2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Community Tasting Note

10 comments have been posted

• Comment posted by Portland Seth:

  7/1/2023 5:39:00 PM - Are you saying drink now? Would you expect a future drinking window?

• Comment posted by Mark1npt:

  7/1/2023 10:28:00 PM - Seth......it's a very tough call, and maybe one more suited for your individual palate and what you are looking for in your wines. I find with most Smith wines, and others here have said so too, that they appear to drink their very best in the early going. There's an explosive power and fruit goodness with great acidity that fires on all cylinders. I suspect, but can't say for sure, that maybe the best days of this wine are behind us? Yes, it will keep a lot longer, yes, the fruit will still be good for more years, but will it ever fire on all cylinders as maybe it did 6-12-18 months ago? I only had the one bottle, but my friends did open these for me in '21 and '22 and it was a much better wine back then. It really fired on the nose and the palate with the right air treatment. A 96-97 for me back then and that was probably being conservative looking back on it now. These types of wines and their early drinkability are what transformed my path with all wines. I learned (with help) that decanting (for airtime, not sediment) can bring out the best in a wine or enable you to enjoy a fine wine (Bdx) before it's optimum time by decanting properly and still having strong vibrant fruit to enjoy. This will keep longer but will it be any better for what I personally want from a Carter? I just don't think so. I've tried my own experiments with 10-15 yo Maybach, Carter, Myriad etc and have found that they just don't drink better for me personally after about the 5 year mark and this one is right at that 5 year mark now, but drank better at year 3 and 4. I can't explain it, as I have always thought that the '18s would be killers forever. Maybe the more traditional styles of reds made in Napa will be long lived and at their best with more aging, but I'm less inclined to think these big fruit bombs I've mentioned will be. More and more now I'm thinking this style of wine is for instant gratification only. I've largely stopped buying them. Not sure if this helps but maybe gives you a little context on which to base your own decision making?

• Comment posted by Portland Seth:

  7/1/2023 10:52:00 PM - Thanks! A couple years ago I thought you guys were saying '18 needed to age longer than other vintages and so I've been cellaring my two mixed half cases. Sounds like I should open one of them!

• Comment posted by Mark1npt:

  7/1/2023 11:09:00 PM - Seth, I have been saying that since the day the '18s were harvested. I still believe it for many of them. Some are open and really singing now. Some like an '18 Heimark I had last week are still shut down and not ready. It's a totally different style from a totally different winemaker who makes her wines to age gracefully and for a long time. The key is what style of winemaking was employed and what are your expectations of the wine? Many wines out of Napa these days are manipulated, manufactured, formulaic, meant to be drunk early and not meant to age. Others are meant for aging long term and to develop complexities and nuance, etc. I personally don't buy Carters for that. I buy them to drink early and enjoy them firing on all 12 cylinders. This one fired on the nose for 5.5 of its 6 cylinders and on the palate for 3-4 of those 6 cylinders. It's still a very good wine in a very good spot. 8.5 - 9.5 out of 12 cylinders isn't bad but a year ago this was a 10 or 11 out of 12 cylinder wine for me, personally because of the style it is made in and what I want out of it. The key is to know your winemaker and their style and also to know the wines you like and what you expect to get out of them. That's hard to get right some times.

• Comment posted by Portland Seth:

  7/1/2023 11:24:00 PM - I said mixed half case but they are all Carter bottles. I'll pop the nails off of one, that's why I got two!

• Comment posted by Mark1npt:

  7/1/2023 11:37:00 PM - Here's all the '18 Carters I've had thus far......did you put all your '18s in one basket with Carter?
  
  Red
  2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Oakville more
  Options7/1/2023 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 95 points (Edit)
  Short decant later on in the evening....slow ox for an hour or two. Deep purple in the glass with that unmistakable Carter nose of rich dark raspberry fruit, cinnamon a hint of anise and a slight burnt caramel barrel note. The palate reflects smooth liqueur like raspberry fruit, a bit of grainy tannins on the tongue and an excellent and long finish backed up by the acidity. This one really needed about another hour to settle in at a 95-96 for me....however, by the end of the evening, it started to mute a good bit on the nose and palate so I drew my score back a point to a 95. Not sure what it would have done with even more airtime. A very nice wine, but one style that is beginning to wane, for my palate.
  
  Comments (5) (185 views)
  
  
  Red
  2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Oakville
  Options6/25/2023 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 94 points (Edit)
  Prepped for one hour in the decanter prior to our event for tonight with Gabriel/Linda and the HMCs. Somehow, I managed to have only two small tastes of this one......my bad! But glad everyone enjoyed it!
  
  It was spectacular at the pnp, with a brief taste. At 90 minutes in, it calmed a bit with great red/black fruit, good balance, weight and length. Was it memorable as the WOTN? No. But it was quite good. I would have liked to have seen what it would have done with another hour or two of air. 94-95 to start, 94 when tasted 90 minutes in....then? I don't know.........this was a well rounded and organized bottle from what I had of it. Very well balanced but I would not say "spectacular".
  
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  Red
  2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Kings Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Oakville
  Options11/18/2022 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 95 points (Edit)
  Very enjoyable with the 3-4 hours of air it got. Redder than the Carter LPV from last night. Maybe a touch silkier, too. There is a hint of To Kalon here but wish there were more. It's very filling, very smooth and very good. I'm sure another year or two in bottle will further benefit it, too.
  
  2 people found this helpful / Comment (1,981 views)
  
  
  Red
  2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Napa Valley
  Options11/17/2022 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 96 points (Edit)
  Decanted 2 hours+ for our first wine of the latest Jaimepalooza(with Agelvis). Not as 'tight' as I thought it was going to be. Dark color in the glass, nose of pine needle and blackberry. With more time a little cassis pokes through, and some barrel spice shows up. This has a certain density to go along with well matched acidity. It clearly could use some more air time, too....but we all 3 went through the bottle pretty quickly over about 2 hours. It was def a good way to kick off the event!
  
  4 people found this helpful / Comments (2) (2,502 views)
  
  
  
  
  Red
  2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Oakville
  Options6/25/2022 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 95 points (Edit)
  1st wine this evening with the HMCs.....pnp'd and it needed 20-30 min to be drinkable. A little tight, and very introverted to start. At 30 min, it's very rich, thick, dense, deep fruit with tons of creamy milk chocolate. No sharp edges and well integrated. The problem here was I didn't put the cork back into the bottle after pouring the first glass for us. The cork stayed out, we drank some of the Kamen, some of Jimbo's own '16 cab he made that was quite good and quite Bdx-ish and even some Italian before going back to the Carter and enjoying it when it was open to air a total of 3-4 hours......and it is now doing what so many of the '16s did.....it became darker, slightly bitter and coarser. So, in a nutshell again.....the '18s right now, do not appear yet ready for prime time, unless you pour a glass and immediately put the cork right back in, until you pour the next glass. Too much air, too soon causes them to transition out of their best spot at the moment. If by some chance you drink the entire bottle the first hour, you are probably ok, even if you leave the cork out.
  
  Looking back at my last bottle provided by HMC, he did a 5 hour slow ox and it was great, easily the WOTN. This is very frustrating to try to decipher.....do these go through a dark phase before re-emerging over an additional 4 hours of slow ox or did this vintage regress over the past 4-5 months or is this just a off bottle? Hard to tell with any certainty........
  
  5 people found this helpful / Comments (10) (3,794 views)
  
  
  Red
  2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Oakville
  Options2/11/2022 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 97 points (Edit)
  Brought to the tasting tonight by HMC....5 hour slow ox then an hour decant. This is probably the WOTN, given the beautiful sweet candied nose. Lots of big red juicy fruit with great acidity driving it along. Tons of milk chocolate over 2-3 hours of air time. This has soft, silky fruit and a great finish driven by the aforementioned acidity. Thanks, Jimbo!
  
  3 people found this helpful / Comments (13) (3,922 views)
  
  
  Red
  2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Carter Napa Valley
  Options11/12/2021 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 96 points (Edit)
  First big night of the Jaimepalooza......maybe the WOTN.....needed all of a 6 hour decant to loosen up and even then it's a little tight on starting. Over another 2 hours it improves further, levels out into quite the improved, more balanced '18 cab. Great fruit, nice depth, good structure, I'm finding more and more that I treasure the makeup of a wine more than the actual taste profile. This is very good.
  
  2 people found this helpful / Comments (4) (3,406 views)

• Comment posted by Mark1npt:

  7/1/2023 11:37:00 PM - Red
  2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Weitz Vineyard Napa Valley
  Options7/14/2021 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 94 points (Edit)
  Carol says 93, which once again, is uncanny........she has no access to see the scores on here, but I'm giving it a 94 with an outside chance at a 95.
  
  This is thick and full of cassis from the pnp.....takes a good 2 hours to integrate, even out, and hit its stride. Classic cab nose in the glass...graphite, forest floor out the wazoo. Dark fruited and med heavy in the mouth, it has glide and well integrated acidity to go along with its black fruit and slightly herbal components. This feels so much more black fruited than the very poor '17 red fruited Weitz version, OMG! There's a strong tobacco component in play with a touch of iron. This is a really nice wine, starting to drink really well, IMO. Carol says buy more if it's under $100.....I laugh and say $150. She says no......I'm awfully tempted. The finish is just a tad short......
  
  7 people found this helpful / Comments (17) (3,864 views)
  
  
  
  
  Red
  2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Los Compadres Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Napa Valley
  Options5/16/2021 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 92 points (Edit)
  Not quite sure what to make of this one.......opened by good friend HMC before dinner and he had it chilled and decanting for maybe 5 hours. Looking back over #1's note, maybe that wasn't nearly enough time? It is quality juice, you can tell it's a Carter in the mouth but the nose up front has a green vegetal/weedy component to it, almost like dandelion. This eventually faded a bit as the night and the bottle wore on but never really completely abated. There was also an odd flavor in the mouth that I couldn't quite place at one point. I think this one def needs more time to integrate and find its way. A nice wine that should get maybe 2 points better over time.
  
  Comments (2) (2,928 views)
  
  
  Red
  2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Bam Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Napa Valley
  Options5/1/2021 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 95 points (Edit)
  Opened one hour and quadruple decanted. Really, really fruity on opening, almost jammy. Fruit is dark black, def LPV. There is some depth but overall weight in the mouth is not as thick or glycerin-y as the '16s. Nice to know the '18s are opening a bit. I personally preferred the red fruit of the OG last week. This seems to exhibit more black tar heavy toast the longer it's open. To me that's a negative which holds it back from going higher than 95 right now.....
  
  4 people found this helpful / Comments (4) (3,485 views)
  
  
  Red
  2018 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Oakville
  Options4/24/2021 - I LIKE THIS WINE: 96 points (Edit)
  Stunned.....this wine, as all the Carters, was closed down tight, acidic and somewhat tannic back in our Sept tasting, but I held it with great potential in mind. Tonight I was braced for a brute of a wine, a club over the head by a big Napa cab....
  
  What a difference 7 months in bottle makes! I am stunned by two things:
  
  1. the massive change over 7 months in bottle....and.....
  2. the lack of weight, depth and glide with this fruit compared to many previous vintages.
  
  That sounds critical, but let me explain........HMC decanted this for, I think 2 hours?
  
  This '18 fruit enjoyed about as perfect a growing season as Napa has ever seen in it's history and some of the slowest ripening/longest hang times in its history. The 'structure' should be there in spades and yet this wine comes across as just a tad underweighted or weak, only because of previous vintages which blew the doors off in comparison! Which begs to question.....is this the true reflection of what this wine should be, and were all the big heavy past vintages just some kind of over manipulated 'fake' wine? This was still the WOTN to all of us and many thanks to HMC for dinner and for opening. I found this to be quite enjoyable and a relief from all the heavy, syrupy over manipulated Cali cabs of the past 4-5 years. I'm glad I have a couple in my cellar and will be very interested to see how this wine evolves over the next 1-2 years.....does it add weight? Does it add layers to its already beautiful fruit taste profile? Does it add any glycerin or glide? I guess we'll find out.......this was a refereshing and pleasing wine for me and it was nice not to be kicked up side the head by yet another Cali cab. I have been thinking that these '18s were going to take a long time and drink late like so many of the '13s have, but to me this has the fruit and structure of a '12, which is not a bad thing. It will be interesting to see if the other Carters in my stable drink/behave the same?

• Comment posted by Decanting Queen:

  7/4/2023 6:35:00 AM - Mark, we tried this one on day 3 at the airport and Paul and I were absolutely blown away vs our original tasting. I don’t know what that means for drink now vs later, but I suspect that all things being equal this bottle could have been as good now as your last two. It is frustrating because DV is one of my favorite settings but I need to crack the code on which wines won’t be compromised there.

• Comment posted by Mark1npt:

  7/4/2023 8:24:00 AM - Interesting, to say the least! I wonder how much of the improvement was due to no longer being at altitude vs having been opened 3 days earlier? Any ideas?

• Comment posted by Decanting Queen:

  7/4/2023 11:25:00 AM - That is the question!!! But it was so dramatic for both of them, I can’t help thinking it is a combination of the two but maybe a bigger altitude effect.