2012 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The G.T.O Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 96.9 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Siebs Cellar's profile
  • Report Issue

  12/6/2019 - Siebs Cellar wrote: 97 Points

  Full and flavorful. The fruit was a mouthful. Texture was smooth but full.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Yack Man's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/2/2018 - Yack Man wrote: 96 Points

  The wine maker describes it as “sourced from the best barrels, out of the very best areas of the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard” really inviting. This wine, has a big fruit profile, dark blackberry and dense blueberry fruit with a beautiful nose and a firm backbone. A big wine with sweet notes and grainy like tannins, but I would say it’s transitioning at this point as it shows a bit acidic right now. It’s built for the long-haul, so it needs time to develop. I wish I could’ve tasted this with earlier in its journey, the other vintages seemed a bit more but I’d give it about 95-96 points at this juncture. Many enjoy the 2012 vintage, the critic’s rated highly, but it’s not my favorite year. I was a little surprised to find the acidity showing the way it did on this particular wine, however it’s been my experience the 2012’s overall that they tend to show acidity overall.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View csimm's profile
  • Report Issue

  5/29/2017 - csimm wrote: 97 Points

  DAY 1: PnP was tight and restrained, with notes of black and red currant, black cherry, spice, and alcohol. Took about four hours in the decanter to open up with additional, deeper flavors of asphalt, cacao, and some cigar box. Concentration was nice (especially after four hours), but still holding back from fully stretching its legs. On the first sip, I knew this was a wine that needed some time. Impeccably balanced and focused (more so than any Carter I've had - not astringent in any way), but framed by core fruit that wasn't willing to totally show its hand yet - which I found interesting since Mike Smith's wines can frequently be more extracted and fruit forward in their youth.
  
  This has a finesse that is definitely noteworthy, and indeed seems to be a hybrid of what the different BTK versions from Carter have to offer, but with complete grace. Not the straight behemoth I thought it might be. Has both strength and poise, fruit and frame; it only lacks some accessibility at the moment. As stated by the pros, this is a wine to lie down for a decade. 2022+ is probably the earliest window for this wine (at least based on what I experienced on day one).
  
  DAY 2: More accessible but less vibrant after 24 hours. Though the first day was more restrained in terms of core fruit flavors, this GTO certainly had more verve on day one. I preferred this on day one. Moral of the story... wait.
  
  This wine was playing a little cat and mouse in that it never really had a chance to show what I believe to be its true identity. In transition and still wanting sleep I suppose. Don't expect this wine to have the punch and power of the OG or the fruit-forward profile of the Grand Daddy. It seems to have the best of the "elegance" of the three BTK offerings (which is not what I would readily identify this site with). The overall balance is pretty incredible, with a purity of fruit that hints at more seamlessness in a number of years.
  
  Wait until after 2022. 95-97+ points for now.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (15)

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.