For collectors.
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2009 Vintage
“Cardinale works to layer all facets of the Napa Valley into a composition that is not unlike a beautiful score of music. The 2009 Cardinale shows this layering in its rose petal, mineral, and cassis-driven nose, and its blackberry, dragon fruit, dark chocolate, and silky and mouth-filling texture-driven palate.” | Fact Sheet |
—CHRISTOPHER CARPENTER, Winemaker
91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot -
2008 Vintage
“As you would enjoy the varied nuances and subtle layers of a Fellini film, so you should enjoy Cardinale. The 2008 has an aromatic element that evokes violets and orange blossoms with a fruit component of dark cherry combined with a palate that offers currant, ripe blackberry, and toast with a velvety texture on a long, drawn finish.” | Fact Sheet |
—CHRISTOPHER CARPENTER, Winemaker
91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot -
2007 Vintage
“As your palate wraps itself around the 2007 Cardinale, the same feeling of grace, beauty, and style that defines silk is evident in this wine. The flavor palate includes anise, milk chocolate, currants, coffee bean, and vanilla. The structure evokes both the mountain and bench terroir—the 2007 Cardinale is beauty defined.” | Fact Sheet |
—CHRISTOPHER CARPENTER, Winemaker
86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot -
2006 Vintage
“In the late 1980s an elite group of musicians called The Traveling Wilburys was formed. It consisted of musicians like Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Roy Orbison. Each was a legend in his own right. Together they formed a band that layered the musicians' individual sounds and created a harmony that spoke to the times. Cardinale mirrors that unique fusion in a wine, as the 2006 captures and harmonizes the expressive tones of each vineyard source. The expansive aromatic comes through first with Mt. Veeder's dark fruit and minerality, followed by Howell Mountain's freshly brewed French roast and a hint of Stags Leap cassis. The palate conveys the floral tones of Spring Mountain, the lushness of Oakville's To Kalon, and the backbone of Mt. Veeder.” | Fact Sheet |
—CHRISTOPHER CARPENTER, Winemaker
86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot100 POINTS
Steve Heimoff, The Wine Enthusiast March 2010 -
2005 Vintage
“Beautiful floral nose, with hints of black cherry, blackberry jam, and cassis, the mouth is silky which carries to a textured middle, and a focused length. Anise, dark and jammy fruit, vanilla crème, flint, and toast add to the flavors already experienced in the aromatics.” | Fact Sheet |
—CHRISTOPHER CARPENTER, Winemaker
88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot -
2004 Vintage
“When we approach the Cardinale blend, the key to success is finding the balance between the mountain sides and the valley floor. Both our Oakville vineyard and the Stags Leap portion of the blend represented higher percentages in the 2004 final blend because it was clear that the mountain wines needed the middle body that these valley floor vineyards provide. The sweetness of the Stags Leap and the weight of Oakville fit in gracefully with the strength, minerality, and black fruit characters from Veeder and Howell, and together they all play off of one another.”
| Fact Sheet |—CHRISTOPHER CARPENTER, Winemaker
91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot -
2003 Vintage
“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.”
| Fact Sheet |—CHRISTOPHER CARPENTER, Winemaker
86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot -
2002 Vintage
“The 2002 Cardinale opens up with violets, anise, dark fruit, and a hint of vanilla on the nose. The palate is rich and velvety with sweet tannins, a tremendous middle body, and a Mount Veeder finish of acid and structure to carry the wine way past swallowing.” | Fact Sheet |
—CHRISTOPHER CARPENTER, Winemaker
88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot -
2001 Vintage
“An incredible line-up of vineyard sources, each playing a specific role in the overall blend. 2001 was the last vintage that Cardinale included Sonoma County vineyards in its blend composition. This is a vintage with a tremendous amount of tannin in the Cabernet, which drove the addition of a larger percentage of Merlot.” | Fact Sheet |
—CHRISTOPHER CARPENTER, Winemaker
73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot
For information about the availability of past vintages, vertical collections, or large formats, please contact us at or 800.588.0279 or info@cardinale.com