Carter Cellars 2021 Cabernet Beckstoffer Las Piedras ‘La BAM’ Oakville, Napa 100 Points

Jeb Dunnuck 100 Points: “The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard La BAM is the largest production cuvée from this site, although there are still just a minuscule 154 cases produced. Coming from a parcel of slightly deeper soils, its saturated purple hue is followed by a brilliant perfume of crème de cassis, smoked tobacco, dark chocolate, crushed stone, and new leather. It’s pure, focused, and precise aromatically and hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a terrific sense of minerality, ripe yet building tannins, and a great finish. It shows the vintage’s tighter, more focused, straighter profile (this cuvée is usually one of the most approachable of the three Las Piedras releases) and deserves 4-5 years of bottle age. It’s going to have 20-25 years of overall longevity. It’s another stunning wine from this vineyard.”

IWR 99 Points: “The 2021 ‘La BAM’ Cabernet Sauvignon is an absolutely sensational showing from this site. This bursts open it to reveal its wonderful perfumed aromatics of ripe blackberries, crème de cassis, and black cherries, which combine with violets, graphite, tobacco, exotic spices, crushed gravel, and subtle charcoal nuances that all emerge beautifully from the glass. On the palate, this is full-bodied, beautifully concentrated and powerful, with gorgeous tannins that are well-integrated. It continues to impress with its remarkable depth and persistence, as waves of ripe dark fruits, graphite, and bittersweet dark chocolate leave a lasting impression on the long, polished finish. This is a remarkable example of winemaking, and the results speak for themselves. The 2021s from Carter Cellars have all been utterly fascinating, and the La BAM is no exception. There is certainly no doubt this remarkable Cabernet will go on to have an absolutely brilliant future. ”

Winemaker Notes: “Along the banks of Sulphur Springs Creek in St Helena lies the Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard – a 22-acre site renowned for its naturally low yields and well-draining gravelly loam soil. These slightly less stressed vines are closer to the riverbed and sit on slightly more rocky and well-draining soil than the ‘La Verdad’ highlighting the vineyard’s unique topography and minerality. Like a smack in the face, ‘La BAM’, boasts a full rich bold palate of ripe blue fruits infused with minerals, coffee, and tobacco undertones. When matched with sweet firm tannins from the best French barrels, this wine ends with a velvety finish that only gets better with age.”