Reviews

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Red and black fruit, with some grippy earth and rock notes. Subtle dark spice helped to deepen the overall profile even further. The front of the attack started out more red-fruited, but it then…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Similar to the 2013 Carter GD except that this 2015 version was a little more medium-bodied and fruitier than its older brother. Purity of fruit is beautifully delineated, with easy-going waves of…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

A point up from last year, this Grand Daddy was my favorite of the three Carter BTKs tried in this flight, showing even more focus and complexity than the 2015 GD and 2015 Three Kings served…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Previous notes apply on this wine, as I've written quite a bit and gloated on and on about my adoration for the beloved Verdad. Its flavor profile is totally my jam. It was the delivery end of a…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

This wine laid waste to the 2014 Schrader and 2014 Colesworthy served beside it. The concentration of the Carter slapped the Schraders into absolute orbit, especially on the front end and through the…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Weitz Vineyard

It has been a year-and-a-half since I last had this wine. A two hour+ decant did this well, as the initial PnP was a bit hot. Medium-to-full bodied, with beautifully energetic purple and dark red…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Update from my previous note on 3/4/18 on a Coravin pour of this wine. The remainder of this bottle was consumed as a PnP, and without the 2015 Verdad alongside it. As a stand-alone, this 2014 really…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Previous notes apply. Coravin pour; this was smooth and singing with just a few minutes of swirling in the glass. Black asphalt and gravel led the attack, with astoundingly pure black, purple, and…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

100 points. Why?! Because it's friggin' awesome, that's why!

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Previous notes apply. Finished off the bottle of a Coravin pour from last month. This took about two hours to really come to life. This was served next to a '15 Vice Versa LPV, which had more…

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

...Crisis averted from yesterday's strange Coravin experience. Same bottle as yesterday; Coravin pour again. This was not displaying in any sort of disjointed fashion, but I will say it appears to be…

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

A follow-up to a Coravin pour from the same bottle a month ago. It was good, but something seemed a bit off. Displaying some overt alcohol atop the core fruit. It might have just needed more air, but…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This is really coming into a nice drinking window at this point. A much different experience than a year or so ago. A more seamless rush of black and dark red core fruit. A little bit of classical…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Aaaaagh! Mother-lovin' holy dammit all! Horribly corked right out of the gate. On initial "pop" (or rather, "puuhf"), the cedar and vinegar smell launched right out of the bottle. Such the bummer,…

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

Same as it ever was...which is awesome of course. I gotta stop blowing through these young wines, but they are so delicious right now. Served next to a 2014 Myriad GIII, which was a bit of an apples…

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

Between two BTKs: '15 Carter OG vs. '15 Purlieu BTK. The OG KILLED IT this go-around. A Coravin pour no less. The Purlieu was delicious no doubt, but the concentration and complex array of flavors on…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Previous notes apply. Three hours of air in the decanter helped immensely. Excellent bottle of juice. Ideally, worth waiting a year or two. 95-96+ points

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Weitz Vineyard

Same as my previous notes. A really stellar performer tonight and one of the top wines of the night. A near-perfect tension between acid/frame and beautifully focused fruit. My favorite Weitz from…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Carter

Previous notes apply, though this was extraordinarily ripe and plush in its delivery this time around. It was decanted for a number of hours (which I honestly think was a mistake). PnP would've been…

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

Previous notes apply, except that this was fairly tight and restrained throughout the course of consumption. It was not decanted (and definitely needed it), but over the course of a couple of hours…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Coliseum Block

Soft and surprisingly earthy notes of black fruit, mulch, and a little funk. This seemed fairly advanced in its flavor profile. In all honestly, it's not exactly a fair fight when this is having to…

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

This was from a Coravin bottle that had been tapped multiple times over the course of three months. Thanks to Dan and Mark for trying to add this wine to our lineup and seeing if it would still…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This was really showing its capacity to deliver an amazing array of complex flavors. Last time I had the Three Kings, I favored the Grand Daddy served alongside it. This time, the Three Kings came…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Wine is fun... unpredictable, but fun...

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

My previous notes apply. Once again, this wine absolutely killed it! The "oohs" and "aahs" across the table were instantaneous as soon as we all took our respective sips. It's no doubt this wine sold…