This is the first year that Brian Carter Cellars submitted wine to The Wine Advocate and the results are superlative! Mike Stevens, BCC’s business manager, proudly showed us The Wine Advocate August 2007 ratings when we recently stopped by the Woodinville tasting room.

And Mike has every reason to be proud — four wines by winemaker Brian Carter were described as “outstanding” by Robert Parker: the 2005 Oriana, 2003 Tuttorosso, 2003 L’Etalon and the winery’s flagship 2001 Solesce.

Our favorite is the 2001 Solesce–we are keeping several bottles in our cellar based on Mike’s recommendation that this wine demands 3-5 years of further bottle age. The 1999 Solece was a blend of more Merlot than the 2001 Solece, which has 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 12% Cab Franc and 3% Malbec. We have a bottle or two of the 1999 in our cellar too.

We’re also looking forward to a vertical that will soon be sold by the winery: a package of signed bottles of three vintages of Solece — 1999, 2000 and 2001. See which one you like best — let them age and you’re in for a fabulous experience with any of them.

Cheers!