Community Tasting Note

• Mark1npt Likes this wine: 97 points

  March 26, 2020 - Surprising. Had the '16 a while back and graded it at 98 if memory serves. After having a '17 zin the other night that tasted like my dad's ash tray, this is beyond beautiful. Sweet fruit, great acidity/tannins and balance, this was indeed the WOTN. Beautiful nose, great weight, awesome structure. Mike Smith took a crummy '17 crop and made a great wine out of it. Thank you, Mike!

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21 Comments

• msuwine commented:

  3/26/20, 11:13 PM - Hi Mark - Thanks for the great note! I don't believe in many things, but I do believe in the OG. Here's to sorting through the good and bad of the vintage - I'll need to open one of these soon. Stay safe my friend - from CA to FL, these are strange times.

• Decanting Queen commented:

  3/27/20, 4:54 AM - This is the only ‘17 you have been consistently enthusiastic about —it must be good!!
  Or, buy more of that ash tray wine and have a glass before each ‘17 that you try —lol.

• Mark1npt commented:

  3/27/20, 5:04 AM - Hey msu/Jen......I swear Mark Carter must get the pick of the 3 best rows in all of TK every year for this wine. And Mike Smith knows what to do with it! Over 50% of the TK fruit was lost in '17 to smoke taint and still more was heat damaged. There is no flaw evident in this OG other than perhaps it lacks just a little silky glide and 1-2 points overall to the '16 IMO. This was my only bottle of OG, still have a couple of the other Carter 17's left but I know they won't be able to measure up to this one. Thanks for the well wishes, msu.....Jen-you keep getting better!

• cablover123 commented:

  3/27/20, 4:47 PM - Nice note Mark. I have not yet tried the Carter 17's, however, I did not back off from my 17' Carter OG and La Verdad purchases You are now tempting me to give them a try. The other higher quality 17's I have tried seem like they will gain weight with a few years more then normal. Cheers! Dan

• Mark1npt commented:

  3/27/20, 6:21 PM - cablover.....many of the '17s have way underperformed (as feared and expected), but not this one! If you have plenty, by all means open one now. Some will love it from the pnp, others are going to find one hour in that it sings, others will love it 3 years from now......just a point or maybe two behind the great '16, IMO.

• Yack Man commented:

  3/30/20, 6:41 PM - Nice note Mark1npt, you (and I) like a wine that is getting a bad rap by some simply because of the 2017 Napa Valley wild fires. While it's true, some of the 17's have issues, those issues will vary depending on the wine maker. This vintage will have a negative stigma attached to it however, bottle time and some integration will make this "O.G." more enjoyable.

• Mark1npt commented:

  3/30/20, 7:37 PM - Yack Man.....much appreciate the kind words, thanks. I have been as guilty as anyone with running down the '17 vintage. I have tasted through enough now to realize that all the upper end stuff we like to drink was heat damaged in some way, to a certain degree and none of it smoke tainted. The cheaper wines much more smoke damaged as all those damaged grapes got sold off as bulk juice to somebody, put in bottles and now line supermarket shelves all across America. This particular wine is one of the few outliers thus far. It literally is just a point or two max behind the great '16 OG. I don't know what a year or 5 will do to these better high end '17 wines. I have a couple other Carter's left but no more OG. It will be a great learning experience for us all, I think. Cheers, my friend!

• vintage1949 commented:

  7/14/20, 5:43 AM - To MSU Wright, Jen, Mark,Cab, and Yack,
  Well if I am reading the notes correctly Mike did it again! I am not reading from notes t. hat the acid is too high or the tannins are overwhelming. To the contrary-positive notes for this 2017. Have you had this wine again and does it confirm your original thoughts? I only bought two bottles of this wine. Since waiting a few or more years is not a problem when should I consume the first bottle? Thanks ahead of time for your reply.
  
  P.S. I am the turtle in the rabbit and turtle race. I will crack open the bottle when the wine gets to the finish line. Dave

• Mark1npt commented:

  7/14/20, 6:05 AM - I personally didn't wait longer than 6 months, mine is gone.

• Mark1npt commented:

  7/14/20, 6:06 AM - I waited 9 years on some of my '11s, Dave. It was a bad year, too. They never got any better either.

• vintage1949 commented:

  7/14/20, 6:12 AM - Thanks for the input Mark. Dave

• Yack Man commented:

  7/14/20, 6:14 AM - Vintage1949: I have popped 3 bottles and all three were Excellent. When should open one? It's your call. If it's a special occasion, I would not hesitate personally on this wine. I also think that bottle time won't hurt it either. Clearly, the 2017 is not as good as the 2018, it's about 2-3 point away from perfection in my opinion. Mark Carter and Mike Smith, what a team!

• vintage1949 commented:

  7/14/20, 6:38 AM - Thanks YakMan for the post!
  I ordered a three pack of 2018 which has just one bottle of OG. Will have to be careful when to open that wine. Bought many 2018’s so could not splurge on Carter. (Bought Carter, Chateau Mouton Rothschild-just a three pack, Memento Mori, Cayuse Bionic Frog, will buy B Cellars, and a six pack of 2017 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron along with a few others. That drained my mostly 2018 wallet. Now saving up for 2019. Have you heard anything about that vintage? Dave

• Mark1npt commented:

  7/14/20, 8:11 AM - Dave, word is out that '19 fruit was some of the best ever, while others are saying merely, "it was interesting". The power outages around pick time lengthened ripening, delayed picking, sorting and processing for many and for others may have impacted fermentation. We have no way of knowing unless wineries admit to their shortcomings, which they most likely won't. I am probably going small on '19s until I can taste test them in person for myself and then decide on what I want to buy. I will NOT be first to market next year.

• vintage1949 commented:

  7/14/20, 1:21 PM - Thanks Mark for the information. Most helpful. Dave

• Mark1npt commented:

  7/14/20, 1:38 PM - Any time, Dave......

• cablover123 commented:

  7/14/20, 2:46 PM - I got a good laugh out of Mark's comment "I will NOT be the first to market next year". We all like your notes Mark and are looking forward to them about the 19's even if you are not the first.

• Mark1npt commented:

  7/14/20, 5:58 PM - cablover....so glad you enjoyed my note! But I meant it, too. Usually, I am in a hurry to make sure I get in early before things sell out as soon as these great cabs are released every year, but not so for the '19s. I'm all in on the '18s and overloading on them and will wait a bit to see how the '19s do/taste!

• vintage1949 commented:

  7/15/20, 10:44 AM - Hi guys,
  Well I will not have the funds for 2019 as I did for 2018. Hmm-could that be I overspent on 2018? I have to stop typing for a second to move my tin cup. There. I will be buying a three pack 2019 from Carter. I am betting Mike will come out ahead of many others in 19. What do you think? Dave

• cablover123 commented:

  7/16/20, 4:23 PM - The 2018's have hit the wallet hard here also Dave. If I could only purchase one red and one white next year, I would buy Carter for the red and Aubert for the white. There very well may be better and more consistent, but, none that has crossed my lips. It would be interesting to hear others thoughts.

• Mark1npt commented:

  7/16/20, 5:12 PM - cab123.....I don't think you're gonna get many arguments on those two!

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