Reviews

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Full and flowing, the 2016 MacDonald cascades with flavor and intensity. Black and redder-black fruits dominate, with less black olive ruling the roost this go-around. Soil and spice accompany the…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Similar in design mostly to the 2013, the 2015 has tension and structure that mirrors its older sibling in all the best ways. The 2015 does relax a bit more after some air, and begins to evolve into…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Lush and approachable, the 2014 is in a very giving mood. Though the 2012 showed enhanced depth and breadth by comparison, the 2014 is certainly a friendly and affable sipper that, of all the…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine is. No. Joke. (Reminds me of when Ngawâ Sherpa told us as we were crossing Khumbu's Cho La Pass, "Cho La.No Joking. No talk. Rocks fall die.") A story for another time perhaps. But this…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Perhaps the most decadent MacDonald I've ever had (though the 2020 was doing all sorts of look-at-me backflips in the 'I'm rich and fancy' department as well), the 2012 is just soooo darn delicious.…

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Rhadamanthus

You want a hot body? You want a Bugatti? You want a Maserati? You better work b*. You want a Lamborghini? Sippin' Rhad-tinis? You better work b*.

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Kodo M-Bar Ranch

The 2022 Kodo hops-skips-and-jumps right over the front end of its execution and immediately settles cozily into a mid-palate density that melts like Ingrid Bergman in the arms of Humphrey Bogart…

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Käännös Vine Hill Ranch

Cuz it's great. That's why.

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Aphex Ecotone Vineyard

Within the sphere of Aphex's Cabernet Sauvignon, the blended Petit Verdot and Cab Franc really offer an additional supple layer of alluring flavors that both enrich and lift the chocolatey chocolate…

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Anjea Sleeping Lady Vineyard

The 2022 version of Anjea presents as a beautifully contoured outpouring of red and black fruit (and even a little purple), with deep and rounded cherry flavors cradled by softly gripping tannins. It…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo

Ready to go as soon as the cork is popped. A very ripe showing, gushing with black and red raspberry, cassis, dark purple plum, chocolate, and some charcuterie. A richer and heavier version of MG,…

Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select

Gently decanted for an hour in a small vessel. Plum, deep and dark red and black muddled cherry, leather, old cigar, torched orange rind, soil, and black currant.

001 Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon Ecotone Vineyard

A quick Coravin pull of this wine on a whim doesn't disappoint. There is a sense of polish and refinement here that really brings it to the next level. It is medium bodied, which I usually hate…

Becklyn Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Moulds Vineyard

This bottle was dialed-in; a more finessed expression of the sometimes touchy 2013 vintage, with friendly red and black berry flavors roped around red cherry, river rock, red licorice, purple plum,…

Adamvs Cabernet Sauvignon Quintvs

This bottle is richy-rich right from the start, but not so heavy that it slows down the flavor wave on entry and carries the chocolate-mulch covered black cherry profile from front to back in quick…

Harumph Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon O $#!t

A. STRAIGHT. BIGGIN.

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

With a few hours of double-decanting, this vintage of MacDonald is surely more approachable than some of its more intense siblings. There is a liquid velvet thing with 2014 that skirts rusticity and…

Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst

Black cherry and black raspberry lead the front end. Plum then begins to overpower the profile, becoming plummy and jammy at times. Mid-palate is medium with a round finish that quickly turns…

Dana Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Hershey Vineyard

Chiseled and focused, with the edges slowly (and I mean slowwwwwly) kinda-rounding toward the finish. Less of a plum profile compared to the Vaso and Onda, this Dana is more about tightly wrapped…

Dana Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Onda

Compared to the 2019 Vaso served in the same lineup, this Onda shows elevated concentration and precision. Some licorice emerges, along with black cherry and plum. There exists some notable…

Vaso Cabernet Sauvignon

Plum and ripe black cherry intermingle with spice and cedar notes, making for a little bit of an old school profile here. The tannins show as slightly elevated, clipping the finish and simplifying…

Vaso Cabernet Sauvignon

A dirt-worshipper funkafication on nose, enough that I would have thought this was a cooked Pegau CdP Reservee. On the palate, biting and nearly fruit-muted, with leather and dusty cherry flavors…

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon La Voleuse Du Chagrin Geeslin Vineyard

In a blind of 2019 Napa Cabs, this performed exceptional, though it is worth noting that it is undoubtedly young and still sorting itself out. My notes on this bottle read, "More sophisticated and…

Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Though youthfully primary and slightly strict at this stage, the 2019 is packed with sophistication and beautiful potential. It's a serious and stern presentation currently, but it makes its mark…

Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Linear and superficial in execution, with notes of vanilla, cedar, blackberry seed, and currant which struggle to expand or gain depth. Finishes direct, bitter, lean, and without much personality.…