2004 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Carter

The most expensive offering is the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Carter. Only 600 bottles were made. Proprietor Mark Carter’s consulting winemaker is Nils Venge, who old-timers such as myself remember for making some of the most monumental Napa Cabs in the mid-seventies while he was at Villa Mt. Eden and later at Groth, when the Groth 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve received the first perfect score from The Wine Advocate. The 2004 Carter is a killer effort. It boasts an inky/purple color and virtually everything you would want in a great Cabernet Sauvignon – creme de cassis, blackberries, graphite, spring flowers, well-integrated wood, acidity and tannin, a full-bodied mouthfeel and a finish that goes on and on. This spectacular wine remains incredibly youthful. If I had tasted it blind, I would have mistaken it for a two- or three-year-old Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. It should continue to age effortlessly for 20-25 years. Carter Cellars has become one of my favorite Napa producers. Tel. and Fax (707) 445-0311