Examples of "restrained" To Kalon Vneyard wines

[ykwon]

Now I need some 1996 Mondavi Reserve!

[jcoley3]

I’ve found some of the Carter wines from To-Kalon to be on the more elegant side of Napa.

[John_Bacigalupi]

Thanks everyone for your input and opinions - appreciate them!

[Glen_Gold]

Brian
You’ll discover auctions soon enough. Its Andy’s weakness already

Who me?

BTW I have an unwritten agreement with another WB forumite that when either of us sees aged Detert come up for sale, we usually try to share the wealth. (Notice the qualifiers in that sentence?)

Oh, look what you’ve done, man – you’ve gone and written it.

[K_John_Joseph]

I’ve found some of the Carter wines from To-Kalon to be on the more elegant side of Napa.

Their older vintages (early to mid 2000s) weren’t that big. But I do think that the Carter style evolved into a richer, bigger style as the 2000s progressed. The BTK wines are no routinely 14.9-15.1% listed ABV and are the rich side. At least from my experience with the Carter BTK wines, which I’ll readily admit waned from 2007 to 2013. I’ve not had any since the 2013 vintage.

[jcoley3]

I’ve found some of the Carter wines from To-Kalon to be on the more elegant side of Napa.

Their older vintages (early to mid 2000s) weren’t that big. But I do think that the Carter style evolved into a richer, bigger style as the 2000s progressed. The BTK wines are no routinely 14.9-15.1% listed ABV and are the rich side. At least from my experience with the Carter BTK wines, which I’ll readily admit waned from 2007 to 2013. I’ve not had any since the 2013 vintage.

That could well be. Most of my experience was 2010 and before, and often in the context of Cab tastings featuring some of the more largely-scaled wines from TK and elsewhere in Napa.

[J.Vizuete]

I’ve found some of the Carter wines from To-Kalon to be on the more elegant side of Napa.

Their older vintages (early to mid 2000s) weren’t that big. But I do think that the Carter style evolved into a richer, bigger style as the 2000s progressed. The BTK wines are no routinely 14.9-15.1% listed ABV and are the rich side. At least from my experience with the Carter BTK wines, which I’ll readily admit waned from 2007 to 2013. I’ve not had any since the 2013 vintage.

That could well be. Most of my experience was 2010 and before, and often in the context of Cab tastings featuring some of the more largely-scaled wines from TK and elsewhere in Napa.

I’ve had several 2014 and 2015 Carters and these are not “restrained” wines by any definition. Are they delicious and punch above their price point when compared with peers from similar sites? (Schrader, Vice Versa, Realm, etc) Absolutely! But that’s the ballpark you’re playing in. I buy a few bottles each year, as I find them to be powerful, voluptuous, fruit driven, low acid expressions. The 2015s have a lot of supportive flavors beyond the black and blue fruit (great minerals, black tea, etc) that add interest. I would call them “polished” but don’t want to trigger anyone No idea if they will age well or not. I had 2x 2011 Carter BTKs (OG and 3 kings) in the last 2 months. The OG was remarkable and starting to integrate but the 3K tasted to me like it would have been more pleasurable on release…

I would agree w/Ian - this is not a site that is naturally geared toward restraint. That would require early picking and a specific approach in the cellar, which is not the goal when you are paying $20K/ton to put BTK on your label.

However, over in Spring Mountain, Terra Valentine’s 2014 Wurtele Vnyd. might fit the bill - incredibly pure, structured mountain cab with loads of nuance and not at all OTT.

[Andrew_A_r_n_t_f_i_e_l_d]

Brian
You’ll discover auctions soon enough. Its Andy’s weakness already

Who me?

BTW I have an unwritten agreement with another WB forumite that when either of us sees aged Detert come up for sale, we usually try to share the wealth. (Notice the qualifiers in that sentence?)

Oh, look what you’ve done, man – you’ve gone and written it.

Oh. Right. Written vs unwritten. I see how that works now.

[John_Bacigalupi]

Wonder if Constellation’s new To Kalon effort will fall on the restrained side of things, though I understand that the site characteristics of To Kalon don’t necessarily presage a restrained wine as many have noted.

Perhaps the influence of Andy Erickson, who while not maybe being a “classical” winemaker may not be as inclined to highlight the fruit as much like a Russell Bevan and Mike Smith?