Brian Carter Cellars Opulento 2014
“I came into the field of wine [at a young age], not because my parents were wine drinkers, but because I was given a microscope when I was 12 years old. I heard about these things called yeast, and I wanted to see what they looked like under a microscope. I was told if you want to look at yeast you have to start a fermentation. So I picked some blackberries, fermented the wine, took a sample, and brought out my microscope — and there they were — the little yeast. I’ve been having those yeast work for me ever since.” — Brian Carter
A charming tale of a precocious young scientist, no? There was just one small problem: before he got to actually inspect the yeast, during a robust fermentation that first blackberry wine exploded in his mother’s kitchen. “There was a big stain on the ceiling for a couple of years, until it finally got painted,” Carter admitted. History hasn’t recorded whether that chore fell to Carter or someone else.
Born in New Mexico, Carter grew up in Corvallis, Oregon. Those initial studies with his microscope led to him to taking an undergraduate degree in microbiology from Oregon State. While there, he also took an independent study course on winemaking that involved visiting some of the Willamette Valley’s first wineries.
The next stop, as it is for many winemakers, was the University of California at Davis. After a few years of appretiship, Carter’s 1983 Cabernet Sauvignon beat a 1983 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild at a 1986 blind tasting at Windows on the World restaurant in New York City.
Carter would go on to become one of the leading lights of Washington state’s nascent wine industry.
As a consultant, he helped launch a number of wineries, including Silver Lake, McCrea and Camaraderie. He was the first winemaker for Hedges Cellars. And he partnered with Harry Alhadaf to start Apex in 1990.
By 1997 it was finally time to start making wines under his own name, and he established Brian Carter Cellars in Woodinville, Washington. He released his first wines in 2000 with a production of just 80 cases. At Brian Carter Cellars, he has exclusively focused on classic European-style blends, taking inspiration from France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Indeed, the vanity license plate on his Prius reads “BLENDS.”
Accolades (some of them, anyway)
Carter is the only three-time winner of Grand Prize at the (now defunct) Pacific Northwest Enological Society (aka Seattle Enological Society) Competition. Carter was twice touted as “Winemaker of the Year” by Seattle Magazine. He was the Honored Vintner at the 2007 Auction of Washington Wines, and he received the prestigious Industry Service Award from the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers. In 2015, Wine Press Northwest selected Brian Carter Cellars as its Washington Winery of the Year, In 2018, the Northwest Wine Summit named Brian Carter Cellars as the Winery of Distinction. The Washington Winegrowers Association honored Carter with the 2020 Grand Vin Award, recognizing him for “his significant impact and the contributions he has made to the Washington wine industry during the past 41 years.”
The Vineyards
The Wines
Carter asserts that he didn’t set out to be a blender, but rather, the approach came from his knowledge of science and agriculture, and one that grew into a true passion. In fact, ” A Passion for the Art of Blending” is a trademark of the winery. He noted, “I find the blending process to be the most artistic part of the winemaking process, and the most fun!” In 2006, Carter released his full line of blended wines, and Brian Carter Cellars became the first winery in Washington dedicated exclusively to producing blends. Also, Carter enjoys giving his selections whimsical names.
Brian Carter Cellars Opulento 2014
Opulento is Spanish and Portugese for opulent.
I’ll admit right up front that I have been a big fan of Port for years. Carter can’t accurately label this dessert wine as Port, since it comes from Washington instead of Portugal, of course (although plenty of less scrupulous producers do). Even so, he uses the traditional varietals: 57% Touriga Nacional, 29% Souzao, 9% Tinto Cão, and 5% Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo. Carter first produced this wine in 2008, and uses naturally-occurring yeasts only. Aging was 20 months in French and American barriques, 15% new and 85% neutral. This treat pours an inky dark purple in the glass. The surprisingly subtle nose features currants and dark cherries. That subtlety disappears on the palate, however, with big flavors of chocolate and plums. The finish is pleasantly sweet rather than cloying, with nice balancing acidity. ABV is 19% (fortified with 190 proof Washington brandy), and 842 cases were produced.
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