SOLD OUT
"A more challenging vintage means a more challenging blend period, as it was for this blend. After compiling at least 20 different blends, I kept coming back to this wine. The black currant, anise and minerality of Mount Veeder and Howell Mountain combine with the middle gravelly palate of Oakville and the sweet/soft character of Stags’ Leap."
—Christopher Carpenter, Cardinale Winemaker
95 Points—"This brilliant 2003 Cardinale from vineyards on Mount Veeder, Howell Mountain, Stags’ Leap and the Oakville corridor, is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot. It boasts an inky/purple color as well as a beautifully perfumed nose of crème de cassis, smoke, cedar, licorice and spice box. A sweet, expansive, full-bodied attack is followed by impressive purity, elegance and concentration as well as layers of flavor and ripe, well-integrated tannin. It can be drunk now or cellared for 15+ years."
—Robert M. Parker, Jr., The Wine Advocate, December, 2005
Cardinale is more than one wine—it is several wines, wines from disparate places along the Mayacamas and Vaca mountains that surround Napa Valley. Every bottle reveals the artistic sensibility of the winemaker, each vineyard lot fused into a seamless blend in which you can sense the constituent parts, but still taste them as one wine. Our philosophy is guided by the pursuit of grape selectivity in the vineyard, gentle handling and the ability to accommodate the different winemaking needs of each vintage. |
