Cardinale - Napa Valley 2021
Cardinale, a unique creation from the MountainsCardinale crafts a single Cabernet Sauvignon from each vintage. The wine is a limited-production blend from Napa Valley’s most recognized mountain appellations, including Diamond Mountain District, Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, and Spring Mountain District.
Each of these esteemed mountain vineyards creates a beautiful note onto itself, but the composition they create together results in a remarkable symphony of flavor, texture, and complexity. Mountain terroir is essential to Cardinale’s profile. While the rocky soils, steep aspects, and exposed conditions are among the most challenging in California, they also produce the most structured, masculine, and complex wines, worthy of cellaring.
The 2021 Vintage: 100pts by Jeb Dunnuck
Discover the 2021 Vintage on video: https://youtu.be/_hlV1X5ZoRs
We started off the 2021 season with very little rain followed by a fairly mild to moderate summer, which carried into the fall ripening period The drought, combined with the after effects of smoke in 2020 blocking out sunlight during bud development, set us up for very low yields in the new season Those low yields ripened early with an incredible concentration and acidity. For the 2021 vintage there is not a lot of wine but just a phenomenal outcome of character.
Christopher Carpenter, Winemaker