97pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

It's hard to go terribly wrong when marrying some of Napa's most expensive grapes with some of France's most expensive oak, and nothing has gone wrong in Macaulay's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. Ripe and plush, rich and expansive, velvety and elegant, it's overflowing with cassis and cherries, cedar and mocha. Soft, dusty tannins and a sense of clean, dry earth wrap up the finish. What's not to like?

93pts Wine Spectator

Features a loamy hint that guides a core of gently steeped plum and black currant fruit, slowly allowing alder, cedar and tobacco to work their way in before taking an encore on the finish. Best from 2024 through 2038.

Winemaker Notes

Blend: 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc

Opening to an inky hue of deep purple, the 2018 Macauley Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon has a magical feel to it, as if you’ve just uncorked an enological genie in a bottle. Sourced from clones 337 and 4 and aged for 28 months in new Taransaud and Darnajou oak, this vintage of their most sought-after wine has an elegance and seamlessness to it that flirts with perfection. Blueberry, crème de cassis, violets, dried cherries and chocolate levitate from the bouquet, while the mouthfeel lays out a magic carpet of dark fruit, espresso, and barrel vanillin. Cellared correctly, this lovely cru should hold for 20 to 25 years.

The Macauley Vineyard label was originally established in St. Helena in the early 1980s by Ann Macauley Watson and for several years produced a very well received late harvest Sauvignon Blanc with help from renowned winemaker, Ric Forman.

In the late summer of 2000, Ann’s son Mac went to work for Rudd Estate in Oakville. After several months of winery work and education he was inspired to revive the family label, and, working with winemaker and childhood friend Kirk Venge, crushed his first grapes in October 2001.

Mac and Kirk have one goal: to source the highest quality fruit in Napa Valley and make wines of extraordinary depth and personality. The grapes they choose showcase the terroir of the vineyards and create a remarkable wine-drinking experience.