MacDonald-by-proxy tasting....and other fab encounters!

WINE TALK
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You might, or might not know this, but here is a way to get to taste MacDonald without being on the list or pay secondary market prices for them, it seems. Just buy 2020 Salty Goat Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s made from the MacDonald To Kalon vineyard (although they call it the Horton vineyard on label, but it’s the same).

I can hear your “but does it have smoke taint?” question coming with ill-deserved speed towards this thread! No, I could not detect anything. Nor could my experienced drinking buddy (who so kindly offered the wine). His wife however, said she could smell it slightly on the nose, but not taste it. Hmm.

Anyway, wine was fab. An excellent Cab in the more restrained, classic style. It’s been a few days, and that was 2nd bottle in, so no real notes. But be confident in its quality.

We also tried a few wines from Santa Barbara based mother-and-son winery, Terre et Sang. One was their 2019 Moulds Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Moulds is one of the vineyards that Roy Piper also takes from and has excellent Napa pedigree. I liked the wine, but it was certainly a slightly more rich Napa style, especially compared to the Salty Goat. Not heavy, heavy, though, all is relative, just heavier than the other Cab.

I prefer Roy’s wines to this as it’s a more classic, bit certainly a good effort.

Their 2019 The Patriarch Syrah Lerner Vineyard was however a complete home run for me. My 2nd favorite wine of the evening (after the Salty Goat cab). Amazingly good Syrah.

They have a tasting room in Los Olivos, please swing by next time your there, they’re making some great wine.

Lastly, there was a 2020 M. Zobeck Gamay from the Barsotti Vineyard in El Dorado. Meghan Zebeck is the winemaker at Burgess Vineyards in Napa, but this is her side brand. A wonderful little Gamay, full of life. But didn’t feel carbonic etc, more of a classic rendition. Very nice - think this was the hosts 2nd favorite.

Cheers!

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:+1::+1: so same fruit source , very cool

is it also made by the same team, using same winemaking choices etc?

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One more mailing list, why not!!

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I might not be remembering this, but hasn’t Detert also been presented as MacDonald adjacent?

I guess you’re saying that this is “literally” from the MacDonald vineyard, so that’s interesting. Super tempting…

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I’d never heard of Salty Goats before this post, but looking at their website, they appear to be focused on Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Do you know if this Cab is a one-off offering or will it be produced in future years?

A quick search for Horton Vineyard shows this entry, submitted by Graeme MacDonald, in the Historic Vineyard Society registry … MacDonald/Horton - Historic Vineyard Society

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MacDonald is the brand, Horton is the vineyard.

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They seem to have enough demand to be able to use all their own fruit, so I’d venture this was probably a one-off due to the fires, but I could be wrong. Some vineyards like to always sell a little fruit. I think Roy Piper would know more, as he’s good friends with the MacDonalds.

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Paging Roy Piper……

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If they sold the fruit to someone else making the wine then it really isn’t MacD at all?

If the MacD team made it for a special cause and label then that’s be really cool. I’m asking tho because I have no idea.

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Depends on if you believe in terroir vs. winemaking :wink:

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All WB threads inevitably lead to this debate :joy:. Lock it now!

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I could be totally off base but I believe the MACDONALD contract with Constellation recently expired and not renewed and that maybe how a new winery(s) is/are making wine with the MACDONALD fruit. However, Mondavi’s bottling was nowwhere near a MACDONALD bottling and that may play out just the same with whomever took over the expired contract. Not to say the other winery(s) can’t/wont make good to great wine with these grapes, it just wont be MACDONALD!

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You need both for high quality wine

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Sorry I’m not really looking to debate that. To me it’s obvious both make a material impact. I’m asking which of the two scenario it is for my own info for when I come across a btl.

Scenario 1) MacD sold/leased/gifted fruit, someone else made and label wine. This would be like bonneau martray’s corton charlie vs DRC’s corton charlie. They aren’t proxies nor even in the same league. But if people wanna think so I really don’t care. I would tho wanna try them side by side to see wine making influence/differences

Scenario 2) MacD made the wine just like other MacD but labeled it Salty Goat for some cause, charity, a friend. This would be like Roumier’s and Michel Bonnefond’s Ruchotte chambertin. They are the exact same wine under diff label. These would be true proxies, and would obv be fun to find a btl to try side by side as well

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David Baum brought one to an offline that Brian Tuite hosted last month. Hope he chimes in because he has some information about it!

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I heard through the grapevines that Macdonald has sold their excess fruit to Silver Oak and it’s been blended. This wine wasn’t supposed to mention the source even if it was done in a backhanded way. You think Graeme want’s a wine competing head to head with his using the same fruit and have the producer spill the beans on the source? I was told that there probably won’t be any Horton fruit going to anyone but Silver Oak moving forward because of this.

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This was my question as well

We know that not all MAC juice makes it into the final product and that there have been these “lesser” bottles brought to parties by Alex or Graeme and are referred to by Alex as “party juice” (which is apparently still phenomenal)

So with fires, did they barrel it as they always do, but then decided not to release it and despite making it same as always, they then sold it to friends

Or, did these friends simply buy the fruit and have had it from vine to bottle and the wine was not actually made by Graeme

I imagine it’s the latter, but guess we will find out in time

I had actually initially hoped that this was the “second bottling” of the party juice and was just under a completely diff label in order to protect the primary brand. But i think we can easily rule this out

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Salty Goat produced 6 barrels of horton cab in 2020- about 130 cases

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Not quite. Horton = the MacDonalds’ cousins and neighbors on the same original family plot that was divided in two. But not farmed by them, nor necessarily vines from the same era as those that go into MacDonald. And obviously not wine made by Graeme.

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My understanding is Graeme farmed the plot that Salty Goat acquired the juice … or that is what is said on the website

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