Lovely floral bouquet. Dark inky red in the glass. Tannins are round and smooth with perfect acidity. Dark fruit flavors of crushed blackberry with a hint of minerality. There’s a depthness to the wine. Very nice.
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Great nose, full body with blackberry, cassis, cocoa, graphite, tannins that saturate your tongue and pallet (you don’t want to swallow), and a finish that goes on and on and on.
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Almost 96. This wine IMO is one of those examples of what I think when I think about Napa Cab. Nose and entry of black cherry, blackberry cassis, blueberry pie. This wine is mostly youthful fruit but has started to develop and shed the baby fat. Graphite, limestone, cinnamon, roasted black cherries, baked blueberries to the middle and finish. Some restraint with oaked influence, black pepper just sorta trickles in on this incredible 60 second finish. Enjoyed with a Cajun medley of shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn and garlic and this paired really well. The remaining 100ml was enjoyed a la carte and was just as enjoyable. Drink now or hold 10-15 years.
This is my first ever Carter Weitz! I wanted to find a good time to test this, especially considering the 2018 vintage looks to be still available on the Carter website. Tasting notes are from 2.5 hour slow ox, we followed this bottle for about an hour and a half. The wine took a bit to get going, thanks for the tasting note and advice, MARK1NPT, and HowellMountainCru.
On to the tasting notes:
This wine is seamless, classy and elegant. Not a bruiser whatsoever, but supremely balanced, with ripe cherries, plums, milk chocolate, some minerality, and integrated, velvety tannins, but with some acid/tannin grip at the very end. It's open, yet structured. Probably the most put together and complete wine that I've had from Carter (perhaps the bottle age and vineyard?). The last glass was the best, and so I would echo a two hour decant+ in a cool wine fridge/cellar before serving. I've got one more bottle, and will be waiting on it for some time. I think this can go for many years without falling apart. With that said a recent 2017 La Verdad probably would be a 94-96, and an 2017 OG would be a 96+, but this is one classy 2014. 94 is my enjoyment rating, but I think many people would go higher based on the overall integration/flavor profile and delivery.
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Tied in score but to me the WOTN, bordered on a 96 for me, but not HMC with everything we drank tonight. This is from a magnum, so still very strong and fresh, but yet refined a bit, and softened a bit. Gorgeous red fruit. Tons of class and depth and if I must say, maybe the most well put together wine of the evening. Great balance. I can't see any particular thing I would change about it at this 6 yo stage. Just excellent! Aging very nicely but takes about 2 hours of air to evolve and hit this score!
Decanted for 3 hours. This is a big, bold, bad ass wine that is very enjoyable right now. Integrated now, but will still pull together more in a couple years. Very deep garnet colored. Deep dark plumb, over ripe strawberries and cherry pie. Graphite and chocolate as well. The texture and mouthfeel are what stands out most. Luxuriously silky.
Decanted three hours, the Weitz Vyd Cab continued to develop over dinner. Lots of rich dark fruits in the nose and flavor. Blackberries, plums, blueberries, and black cherries along with chocolate, licorice, earthiness, and hints of floral. Full bodied, well balanced, and a long finish.
Opened this wine with the Wine Berserkers group in San Clemente. I really liked this wine. Really well integrated, lots of dark fruit flavors and super structure. We tasted some great wines including a 14 Macdonald that was decanted for six hours prior. The group consensus was the Carter was runner up to the MAC. I would agree. Still an awesome wine that should give for at least another 5-10 years.
This integrated Cabernet is drinking ridiculously well right now - open-knit and completely delicious. Dark garnet in color, full in body, nose of dark chocolate, rhubarb, and baking spices. Layered and luscious tastes of boysenberry, cherry pie, graphite, and cocoa powder, with a hint of vanilla showing through in a silky finish. 14.9% alcohol.
I drank the Weitz next to a 2014 Bevan Ontogeny, and the Weitz was clearly the better wine. Although the Bevan had a bit more punch, the Carter had more integration and polish. The Bevan was still a bit showy, while the Carter this was so good it didn't need to flash its stuff. I don't think the 2014 Weitz has the intensity or ripeness of the 2015, but that's what makes drinking the 2014 so nice. While the 2013 broods and the 2015 develops, the 2014 is just right - entering its prime drinking window in a very compelling way. 95+.
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Tasted on pop and pour. Revisited with the 2014 Realm Absurd two hours later.
Off the bat, I preferred the Realm, but my wife liked the Carter. After about 3 hours open, she switched and preferred the Realm.
I think the Carter was super open and made you want to drink more - dark red fruits and smoothness - and even opened up further with air time. But the Realm was ultimately the better wine for now, and certainly for future. That said, the gap wasn't wide for any of us.
I would drink this wine all day, and it probably peaks for me within 5 years. Such bright fruit that I would hate to see dissipate. A hedonistic, and lovely wine. Certainly wish I had more.
Christmas Eve. Decanted 2 hours. Definitely punching below where I expected from Carter, the vintage, and the vineyard. Agree with others that this wine is a bit lighter on its feet than i would like at this price point. Medium bodied with a beautiful aroma. No liquor like qualities, which I like. Elegant is how I would describe this. QPR questionable.
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I've been trying to be patient with this wine in light of the anticipated maturity from WA, however, I decided to finally pop a bottle with the 2015 vintage arriving soon. Dark ruby/purple fruit - blackberry, dark currants, and dark cherry. Smooth mid-palate with solid depth but not as deep as I expected in light of my experience with the other 2014 Carter cabs and also Parker's 95 rating. Nice flavors of dark berries and some spice box/licorice. Decent finish but not overly long nor deep and a little acidic. Decanted for two hours and drank over another three. Improved a little with time but this vintage needs to lay down longer for the fruit to soften/integrate in my opinion. WA anticipated maturity 2018 to 2044 which I believe makes sense - although I'm inclined to give this vintage another one to two years before revisiting.
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Dark purple in the glass. Notes of licorice, cassis and blackberries. Sweet fruit on the front end, medium bodied with a bit of a harsh element built into the finish. Luxurious texture and clearly excellent fruit. It seems like there is some imbalance here, with the acid taking away from the overall experience. Good, but underachieving for what I've come to expect from Carter. By comparison, the 2014 Maybach Materium (from Weitz), walks all over this one.
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Winter in Wineland; 1/14/2017-1/20/2017 (Sonoma & Napa): One of my favorite wines of the tasting - this is just a pretty wine. It's a bit less intense than some of the others. A bit more subtle. But beautiful. Made from a vineyard with the red volcanic soils, lots of red fruits, some coffee or cocoa and more muted flavors. Decent tannin structure. Built for some age, but also interesting now. Really liked this.
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Carter, Myriad, Ancillary Wine Tasting (Carter Cellars (Envy Wines) - Calistoga): After having the Myriad GIII (which was a very giving wine, displaying tons of dark fruit and a hedonistic mouthfeel), the Carter Weitz seemed extra tight. All of the flavors were there (previous notes apply), but they came off extremely coiled up this go-around. Though restrained, the purity of fruit (like with the whole Carter lineup) was evident and it had that "expensive" feel to it - like I was drinking something that someone had paid extra special attention to when making it.
This seems like it will have a decent drinking window ahead of it and still needs a couple of years to fan out and deepen. It's a young wine, but its a wine that always seems to get me intrigued. The 2012 is starting to come around now - it has actually softened quite a bit, and is somewhat of a less intense version of its BTK siblings; so, I anticipate the 2014 will deliver accordingly with time.
94+ points for now.
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Radiant purple color, dark red and black berry fruits, cassis, tannins and the acidity is a little more tamed at this point. Showing considerably better than my last tasting. This is very nice Napa Cabernet and much improved. 93.7 Points and I like it. Carter wines are fabulous and I'm confident that this wine will get better.
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2014 Carter Cellars Lineup (Carter Cellars (Envy Wines) - Calistoga): Here is where we really started to ratchet up the intensity and complexity. This felt like a huge jump in flavors compared to the Coliseum and Fortuna. The 2014 Weitz displayed wonderful purple, blue, and red berry fruits, red and black licorice (which was a flavor I was secretly looking for in the previous wines tasted, but was not able to find), some chocolate, and a pumice/stone note. Strikingly finessed and beautiful, with a wonderful mid-palate that was a little sweet but not the least bit cloying. A rush of tannins and some stone carried through the back end. This wine will indeed give the 2013 Weitz a run for its money. Try again in a year for fun, or hold well past 2018 to let it integrate even more. A lot going on here; just needs some time. 94-95+ points.
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Elegant and smooth, sweet dark berries and fruit, with hints of coco. A tasty clean Cab with nice balance, good structure and smooth tannis. This Cab seems to be a little restrained after only 3 days in the bottle, but I detect a lot of underlying potential with this wine. Very nice.
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10/14/2022 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted briefly from magnum. Rich, deep Napa fruit with supple tannins, showing beautifully.
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9/16/2022 - Tym4wine wrote: 93 Points
Lovely floral bouquet. Dark inky red in the glass. Tannins are round and smooth with perfect acidity. Dark fruit flavors of crushed blackberry with a hint of minerality. There’s a depthness to the wine. Very nice.
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8/28/2022 - jimyeni Likes this wine: 95 Points
Very enjoyable, in a great spot even on PNP.
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4/6/2022 - shellylowen Likes this wine: 95 Points
Great nose, full body with blackberry, cassis, cocoa, graphite, tannins that saturate your tongue and pallet (you don’t want to swallow), and a finish that goes on and on and on.
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6/16/2021 - mflesh wrote: 95 Points
Almost 96. This wine IMO is one of those examples of what I think when I think about Napa Cab. Nose and entry of black cherry, blackberry cassis, blueberry pie. This wine is mostly youthful fruit but has started to develop and shed the baby fat. Graphite, limestone, cinnamon, roasted black cherries, baked blueberries to the middle and finish. Some restraint with oaked influence, black pepper just sorta trickles in on this incredible 60 second finish. Enjoyed with a Cajun medley of shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn and garlic and this paired really well. The remaining 100ml was enjoyed a la carte and was just as enjoyable. Drink now or hold 10-15 years.
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5/23/2021 - jimyeni Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dare I say it came across a bit on the jammy side. Getting past that it was a really good wine that went by too quickly. Might be in a weird spot.
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10/31/2020 - Jazz Nut wrote: 94 Points
This is my first ever Carter Weitz! I wanted to find a good time to test this, especially considering the 2018 vintage looks to be still available on the Carter website. Tasting notes are from 2.5 hour slow ox, we followed this bottle for about an hour and a half. The wine took a bit to get going, thanks for the tasting note and advice, MARK1NPT, and HowellMountainCru.
On to the tasting notes:
This wine is seamless, classy and elegant. Not a bruiser whatsoever, but supremely balanced, with ripe cherries, plums, milk chocolate, some minerality, and integrated, velvety tannins, but with some acid/tannin grip at the very end. It's open, yet structured. Probably the most put together and complete wine that I've had from Carter (perhaps the bottle age and vineyard?). The last glass was the best, and so I would echo a two hour decant+ in a cool wine fridge/cellar before serving. I've got one more bottle, and will be waiting on it for some time. I think this can go for many years without falling apart. With that said a recent 2017 La Verdad probably would be a 94-96, and an 2017 OG would be a 96+, but this is one classy 2014. 94 is my enjoyment rating, but I think many people would go higher based on the overall integration/flavor profile and delivery.
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6/13/2020 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tied in score but to me the WOTN, bordered on a 96 for me, but not HMC with everything we drank tonight. This is from a magnum, so still very strong and fresh, but yet refined a bit, and softened a bit. Gorgeous red fruit. Tons of class and depth and if I must say, maybe the most well put together wine of the evening. Great balance. I can't see any particular thing I would change about it at this 6 yo stage. Just excellent! Aging very nicely but takes about 2 hours of air to evolve and hit this score!
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4/17/2020 - Stevethebeav Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for 3 hours. This is a big, bold, bad ass wine that is very enjoyable right now. Integrated now, but will still pull together more in a couple years. Very deep garnet colored. Deep dark plumb, over ripe strawberries and cherry pie. Graphite and chocolate as well. The texture and mouthfeel are what stands out most. Luxuriously silky.
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2/16/2020 - beau11 wrote: 94 Points
Lots of blackberry, blueberry and cassis. Tannin on the softer side. Drinking nicely now.
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12/16/2019 - buckeye76 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted three hours, the Weitz Vyd Cab continued to develop over dinner. Lots of rich dark fruits in the nose and flavor. Blackberries, plums, blueberries, and black cherries along with chocolate, licorice, earthiness, and hints of floral. Full bodied, well balanced, and a long finish.
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11/10/2019 - JeffNy1 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opened this wine with the Wine Berserkers group in San Clemente. I really liked this wine. Really well integrated, lots of dark fruit flavors and super structure. We tasted some great wines including a 14 Macdonald that was decanted for six hours prior. The group consensus was the Carter was runner up to the MAC. I would agree. Still an awesome wine that should give for at least another 5-10 years.
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6/15/2018 - msuwine Likes this wine: 95 Points
This integrated Cabernet is drinking ridiculously well right now - open-knit and completely delicious. Dark garnet in color, full in body, nose of dark chocolate, rhubarb, and baking spices. Layered and luscious tastes of boysenberry, cherry pie, graphite, and cocoa powder, with a hint of vanilla showing through in a silky finish. 14.9% alcohol.
I drank the Weitz next to a 2014 Bevan Ontogeny, and the Weitz was clearly the better wine. Although the Bevan had a bit more punch, the Carter had more integration and polish. The Bevan was still a bit showy, while the Carter this was so good it didn't need to flash its stuff. I don't think the 2014 Weitz has the intensity or ripeness of the 2015, but that's what makes drinking the 2014 so nice. While the 2013 broods and the 2015 develops, the 2014 is just right - entering its prime drinking window in a very compelling way. 95+.
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2/24/2018 - ageverett Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tasted on pop and pour. Revisited with the 2014 Realm Absurd two hours later.
Off the bat, I preferred the Realm, but my wife liked the Carter. After about 3 hours open, she switched and preferred the Realm.
I think the Carter was super open and made you want to drink more - dark red fruits and smoothness - and even opened up further with air time. But the Realm was ultimately the better wine for now, and certainly for future. That said, the gap wasn't wide for any of us.
I would drink this wine all day, and it probably peaks for me within 5 years. Such bright fruit that I would hate to see dissipate. A hedonistic, and lovely wine. Certainly wish I had more.
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12/25/2017 - Mech-E wrote: 92 Points
Christmas Eve. Decanted 2 hours. Definitely punching below where I expected from Carter, the vintage, and the vineyard. Agree with others that this wine is a bit lighter on its feet than i would like at this price point. Medium bodied with a beautiful aroma. No liquor like qualities, which I like. Elegant is how I would describe this. QPR questionable.
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10/26/2017 - Badmonkey wrote: 93 Points
I've been trying to be patient with this wine in light of the anticipated maturity from WA, however, I decided to finally pop a bottle with the 2015 vintage arriving soon. Dark ruby/purple fruit - blackberry, dark currants, and dark cherry. Smooth mid-palate with solid depth but not as deep as I expected in light of my experience with the other 2014 Carter cabs and also Parker's 95 rating. Nice flavors of dark berries and some spice box/licorice. Decent finish but not overly long nor deep and a little acidic. Decanted for two hours and drank over another three. Improved a little with time but this vintage needs to lay down longer for the fruit to soften/integrate in my opinion. WA anticipated maturity 2018 to 2044 which I believe makes sense - although I'm inclined to give this vintage another one to two years before revisiting.
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10/23/2017 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark purple in the glass. Notes of licorice, cassis and blackberries. Sweet fruit on the front end, medium bodied with a bit of a harsh element built into the finish. Luxurious texture and clearly excellent fruit. It seems like there is some imbalance here, with the acid taking away from the overall experience. Good, but underachieving for what I've come to expect from Carter. By comparison, the 2014 Maybach Materium (from Weitz), walks all over this one.
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9/1/2017 - blarmston Likes this wine: 92 Points
Liked this wine, thought I would love it.
Nothing really "missing" per se. Nice nose, medium mid, decent finish. Maybe I was expecting more across all three.
I wanted to crack one of these to see if I should grab a couple. I will be punting on any purchase of this until the 15's start hitting.
92 with slight upside. Drink now and over next 2-5 years.
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1/19/2017 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Winter in Wineland; 1/14/2017-1/20/2017 (Sonoma & Napa): One of my favorite wines of the tasting - this is just a pretty wine. It's a bit less intense than some of the others. A bit more subtle. But beautiful. Made from a vineyard with the red volcanic soils, lots of red fruits, some coffee or cocoa and more muted flavors. Decent tannin structure. Built for some age, but also interesting now. Really liked this.
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12/8/2016 - csimm wrote: 94 Points
Carter, Myriad, Ancillary Wine Tasting (Carter Cellars (Envy Wines) - Calistoga): After having the Myriad GIII (which was a very giving wine, displaying tons of dark fruit and a hedonistic mouthfeel), the Carter Weitz seemed extra tight. All of the flavors were there (previous notes apply), but they came off extremely coiled up this go-around. Though restrained, the purity of fruit (like with the whole Carter lineup) was evident and it had that "expensive" feel to it - like I was drinking something that someone had paid extra special attention to when making it.
This seems like it will have a decent drinking window ahead of it and still needs a couple of years to fan out and deepen. It's a young wine, but its a wine that always seems to get me intrigued. The 2012 is starting to come around now - it has actually softened quite a bit, and is somewhat of a less intense version of its BTK siblings; so, I anticipate the 2014 will deliver accordingly with time.
94+ points for now.
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8/10/2016 - Yack Man Likes this wine: 94 Points
Radiant purple color, dark red and black berry fruits, cassis, tannins and the acidity is a little more tamed at this point. Showing considerably better than my last tasting. This is very nice Napa Cabernet and much improved. 93.7 Points and I like it. Carter wines are fabulous and I'm confident that this wine will get better.
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6/4/2016 - csimm wrote: 94 Points
2014 Carter Cellars Lineup (Carter Cellars (Envy Wines) - Calistoga): Here is where we really started to ratchet up the intensity and complexity. This felt like a huge jump in flavors compared to the Coliseum and Fortuna. The 2014 Weitz displayed wonderful purple, blue, and red berry fruits, red and black licorice (which was a flavor I was secretly looking for in the previous wines tasted, but was not able to find), some chocolate, and a pumice/stone note. Strikingly finessed and beautiful, with a wonderful mid-palate that was a little sweet but not the least bit cloying. A rush of tannins and some stone carried through the back end. This wine will indeed give the 2013 Weitz a run for its money. Try again in a year for fun, or hold well past 2018 to let it integrate even more. A lot going on here; just needs some time. 94-95+ points.
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5/28/2016 - Yack Man Likes this wine: 93 Points
Elegant and smooth, sweet dark berries and fruit, with hints of coco. A tasty clean Cab with nice balance, good structure and smooth tannis. This Cab seems to be a little restrained after only 3 days in the bottle, but I detect a lot of underlying potential with this wine. Very nice.
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