MacDonald has family roots in Napa Valley that go back to 1954. The waitlist is lengthy, and the case production is very limited. MacDonald is a collaboration between brothers Alex and Graeme MacDonald, and their debut vintage was 2009. The story begins when their great-grandparents bought a modest retirement property in Oakville that came with a vineyard called To-Kalon. After replanting the vineyard, the couple started selling grapes to Robert Mondavi, who used them first for his family’s Charles Krug wines, then for his own Robert Mondavi label. Today To-Kalon is considered one of the most outstanding terroirs in Napa Valley, and many of Napa’s most prestigious wines used grapes sourced from To-Kalon. The first vintages of MacDonald received highly complimentary reviews. Vinous wrote this about the 2010: in “this vintage, the first commercial release, brothers Alex and Graeme MacDonald made a wine that has no problem sitting alongside Napa Valley's long established stars. This is a fabulous showing.”