Wine Doctrine
Every tasting note

Reviews

2,570 notes

2023

Morisoli Vineyard Clementine Rosé

Napa Valley · Rutherford

This is both exquisitely balanced and super fun, with notable pick-me-up and a sense of real depth. Medium in body but carrying a remarkable concentration that still stays vibrant and fresh, this…

Reviewed 28 February 2025
2022

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley · Oakville

Freshy Fresh McFreshalot, the 2022 MacDonald dials the fresh-o-meter up to 11, revealing exceptionally clean and driven fruit with a polish that is unmatched. I gotta say, the last two vintages of…

Reviewed 3 February 2025
2022

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Anjea Sleeping Lady Vineyard

Napa Valley · Yountville

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…

Reviewed 3 February 2025
2020

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley · Oakville

Whaaaaat?! If this was blind (and in retrospect I wish it would have been just to put a double period of confidence on the end of this sentence), I would've called this out as not just a stronger…

Reviewed 3 February 2025
2022

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Aphex Ecotone Vineyard

California · Napa Valley

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…

Reviewed 3 February 2025
2016

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley · Oakville

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…

Reviewed 3 February 2025
2015

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley · Oakville

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…

Reviewed 3 February 2025
2014

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley · Oakville

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…

Reviewed 3 February 2025
2022

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Rhadamanthus

Napa Valley · Diamond Mountain

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*.

Reviewed 3 February 2025
2013

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley · Oakville

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…

Reviewed 3 February 2025
2012

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley · Oakville

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.…

Reviewed 3 February 2025
2022

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Kodo M-Bar Ranch

Napa Valley · Oakville

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…

Reviewed 3 February 2025
1986

Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select

Napa Valley · Stags Leap District

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.

Reviewed 5 January 2025
2019

001 Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon Ecotone Vineyard

California · Napa Valley

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…

Reviewed 2 January 2025
2013

Becklyn Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Moulds Vineyard

Napa Valley · Oak Knoll District

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,…

Reviewed 27 November 2024
2016

Adamvs Cabernet Sauvignon Quintvs

Napa Valley · Howell Mountain

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…

Reviewed 27 November 2024
2018

Arkenstone Sauvignon Blanc

Napa Valley · Howell Mountain

Drink these sooner than later. I hadn't opened a bottle in a few years and the texture has become heavier and slightly sluggish. It tastes like a grapefruit gummy bear, which isn't necessarily a bad…

Reviewed 5 August 2024
2016

La Pelle Sauvignon Blanc

California · Napa Valley

Still solid, though this bottle turned a little sherried and woody the more it was exposed to air. A great food wine, but signaling a more narrow drinking window as time goes on. Summer is here. So.…

Reviewed 5 August 2024
2022

Impensata Sauvignon Blanc Ciminelli Vineyard

Napa Valley · Howell Mountain

Similar profile as before, with lemon, lime, grass, pumice, and a hint of the exotic to round out the delivery of clean and snappy flavors. It mellows out relatively fast and becomes more medium…

Reviewed 31 July 2024
2014

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley · Oakville

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…

Reviewed 31 July 2024
2020

Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Lyndenhurst

Napa Valley · St. Helena

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…

Reviewed 29 July 2024