Wine Peeps is an independent wine blog dedicated to helping you get the most bang for your buck in wine. We do this through blind tastings of wine from around the world and calculations of 
A Wine for Tonight: 2007 Brian Carter Cellars Abracadabra Red Wine
By Kori ~ September 30th, 2010.
Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2007 Brian Carter Cellars Abracadabra Red Wine from the Columbia Valley of Washington State.
Our selection criteria include:
- A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
- A price tag of <=$15
- Must be widely available
Brian Carter has over thirty years of winemaking experience in California and Washington. He arrived in Washington State in 1980 to be winemaker for Paul Thomas Winery and has since founded Apex Winery and served as consulting winemaker for a number of other wineries. He officially opened his own namesake winery, Brian Carter Cellars, in Woodinville in 2006. Brian Carter focuses on European-style blends. He admittedly buys more fruit than he needs to craft his primary Brian Carter wines in order to give him the most flexibility during blending. The leftovers go into his Abracadabra blend. But don’t be fooled, this is a high quality wine that is treated with the same care as the rest of the Brian Carter wines.
“Abracadabra is a blend which uses the same great red varietals and aged in quality oak barrels used in Brian Carter Cellars wines. However the blend varies each year depending on the ‘Magic’ of the harvest. While using traditional grape varieties, Abracadabra is anything but traditional in its final blend. Instead it is a bit unpredictable, curious, mysterious and amazingly delicious. Dark in color, the wine’s aroma has witches hats full of cherries, cedar and tobacco with pinches of anise, bacon and spice. Big flavors show soft, well-integrated tannins and food friendly acidity.†–Brian Carter, Winemaker
2007 Brian Carter Cellars Abracadabra Red Wine (Columbia Valley, Washington): 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Petit Verdot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 12% Syrah, 11% Sangiovese, 5% Malbec, 3% Grenache, and 3% Mourvedre. Deep, dark ruby red in color. Very aromatic with black fruits, earth, and smoke on the nose. Blackberry, black cherry, and licorice come through on the palate. Full-bodied with lively acidity and high, drying tannins. Well-balanced with good complexity and a long, smooth finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle, Washington), $15; Available elsewhere, $15
Filed under: A Wine for Tonight, Five-Bangs For Your Buck Wines, Red Wine, Washington State Wine, Wines Under $15, Wines Under $20, Wines Under $25
