Cardinale - Napa Valley 2019

Wine Spectator

95 / 100

byJames Molesworththe11/15/2022

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.

The Wine Independent

99 / 100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe6/29/2022

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot from Ed Corra vineyard, Stags Leap, St Helena - from all over the valley! Deep garnet-purple in color, it sashays out with gorgeous blackcurrant preserves, wild blueberries, and Morello cherries scents, plus hints of roses, fragrant earth, allspice, and violets with dark chocolate. Full-bodied, rich, and seductive with achingly velvety tannins and a laser-precise backbone of acidity, this beautiful wine finishes with epic length and seductive fragrance. 5,100 cases were made.

Decanter.com

97 / 100

byJonathan Cristaldithe6/13/2022

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.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

94 / 100

byJane Ansonthe6/2/2022

Inky purple in colour, toasted oak on the nose, feels accomplished and sleek, a little overly polished, but packed with damson, black cherry, chocolate, hard to argue with. As it softens and opens, a creamy blackberry patisserie appears, with liquorice root, cigar box and blueberry. Textured, opulent, with a touch of heat on the finish. An impressive and interesting wine to be on the Place de Bordeaux, as this takes Cabernet Sauvignon from various sites across Napa Valley, including Stags Leap, Diamond Mountain, Howell Mountain and Mount Veeder, and crafts a different expression with them each year, usually with a touch of Merlot. Winemaker Christopher Carpenter. It's a wine I look forward to getting to know better, and is one of the more concentrated 2019s from Napa. 100% new oak.

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

byJoe Czerwinskithe5/31/2022

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.

Jamessuckling.com

98 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/7/2022

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.

Jeb DUNNUCK

98 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe12/21/2021

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.

Vinous

97 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe9/1/2021

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 wine's 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.