It is our pleasure to announce the Carter Cellar’s purchase schedule for the 2017 Vintage. In a gesture of thanks to our past supporters, starting June 18th at 9:00 am (PDT), our 2017 wines will be available for purchase by our “Loyal Buyers,” those who have purchased from us in the past. The following week on June 25th, the wines will be offered to our general mailing list.
In 2017 we are releasing ten unique and exceptional wines. From the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard we have the following: our massively-structured Beckstoffer To Kalon ‘The O.G.’ Cabernet, the slightly more fruit-forward Beckstoffer To Kalon ‘The Grand Daddy’ Cabernet, and the rich, lush and elegant Beckstoffer To Kalon ‘The Three Kings’ Cabernet. Each of these Beckstoffer To Kalons have very distinct characteristics and personalities. Moreover we have also masterfully crafted another Beckstoffer To Kalon ‘The G.T.O.’ from the very best barrels out of the vineyard, aiming to replicate the three 100 point scores we have received over the past five years. Also we are thrilled to offer two unique Cabernets from the Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard, the ‘La Verdad’ from our original block, and the high scoring, ‘La BAM’. Also, as in past years, we have crafted the following exceptional wines from world class vineyards: the Weitz Vineyard Cabernet from the eastern Oakville Bench, the Hossfeld Coliseum Red Blend from the hillside of Soda Canyon, as well as a return to the Fortuna Vineyard Cabernet from the valley floor in Oakville. Finally, we are pleased to announce the return of the “Carter”. This wine is a masterfully crafted Cabernet which blends fruit from a variety of the vineyards from which we source.
These wines are incredible and possess our signature style of finesse and verve. As always, quantities are limited, so be prepared to act with haste. We are extremely excited about the 2017 Carter Cellars wines, and cannot wait to share them with you.
Thank you for your support of Carter Cellars, and for affirming and sharing our obsession with quality.
Just did a rock star tasting through most of the line up this morning hosted by Mark Carter. On my iPhone so not optimal to post a review but will do my best.
#1 Not even a hint of smoke damage to be found #2 If you are thinking about passing, these wines are exceptional once again. #3 The wines are quite different from each other and present a wonderful variety #4 First time meeting Mark and had a blast. Just a great guy, passionate about his wines and fun to be around.
Lineup
Hossfield Colosseum - generally not my favorite though my buddies love it. I actually prefer the 17 over 16 which I’ve had a few times
Fortuna
Weitz
Carter - the blend it was rocking from the start. Was drinking best in the line up at the moment with a long silky finish. I was a buyer
La Bam - needs some time but a great wine. I was a buyer
Three Kings- even more massive of a wine and more in need of time. Great structure with a solid backbone of tannins. Gonna be stellar in a few years.I was a buyer
Grand Daddy - see above but with added complexity. Another buy
La Verdad - did not taste. Bought
O.G. - did not taste. Bought
Came in with the same questions you all have and left with all the answers I was looking for. No reason to pass on these wines other than credit card fatigue.
Also tasted at Chappellet and Stags Leap Cellars. While the wines didn’t come close to the heights reached at Carter there was nothing wrong with any of the 17s outside of a chardonnay at SL I thought was a flawed bottle
Even though the wines I’m sure are exceptional, I personally think the reviews on Cellar Tracker were slightly disappointing when compared to the 2016s, both taking into account the heat spikes (not concerned about smoke overall) in 2017, as well as the $20 price increase for the O.G. and La Verdad.
Even though I have not decided for sure yet, but I am leaning on skipping these in favor of the 2018s (which I hope there isn’t another price hike).
I agree that it is worth paying attention to a downward trend in scores/reviews on CellarTracker, but I wonder if the negativity given to the 2017 vintage as a whole is playing any role in why they are coming out lower. While the 2017 vintage might not live up to its older brother, I’m sure it will be a splendid wine and offer some flavor variation from the 2016 vintage that might be interesting. For that reason and the fact that I would like to have the option to do a vertical, I’ll buy at least a couple.
100% agree. Maybe it’s just me trying to convince myself to go easy on the wallet this year. Just bought a few 3L Napa cabs last month.
Regardless, all the stuff about smoke taint, I don’t believe in, especially with the producers that I typically buy from (if there was taint, it wouldn’t be released). 2017 will be a great vintage nonetheless IMO (and people would definitely think it’s better if it weren’t following 2012-2016). However, I do think the heat spikes are the main issue for the vintage, which based on conversations with winemakers, indicates the bottles from 2017 probably need some more time to lie down and are not as easily approachable as the 2016s were at first. With that being said, there was plenty of water in the reservoirs so I believe they will still age nicely in the long run.
Ultimately, I just feel that I would rather buy some more 2016s at the current moment, and that’s a personal choice.
Thanks David for the full spectrum of prices! May end up grabbing some of the Hossfeld since you said it was better than the 2016, and I really enjoyed the 2016 (and I didn’t like Merlot before).
As always I’ll be in for some O.G. Really enjoy the premium Mike Smith wines. Wonder how that will affect the $175 is the new $125 thread currently going on.
Frank
I suspect you’ll enjoy the hossfeld if you go for some. I found it fruiter than the 16 which fit my palette better. Many young merlot bottlings lack the bright fruit I like
Just back home after a quick trip up to Carter for a tasting of the 2017 wines. Spent a couple hours tasting through most of the lineup with Mark Carter. He was a great host and his wines as always were some of my favorite cabs from Napa.
Tasted, Fortuna, Weitz, Carter, La Bam, Three Kings, Grand Daddy and O.G.
I found the Carter “Carter” the most approachable as this point and O.G. was my favorite of all the wines. Everything was pretty young as expected. I found no hint of smoke in any of the wines tasted.
I was in for:
4 O.G.
4 La Verdad
3 Grand Daddy
3 Three Kings
3 Carter
2 La Bam
I think Mark mentioned that Hossfeld was affected by the fire and this year is all Merlot. Also, smaller amount of Three Kings this year due to the fire.
Mark mentioned in the near future there will be a Missouri Hopper from Carter