of the benefits to the site and the farming.

There were common threads throughout the vintages which made the event so beneficial. But there were also major vintage differences - in particular the 2010/11/12 flight felt like a fascinating review of 3 very different growing seasons.

Thanks again for setting this up - it was wonderful to participate

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Would love to join sometime in the future! Sounds like a wonderful event! I guess I will have to pop my 14 sooner rather than later! Planned on holding it a few more years.

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Even Graeme agreed, this is one you might want to pop soon

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I appreciate the info!

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That’s very interesting because CT notes don’t seem to agree; was that the consensus with both of the bottles that were opened?

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Yup

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