Carter Cellars 2019 Release

Here is the email sent out today, and release is open:

It is our pleasure to announce the Carter Cellar’s purchase schedule for the 2019 Vintage. In a gesture of thanks to our past supporters, starting June 22nd at 9:00 am (PDT), our 2019 wines will be available for purchase by our “Loyal Buyers,” those who have purchased from us in the past. The following week on June 29th, the wines will be offered to our general mailing list.

In 2019 we are releasing eleven unique and exceptional wines - some of which have received 100 point scores from barrel samples. From the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard we have the following: our massively-structured Beckstoffer To Kalon ‘The O.G.’ Cabernet, the slightly more fruit-forward Beckstoffer To Kalon ‘The Grand Daddy’ Cabernet, and the rich, lush and elegant Beckstoffer To Kalon ‘The Three Kings’ Cabernet. Each of these Beckstoffer To Kalons have very distinct characteristics and personalities. Moreover we have also masterfully crafted another Beckstoffer To Kalon ‘The G.T.O.’ from the very best barrels out of the vineyard, aiming to replicate the four 100 point scores we have received over the past seven years. Additionally, we are thrilled to offer three highly praised Cabernets from the Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena: ‘La Verdad’ from our original section on the vineyard, ‘La BAM’, a favorite of the critics and our newest offering, ‘Los Compadres’. Also, as in past years, we have crafted the following exceptional wines from world class vineyards: the Weitz Vineyard Cabernet from the eastern Oakville Bench, the Hossfeld Coliseum Red Blend from the hillside of Soda Canyon, as well as a return to the Fortuna Vineyard Cabernet from the valley floor in Oakville. Finally, we are pleased to announce the return of the ‘Carter’. This wine is a masterfully crafted Cabernet which blends fruit from a variety of the vineyards from which we source.

These wines are incredible and possess our signature style of finesse and verve. As always, quantities are limited, so be prepared to act with haste. We are extremely excited about the 2019 Carter Cellars wines, and cannot wait to share them with you.

Thank you for your support of Carter Cellars, and for affirming and sharing our obsession with quality.

I am likely going to get:

6x Carter Cellars Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon - ‘The O.G.’
6x Carter Cellars Fortuna Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Wish I could go out there and do a tasting, but not in the cards this year. Some positive Cellar Tracker chatter so far. I’ve really enjoyed the Fortuna over the last few vintages (and feel a little less guilty popping one of these, than the higher priced wines). The O.G. looks to be in the same range as 2016 and 2018, so should be a good buy. Staying away from Las Piedras this time, I believe, just because I bought a few of the Myriad (Shiverick Reserve) this go around.

Anybody else buying today, and/or have tasted the 2019s yet?

Just picked up:

3x O.G.
3x Carter
3x Fortuna
2x Los Compadres
1x Weitz

Usually stick with just the BTK bottlings but decided to diversify this year.

Just put in my first order. I usually go pretty deep here so there will be a few. Got to taste most of the lineup and was very impressed.

How did the 2019s compare to the 2018s (and previous vintages)? Any impressions would be helpful, though I think I’ve seen your comments on Cellar Tracker (I am Jazz Nut there).

As many have said, I think the 2018s need more time to show their best, and not a pop and pour like 2016 or 2017–frankly.

I had a chance to try the 2019 BTK Three Kings at a charity event Carter supports. I love Carter, and based on what I tried, the 2019s are going to be yet another great vintage from them. Trying to figure out what we are buying right now!

I appreciate your thoughts!

I think 19s will show much better early. In 3-5 years who knows how it’ll compare to 18 but id say that 18 and 19 are probably equal in quality to 15 to me. May not be quite as good at 16, but close. I’ll likely end up with 4 cases total of the 19s

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Their wines never disappoint.

I went 2x Verdad, OG and Compadres. Wish I could go deeper :confused:

In for 6 bottles across To Kalon, LPV and Carter. Would buy more, but 2020 bordeaux futures are hitting the wallet hard :slight_smile:

Just came back from a tasting at Carter yesterday. Will post notes on CT later today.

A few initial impressions - After tasting a number of 2019s (VV, Kinsman, Carter, Myriad), they seem to be overall more approachable than the 2018s, but it seems some of the bottlings we tasted at Carter yesterday morning are already closing up (bottle shock), as unfortunately, not all showed well at our tasting.

IMO, after revisiting my 2018 notes when I tasted them before their release around this time, the 2019s didn’t seem to wow me as the 2018s did last year. I was slightly disappointed with the ‘Carter’ and Grand Daddy bottlings, but was more impressed with the Weitz and La Verdad bottlings. Additionally, the La BAM was the most surprising, as it seemed so different compared to the 2016-2018 bottlings of the same wine. With all that being said, they are still very well-made wines and I still picked up a few to revisit down the road.

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Thanks for your detailed notes on CT…for anyone else wondering which few bottles to buy, Frank has a great review of all on CT champagne.gif

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Looks like Los Compadres is sold out already.

Verdad is down to under 200 bottles too. Good day for Carter I think.

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Thanks for the heads up, I focused on the OG and Fortuna this release, but looked on the site and noticed ~56 bottles left for La Verdad, so decided to add 3. I am DONE now…lol.

Appreciate the notes on Cellar Tracker! I went with my favorites OG, and Fortuna, but added 3 La Verdad today, based on the low stock, and positive reviews on Cellar Tracker, and Jeb Dunnuck. Haven’t tried a 2018 yet, but finished off my 2017s, and was very pleased for a tough vintage.

Lol good decision. The Verdad is one of my favorite LPV wines every year. Bam was very good this year as well. Didn’t get to try the compadres but grabbed a few.

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My second purchase.

Ordered 1 Fortuna this time and 1 The Verdad.