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"At Cardinale we christened this the vintage of “Alice's Rabbit”, in that everything was very late. Our rainy season slowed down enough in March to initiate bud push but was followed by the return of the rains not long after, which delayed bloom and fruit set. Already looking at a later harvest because of this phenomenon we enjoyed several months of mild temperatures and slow, steady flavor accumulation, without many of the heat spikes we have become accustomed to in Napa Valley. Thus as fall started to make its appearance with even cooler temperatures and shorter days our concerns increased because we hadn't yet reached our full flavor potential. Thankfully we were blessed with an Indian summer at just the right moment that helped drive these flavors to the Cardinale standard of quality. Our last fruit came in on November 4, 2005, extremely late, but well worth the wait." — Christopher Carpenter, Winemaker 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.