Carter Cellars Beckstoffer To Kalon - 'The G.T.O' 2012
Tasting Notes
A masterful blend of the best barrels of all three of our blocks of To Kalon only available in Magnum format. This is a serious wine for serious wine drinkers. Incredibly rich and layered, with a profound mix of pure dark plum, crème de cassis, wild berry, spice, licorice, fresh-cut flowers and understated minerallity. Its simply amazing flavors are pure and balanced, a marriage of power and finesse. The ethereal finish weaves together the flavors with ripe, polished firm tannins. This is a wine made for the cellar.
"I do not know what the G.T.O. stands for (I doubt it is in reference to a car), but to me, it means “Great Time Offered” as the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon The G.T.O. is one of the truly majestic and singular world-class wines of Napa Valley. It raises the bar on the other To Kalon offerings, which are all stunning in their own right. The G.T.O. is a multidimensional Cabernet Sauvignon of first-growth quality from a great Bordeaux vintage. Its inky/ruby/purple color is followed by an extraordinary nose of crème de cassis, graphite and spring flowers.... It is something to behold! This compelling superstar is pure perfection."
100 Points~ Robert Parker
Map of the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard
The History of the To Kalon Vineyard
The Beckstoffer portion of the historic original To Kalon Vineyard in the Oakville AVA was purchased from Beaulieu Vineyard in 1993. Beaulieu had purchased the property from the Crabb estate in 1940 and called it their Beaulieu Vineyard No. 4. Napa Pioneer Hamilton Crabb first planted the vineyard in 1868 and it has produced some of the Napa Valley's best red grapes ever since. Replanted after phylloxera by Beckstoffer from 1994 to 1997 to multiple clones of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with modern trellising and closer vine spacing, the vineyard produces several luxury award winning vineyard designated wines. These vineyard designated Cabernet Sauvignon wines include Schrader Cellars, Paul Hobbs, Provenance, Realm and of course, Carter Cellars.
