Carter Cellars Beckstoffer To Kalon - 'The G.T.O' 2019
Tasting Notes
With over four 100 point scores since its inception, the 2019 Carter Cellars 'The G.T.O.' available only in Magnum format is sourced from the very best barrels, out of the very best slices of the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. A monumental wine, that possesses huge notes of crème de cassis, crushed earth, blueberries, blackberries, and exotic spice in both the aromatic and flavor profiles. The finish is endless in this super-intense, rich wine. Like all of our Beckstoffer To Kalons the sweetness of tannins and the emerging complexity permits enjoyment at this early stage, but let it age for 10 to 25 years to see the best of what this wine has to offer. As always, extremely limited, so act with haste.
"The 2019 Beckstoffer To Kalon ‘G.T.O’ Cabernet Sauvignon tops the charts once again. As with Carters other releases from To Kalon, this displays a wonderful sense of place and beautiful purity of fruit. The aromatics are seductive, with gorgeous sweet dark berries, cassis and a touch of blueberry which come together with graphite, fresh flowers, crushed gravel, sweet spices and hints of toasted nuances all coming together. This continues to impress on the palate as it displays a sensational full body that is structured with beautifully polished tannins that a well-integrated resulting in a luxurious mouthfeel. This shows incredible overall balance and focus, with delicious ripe fruit flavors emerging from its core and moving gracefully through the long finish. This is a total beauty that possesses a sense of elegance and power which is hard to come by. While this is nearly impossible to resist today, those who wait will be rewarded handsomely with a perfect wine."
100 Points ~ International Wine Report
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, Tor, Realm and of course, Carter Cellars.
