December 16, 2023 - In-laws and Laura visit (Jason's House): PnP - This would have been better with a short decant (an hour would have been nice). Plenty of dark fruit and cocoa with shades of red fruit too! Also some earthy notes, spice and hints of tar and anise. Better than last year and a pretty good value! 93+ and a delicious hedonistic wine!
November 24, 2022 - A very nice wine, unfortunately, it came right after a 2017 Carter "Carter"....this wine was run through an aerator and decanted for 30 mins then consumed over the next 3 hours. A little more leaner than the Carter Carter, and should have been consumed first. Dark fruit on nose and palate with some red fruit too. Hints of chocolate and slight toasted oak notes on the finish. A very pleasant wine, but bested by its older brother! 93 points tonight.
As a side note, I am impressed with how well these wines are drinking, and no signs of any smoke taint! Kudos to Carter!
August 6, 2022 - A good bottle of wine for a vintage that is sometimes awkward depending on the bottling and producer. This was a good wine but was a little tart showing dark cherry fruit, dark, some plum (tart plum skin), and dark berry fruit. good extraction but I would wait on this wine, it could show better with longer cellaring. Consumed over a three day period, slow ox 92+/ 93 Points.
June 4, 2022 - Surprised its been nearly a year since someone popped one of these, I’ll take one for the team tonight.
Right out of the bottle this was tight with a slight tart note, but solid. Decanted half the bottle and after five hours the nose remains a veritable black hole of dark fruit, with a palate that just as dark, if not as chewy or lush as I’d expect.
Gobs of tannins that are clearly resolving rather than punching you. Crushed stone, black or huckleberry, pencil lead; given more air theres a silkiness to the finish.
Would like to see this add some weight and complexity or layering, but no issue w a 92-3 today and the ability to add 1-2pts.
June 24, 2021 - Purple color. Small taste. Offda as they say. But I like "I'd Rather's" note on this, as this will be a crowd pleaser for many as he says. Right now I find it green, young, huge, highly extracted, blackberry liqueur and syrupy black berries. No score.
June 23, 2021 - PnP while preparing for a wine dinner party....drank with my sister-in-law, who is more of Caymus SS fan. This is high octane fruit on steroids. I liked it, but can see many having an issue with the sweetness and fruit-forwardness of this wine! Gobs of dark fruit wrapped in velvety tannin make you forget there is even any alcohol in this wine! Not for the feint of heart! Excellent wine now for those who prefer hedonistic pleasure and purity of fruit, or wait for some tertiary flavors to emerge. Personally, I will be curious how this ages, as well as other high octane CA cabs.....I like this, but will likely wait to open other bottles. 94 now with a chance to improve!
December 24, 2020 - This bottle isn't showing as well as the last two bottles did. Although decent on the palate, the wine was not as expressive with some tartness and didn't really open up. Dark cherry fruit, dark plum showing some tart plum skin, and dark berry fruit. The extraction is there but maybe this was an off bottle, who knows? Consumed over a three day period, slow ox 92-92+ Points.
September 4, 2020 - Not bad as a pop and pour, but with more than 2/3 of a bottle remaining there will be more to say about this wine no doubt. I like it.
Day 2: Better as it opens. As I have mentioned in my earlier comments, the 2017 Carter Cabernet's have no issues at all for me. They are clearly not as good as the 2016’s but the 2017 Fortuna is not far off in my opinion. The wine is moderately ripe, fruit forward consisting of dark berry fruits, black cherry, cassis, plum notes and smooth tannins.
July 12, 2020 - Yack Man really wrote a good tasting note, that is spot on. I've had 3 bottles of this over the last month or so. Deeply concentrated, red, blue, and black fruits. This was ready to go after a double decant of 2 hours--with that said, at PnP it was very nice. Tannins seem integrated, and a long, lingering finish. Just enough acid to keep things balanced. I really enjoyed all 3 bottles recently, but this one really hit the spot with the double decant. It only got better over dinner, even. I know there are a lot of mixed reviews on the 2017 vintage, but every Carter wine that I've had (including the OG) from this vintage has been high quality. We enjoyed this bottle after a Wren Hop Rose, with grilled filet, roasted cauliflower/broccoli, and grilled zucchini. Followed up with Bevan Cellars Dry Stack Sauvignon Blanc with desert, and a 2009 Dom with the bonfire. Great Saturday night!
June 23, 2019 - Carter 2017 lineup is compelling and quite attractive. I anticipated going into this vintage thinking that I would not invest too heavily in it because of the year and potential smoke taint detection. Carter Cabernet's have no issues at all. I think everyone will to be impressed with the extraction and energy these wines show, and the 2017 Fortuna is no exception. A bright wine exhibiting energy, with ripe and beautiful extraction, dark cherry, black fruit, plums, cassis and powdered coco. This vintage has smooth tannins with a nice finish mark this vintage. I would say the 2017 is showing as good if not better than the 2015 vintage in my opinion, I really like this wine. 94+/ 95 Points now. I will enjoy the path and journey this wine takes as I consume my bottles probably sooner rather than later.