Cardinale Estate Red 2019

11 reviews for Cardinale Estate Red 2019

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Heather Cardenas – April 5, 2022

   This graceful and lively mountain Cabernet blend is the best young Cardinale I have ever tasted. At the three-year mark, this is more accessible than the 2018, more layered than the 2017, more elegant than the 2016, and more generous than the 2015. I know that blends conflict with the turf / terroir superstructure of our modern Napa moment, but combining grapes from numerous places (um, diversification) provides a flexibility that (in the right hands, with the right materials) can yield greatness. This is such a wine.Dark violet in color and medium in body, the wine offers evocative aromas of sour cherry, fresh leather, coffee grounds, and trail dust. The flavors are spicy but integrated, with notes of raspberry, dried strawberry, espresso, and eucalyptus, with an elegant finish that carries a rush of acidity and tannin – but doesn’t pucker the mouth or stain the teeth. Blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot. Drawn from 87.5% mountain sites (36% Spring, 27.5% Diamond, 16% Howell, 5.5% Veeder, 2.5% Atlas) and 12.5% valley floor (9% Yountville, 2.5% St. Helena, 1% Stag’s Leap). 14.5% alcohol. Drink in 2023 or later.P.S. For me, Cardinale was a gateway (drug) into mountain wines. Yes, the polish and generosity welcome you in, but then you are no longer on the valley floor: there is a spicy, wild, punchy, prickly, and dusty energy that does not come from the low places (where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases… what a song!). No, this wine comes from elsewhere. You may later explore, as if through the Children’s Gate, a variety of mountaintops (e.g., Howell, Pritchard, Veeder, Spring), but here is a great place to start the ascent. P.S.S. I tasted this on the same night as a 2019 Realm Houyi (from Pritchard Hill), which tasted more ripe and less pure – all a little cloudy. Both should be stellar wines with time, but the Cardinale had the early edge – something that made me think that, to paraphrase my least favorite college football coach, maybe there is some truth in the blend, the blend, the blend…

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Rachel Yang – April 15, 2022

   Hohman birthday fift

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Iola Gonzalez – October 6, 2022

   91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlotfrom eight appellations, eleven vineyards, and 32 individual wine lots,with the core being Mount Veeder and Howell Mountain, supported bySpring Mountain, Diamond Mountain, St. Helena, and Stags Leap.32 lots vinified and aged separately for 20 months in 100% French oak.Unfined, UnfilteredAlcohol: 14.5% AbvCardinale Winery is a part of Jackson Family Wines.Winemaker: Christopher Carpenter since 2001.A University of Illinois football defensive lineman, UC Davis graduate, president and chairman of the Napa Valley Youth Symphony.A(ccuracy)=2: Med deep crimson/ruby. Seductive cassis and cedar.B(alance)=3: Distinctive components in harmony.C(omplexity)=3: Dark berries, toast, petals, cacao, tobacco, mineral.D(epth)=2: Tantalizing mouthfeel. Full palette and lingering finish.Wine Tally Score [2,3,3,2] = 10/10Prime (albeit expensive) example of blending as orchestration!For story-telling label graphics, see:[https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm3MZuSy98n/][https://www.instagram.com/WineTally/]For video explanation (in 8 languages), seeWine Tally on [https://www.youtube.com]

4. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Wanda Albrekht – March 2, 2023

   Polished and suave, but not a fruit bomb. There are nuanced savory notes and minerality amid dark hedonistic fruits. I thought this was pretty delicious.

5. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Alicia Markum – March 11, 2023

   Had @ Likos

6. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   WS – May 22, 2023

   An inviting, fruit-driven style, with a gorgeous display of plum puree and blackberry confiture pumping along, flanked with licorice and apple wood and kept honest with a loamy accent through the finish. Polished in feel overall, but that belies the serious grip. Drink now through 2036. 5,100 cases made.

7. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   WA – May 22, 2023

   The 2019 Cardinale is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot, with the Merlot from a particular block on Howell Mountain. Overall, it’s about 80% mountain fruit and 20% valley-floor fruit, according to winemaker Chris Carpenter. Cherries and cassis dominate the nose, while the full-bodied palate is rich and velvety, with a long, mouthwatering finish that adds barrel-derived notes of vanilla, powdered sugar and cedar.

8. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   DEC – May 22, 2023

   Heady aromas of beautiful brown spices, raspberry, boysenberry, leather and tobacco with the nuances of smoky clove, crushed wild herbs and cinnamon. More of the same unfolds on the palate, framed by burly tannins with grit, and finishing with intense pops of red and violet florals. A tremendously poised red with plenty of vivacity and complexity in youth that will only deepen with time in the bottle.

9. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   JD – May 22, 2023

   Pure, classic California notes of crème de cassis, spicy oak, chalky minerality, graphite, and spring flowers emerge from the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot that’s sourced from multiple mountain AVAs in the valley. Full-bodied and powerful on the palate, it has a deep, rich mid-palate, beautiful tannins, notable acidity, and a great, great finish. It’s another brilliant wine from Carpenter that can offer pleasure today yet also evolve for 20-25 years or more.

10. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    JS – May 22, 2023

    So much crushed lead pencil, tile and dried flowers, together with blackberries and brambleberries. Full-bodied with round, polished tannins. Layered and so delicious. Black olives and graphite at the end. This potpourri of Napa cabernet character takes your palate on a tour of so many of the regions, including all the mountains, such as Howell, Veeder and Spring Mountain, as well as Atlas Peak, Stags Leap, Yountville and St. Helena. Precision and polish to the wine. Drinkable now, but better to hold.

11. 

    VIN – May 22, 2023

    The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most finessed wines I have ever tasted here. That seems to be the direction Chris Carpenter is pursuing of late. So more than a vintage or place (Cardinale is a blend of hillside and valley floor sites) what comes through is the wines finesse. Floral overtones lift a core of red cherry fruit, pomegranate and blood orange. I imagine the 2019 will enjoy a long life based on its spectacular balance.