Spectacular Wines by Carter Cellars Calistoga, Napa Valley, California.

Tucked away in Calistoga, Carter Cellars has quietly become one of Napa’s most sought-after cult Cabernet houses. Founded by Mark Carter, with its first vintage in 1998, the winery crafts several Cabernet Sauvignons from some of the valley’s finest vineyards. Its fame rests on its bottlings from the legendary To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville, one of the most storied pieces of ground in American wine. Each one, from The O.G. to The Grand Daddy and The Three Kings, captures a different block and clone of that famed site. Under winemaker Russell Bevan, these wines have earned a string of near-perfect and 100-point scores, and they’re as rare as they are celebrated.

The Three Kings:

One can expect more with fruits from To Kalon vineyard and this is no exception. Compared to the other wines, The Three Kings is more elegant and refined. It is approachable early but certainly will benefit from some bottle aging.

The Grandy Daddy:

Fruit forward, layered with rich and dark berries followed by notes of spice and sweet oak. Bold, expressive, but very well balanced. Bottle aging will allow fruit, wood and tannins to integrate resulting in a much more sophisticated wine.

The O.G

Going up in strength, The O.G is powerful, full-body and can’t seem to contain itself in the glass. Laced with notes of rich dark fruits, dried flowers, baking spices, backed with firm tannins and lush intoxicating sweet cedar. This wine has a lot going on and a couple of years in the bottle will bring out its best.

G.T.O

What can we say? GTO is made with grapes sourced from the very best blocks at To Kalon vineyards. In the past 10 years, 5 vintages made earned the perfect score of 100 pts. Massive structure, dense rich fruits, highly aromatic, its flavors seem to jump out of the glass. With its limited production, GTO is only available in Magnum -ideal for aging. A bottle of magnum GTO will run for $670 in 2026.

Which Carter is best with food?

If you guess The Three Kings, then you got it!

Fruit-forward, highly oaked and very powerful wines tend to clash with food; The Three Kings offers just the right balance between fruit, oak and acidity. Each bite seems to bring out more flavors; throughout the meal, it becomes more expressive and harmonic to more than just one dish.

Picture: 2014 Carter Cellars The Three Kings opened in Dec 2022, paired with Steaks, Pan-seared Sea Bass and cream of Spinach.