Reviews

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Bam Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Red and black cherry, cassis, vanilla, and some spice. An interplay of red and black fruit, with some mineral elements to add interest. Fruity and rounded on the finish. A good effort considering the…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Less oaky than the previous bottle a few months ago, this 2018 has a nice glide after being open for a few hours (in bottle). That said, it was next to the mega bomb 2022 OG, which was blasting out…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The F.RED Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This is much more amalgamated than the 2022 OG (which is pretty brash and loud at the moment). Without question, the F.RED is a biggin' that busts out with black and deep red liqueur driven fruit.…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Loud and proud, with the booze element front and center at the moment. Blackberry liqueur, Chambord, black and dark red cherry, and bitter chocolate. A super flavor bomb that needs time to settle…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This came off extremely oaky and almost chocolate milkshake marshmallowy compared to the other competitors in the Napa blind tasting. Gobs of fruit here.

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Red cherry and blackberry pie, red and black licorice, black current, vanilla, and red cherry syrup. Comes on strong and finishes hot. Missing the black earth and LPV rock elements, presumably masked…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Bam Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Big, juicy, juicy, juicy, and juicy. Some alcohol comes to the party, but it's washed over pretty quickly by the (you guessed it) juicy fruit. This is rounder than I recall, with a big bubble of…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This bottle presents a good argument to the age-ability of certain Carter wines. This 2010 TK is a beautiful specimen, perhaps even slightly eclipsing the 2013 GTO served beside it (though I think…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The G.T.O Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

A big wine, with redder fruit than I recall, but with a sophistication and focus that is most notable. A great wine, though I was actually a little more drawn to a 2010 Carter TK served next to it…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

With a silky-milkshakey entry, like a liquified raspberry nougat 3 Musketeers bar wrapped in a vanilla bean and caramel robe, this iteration of OG is a mix of oak and fruit that seemingly still need…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Though there is still some transition happening here, it appears to be headed in the right direction. After some swirling in the glass following the initial pull of the cork, this big boy quickly…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Baby fat popcorn, vanilla, red cherry syrup, mixed berries, and a slathering of sweet cassis, this wine is such a youngster that I am surprised it didn't come from a shiner or a barrel sample, and…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

It's been 3.5 years since my last bottle. This has progressed nicely, and could likely use even another year or two to fully come together. Followed over the course of 72 hours (Days one and two were…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

It's been about 3 years since I've had the 2013 OG. I actually pulled this by mistake (I thought I grabbed a 2015), because I was reading some of the most recent CT reviews on the 2013 and planned on…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Gorgeous depth of flavor, with succulent dark berry fruit coating the palate as it drops into a deep mid-glide and opens up even further and more opulent on the finish. Maintains focus throughout,…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Given all of the xenophobic ribbing and hate emails I've been receiving about my recent espionage and shadow surveillance into Bordeaux and other Eurocentric wine regions, I finally succumbed to…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fortuna Vineyard

Coravin pour. Crunchy blackberry seed, black and red currant, river rock, purple plum skin, and gravel. Great tension; a bit grippy, but straddles a nice line between balance and speed. Could still…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Almost identical in profile to the Three Kings, but with more plush and somewhat rotund ripe fruit, the Grand Daddy was the most unresolved of the To Kalon offerings. True to its usual form, the…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Black cherry liqueur and licorice rule the roost here, with a kirshwasser note that ramped it up to a higher register profile, especially on the finish. The delivery was party-ready, but certainly…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Black cherry, saccharine, bitter chocolate, fresh red and black licorice, and black rock steamroll onto the palate and deliver whopping gobs of fruit on the frontloaded attack. A bit overwhelming,…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Bam Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Much like the Fortuna, but indeed richer and more intense mid-palate, the Bam karate kicks out a "Kiai!" ("Hi-yah" for the uninitiated) of red and black cherry fruit that thrusts across the palate…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fortuna Vineyard

A pop of dark cherry fruit on the front end, with a higher register blast of bing cherry and alcohol rushing across the palate. Especially unresolved on the finish at this given juncture, the Fortuna…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Weitz Vineyard

Similar to how it behaved in barrel, the Weitz is sporting a super fruity profile of uber-ripe cherry syrup, cassis, char, and candied raspberry. Unresolved in its delivery and seemingly searching…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The G.T.O Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Composed and alluringly poised when mirrored to its 2017 counterparts, the GTO lets you know it is showing up to the ball with a touch of class. Less concentrated and intense than the OG, but…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

On first sip, this OG was a sweeter and riper version of the barrel sample I had before. Rich black cherry starts off the race on the front end, pulsating out additional flavors of cassis, fresh…