Community Tasting Note

• #1Winelover wrote:

  June 28, 2022 - This is not a tasting note -- it's a question for this forum:
  Are you purchasing the 2020 Carter and Myriad lineups that are coming out shortly? I don't know what to do as most Vintners are not releasing wines from the same vineyards. Not just because of the Glass Fires, but because of the haze over the valley for several months.
  
  Any feedback would be appreciated. I did load up on 2019 in general assuming that nobody would be releasing 2020, but here they come!

  4 people found this helpful 4,242 views

21 Comments

• Cristal2000 commented:

  6/28/22, 4:32 PM - Nope, not a chance. :)

• TastesGoodToMe commented:

  6/28/22, 5:15 PM - I have been struggling with the same question. And although they say there is not smoke taint... it's a huge tariff to pay when you are not completely sure.

• #1Winelover commented:

  6/28/22, 5:26 PM - It's confusing because at the end of the day, they are in business to sell stuff and we are the consumers. Take Las Piedras, for example, I'm pretty sure that 80-90% of the vintners will not produce wine from 2020. Carter is. I'm sure that Quivet will be. Brand is very important. But agreed that for the price of admission, I want to be assured that what I am buying will be excellent at purchase and for years to come.

• Franken Berry commented:

  6/28/22, 6:24 PM - I’ve asked the same question of other CT’ers, then answered it myself. There are still 2019s out there, including Carter

• gesusser commented:

  6/28/22, 10:06 PM - I passed on my 2020 allocation. Been buying French Bordeaux

• #1Winelover commented:

  6/29/22, 4:49 AM - I was going to ask Carter to overnight me a tasting sample but I think that I am going to skip it. It'll be a battle for me. Let's see if I have self control!

• sean7711 commented:

  6/29/22, 7:17 AM - I'm in the same boat as many of you. Crazy they increased the price $30 for the BTK/LPV wines on top of offering these. What I thought was interesting is the 2nd Carter email the other day basically reiterating the first offer/no smoke taint/etc etc... they must not see a lot of demand this year!
  
  I may buy a 3 pack - 1 La Verdad, 1 Carter Carter, and 1 Haze or Daze as a sample. I love Carter year in and year out, and while I won't be spending a ton of coin on 2020 in general, I feel like I will selectively try a few.

• #1Winelover commented:

  6/29/22, 7:58 AM - I reached out to Jeb Dunnuck since he sometimes reviews wines as they are being released. His feedback simple: he would not buy any 2020s. If you buy 2020s, make sure that you try them 1st. His belief is that some might be okay, but smoke taint can also appear after a year or three in bottle.
  Basically, we would all be taking a huge chance with a big ticket item.
  
  I reached out to Carter to see if they would send me a virtual sample pack in small bottles. They did this during Covid. If yes, I will try and then decide to buy. If no, I will just skip. I'm definitely skipping Myriad and Quivet. They continue to raise their pricing and sell their full lineup.
  
  Finally, I agree that since there is still wine from 2019 and earlier -- and through auction/online, I don't need the risk!
  
  Hope that all of this info helps.

• Cristal2000 commented:

  6/29/22, 8:00 AM - I guarantee you these 2020's will show up in the aftermarket for a lot less. I already find good vintages of Carter for less (a lot less at that). And with perhaps the exception of Myriad Elysian, none have a wait.

• #1Winelover commented:

  6/29/22, 9:12 AM - That's interesting as I have not been able to find Carter wines in the secondary market at a cheaper price. I guess I need to sharpen my wine-searcher.com skills! Totally agree with you on 2020. They might just end up dumping them but I still won't buy.
  
  The other thing to keep in mind is that there is always next year.

• Cristal2000 commented:

  6/29/22, 9:18 AM - I personally think it's a massive slap in the face to their client base to the price by 15% in a year when they probably shouldn't be releasing a wine. But that's just me. With Carter, you may as well wait till next year, because they can't sell all their wine anyway. I remember many vintages back, probably 2016, when at least Verdad was a challenge to get unless you were right on top of it. Now, it's just never an issue.

• sean7711 commented:

  6/29/22, 9:52 AM - Thanks guys - really appreciate the insight from you both Cristal/#1. I think I will pass as well. I also can't seem to find Carter discounted too often in the secondary market so will need to keep my eyes peeled!

• Franken Berry commented:

  6/30/22, 11:21 AM - Not to complicate matters, but I would point out that Mark Carter claims that all grapes were harvested pre fire, and if so, I think concerns about smoke taint would be non existent. That said, these are expensive wines and I see no reason to gamble. Of course, if Mark wants to guarantee satisfaction with the wine, that would be something to consider

• Cristal2000 commented:

  6/30/22, 11:34 AM - My response to that would be which fire? There we fires around the valley most of the year, with smoke in the air covering the valley long before the Complex Fire in August. And let's be honest - Carter lets their grapes hang about as long as anyone, and while I am not calling Mark a liar, I'd love to see some evidence that the grapes were harvested pre-Complex Fire. Other wineries like Schrader discarded their 2020's from the same general sources.
  
  Anyway, to each their own, but it's hard to imagine a super extracted rich wine like Carter, which is usually left to ripen longer than most other wines, was actually picked super early in 2020. I know Russell Bevan has various "methods" of trying to hide the taint or smoke effect, but not sure who would want to chance it and pay $225 for the privilege.
  
  Just my 2c. :)

• #1Winelover commented:

  6/30/22, 11:58 AM - I agree with most of what Cristal just wrote. I don't know the names of the fires, but I do know that there were many, and that there was smoke and haze in the air for most of the summer. I didn't know Bevan or others can "manipulate smoke taint, which is interesting. I do know that Bevan Cellars is not releasing any 2020s so this would be on Carter. Again, with 90+% of the wineries not producing wines from the same site, how is that even possible?

• NickRut commented:

  6/30/22, 8:25 PM - Nope. Skipped all so far and will skip the rest. I’d buy Mac jus to keep my allocation. That’s it.

• #1Winelover commented:

  7/1/22, 4:00 PM - WOW Nick - will power!

• NickRut commented:

  7/1/22, 4:02 PM - It’s developing! Up to like 3500 bottles so probably need to figure that out.

• Cristal2000 commented:

  7/1/22, 6:28 PM - I actually have the exact same situation. Mac is the only 2020 I will buy, and only because they’ve earned that right with their pricing.

• #1Winelover commented:

  7/2/22, 4:03 AM - Nick -- I want to be you. Or at least live in your wine cellar.

• RTP commented:

  11/20/22, 10:20 AM - Well I bought a bunch of all those and now you’re making me worry! I was told in each case grapes were picked before fires and smoketaint didn’t exist for these grapes. I guess we will see! What would a vintner do if thousands of dollars of wine becomes undrinkable due to smoketaint? You may be very wise to avoid them.

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