JD
99
Jeb Dunnuck
There are two monumental wines from these two brothers. Looking first at the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, this beauty does everything right, and if it wasn’t for the 2016, I’d probably have thought it was a perfect wine. Sporting a deep purple color as well as a powerful bouquet of gorgeous crème de cassis and black raspberry fruits intermixed with subtle new oak, camphor, and chocolate, this majestic 2015 hits the palate with full-bodied richness and depth, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, and loads of sweet tannins. It shows the exuberant, sexy style of the 2015 vintage yet is always balanced, pure, and even elegant. It’s going to continue drinking brilliantly for another three decades and readers should count themselves lucky if they have some of this elixir in their cellar. Reviewed by Jeb Dunnuck, Issue date: January 2019. Drinking window: 2021 - 2051.
RP
97
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
(Rating 97+). Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon leaps from the glass with exuberant wild blueberry, black plums and cassis scents backed up by suggestions of mocha, tilled soil, menthol, smoked meats, yeast extract and star anise. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with layers of black and blue fruits and an amazing array of spicy sparks, supported by a firm frame of ripe, grainy tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing long and minerally. 345 cases were produced. Reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Issue date: June 2018. Drinking window: 2020 - 2042.
V
96
Vinous
(Rating 96+). MacDonald's 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is simply gorgeous. Rich, sumptuous and beautifully layered, MacDonald's 2015 is one of the wines of the vintage. Even with all of its natural intensity and exuberance, the 2015 retains terrific freshness and lift. Silky tannins and generous inky red/purplish To Kalon fruit give the 2015 much of its undeniable appeal. Simply put, the 2015 is a wine with tremendous potential, especially if it gains volume in bottle, as I think it will. The 2015 will be virtually impossible to resist in its youth, but readers who can put a few bottles away will be thrilled. This is a very restrained and elegant wine within the context of both the vintage and To Kalon. In 2015, the MacDonald brothers left as much leaf cover as they could in the vineyard in order to protect the fruit as much as possible. Reviewed by Antonio Galloni, Issue date: November 2017. Drinking window: 2023 - 2040.