Fleur Cardinale - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2020

Alexandre Ma

93

byAlexandre Mathe4/18/2023

Jeb DUNNUCK

93

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/30/2023

A solid step up, the Grand Vin 2020 Château Fleur Cardinale checks in as 77% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. This 22.5-hectare estate has been in the Decoster family since 2000 and consists of mostly clay over limestone soils and is located in the Saint-Etienne de Lisse region of Saint-Emilion. From healthy yields of 43 hectoliters per hectare, with malolactic fermentation in tank followed by 13 months in 90% new French oak, it has a juicy, pure, medium to full-bodied style that shows the classic, elegant style of the vintage beautifully. Offering lots of cassis-like fruit, notes of truffly earth, spring flowers, and violets, well-integrated acidity and tannins, and just a beautifully balanced mouthfeel, it's going to benefit from just 2-4 years of bottle age and will evolve nicely through 2040. It's another beautiful wine from this estate.

The Wine Cellar Insider

95

byJeff Levethe3/22/2023

Deeply colored, the wine struts its chocolate covered, black cherries, plums, licorice, flowers and espresso character with ease. Rich, full, lush and long, the layers of fruit express length, purity, balance and complexity, leaving with a long, supple-textured, fruit-packed finish. As I wrote when tasted in barrel, this is the best Fleur Cardinale I have tasted in a few years. The wine blends 77% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2024-2045.

Alexandre Ma

93

byAlexandre Mathe3/15/2023

Wines Critic

94

byRaffaele Vecchionethe3/10/2023

Vibrant and spicy showing notes of prunes, plums, wild violets and blackberries. Full bodied, elegant and long in the sip showing precision and kindess. Drink now or hold.

Vinous

93

byAntonio Gallonithe2/24/2023

The 2020 Fleur Cardinale is packed with dark fruit, chocolate, new leather, menthol and generous sweet oak. The 2020 has gained in body and complexity with élevage, exactly what is supposed to happen over time. Moreover, the 2020 has plenty of energy to balance its more exuberant leanings.

Vinous

92

byNeal Martinthe2/15/2023

The 2020 Fleur Cardinale has a ripe and opulent nose with black cherries, kirsch and sous-bois; violent and inkwell touches emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and fine delineation, though it hasn't entirely captured the complexity I felt it could have achieved from barrel. Still, it should age well in bottle, and a second tasting displayed a bit more nerve.

Jamessuckling.com

96

byJames Sucklingthe1/16/2023

Attractive aromas of blueberries and mulberries with graphite, dark licorice and crushed stones. Dark chocolate, too. Full-bodied. Impressive quality to the tannin structure that starts gently and glossy and continues to build, gaining power throughout the palate. Deep and dense with a velvety dark-fruited core. Really long, tense and persistent. 77% merlot, 18% cabernet franc and 5% cabernet sauvignon. Try after 2026.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

94

byJane Ansonthe1/16/2023

Well balanced, with momentum and energy from beginning to end, thoroughly enjoyable wine that layers on pristine black and blue fruits with crushed rock, sage and fennel spice. A 23.1ha estate in one of the cooler sections of St Emilion, owned by the Decoster Famly, with Jean Philippe Fort consultant. 43hl/ha yield. 100% new oak. First year in new cellar.

Vinous

92-94

byAntonio Gallonithe6/1/2021

The 2020 Fleur Cardinale is elegant and refined from the first taste. Bright red berry fruit, spice, blood orange and cedar lend terrific brightness. In 2020 Fleur Cardinale is elegant, polished and restrained. All the elements come together so gracefully. I imagine the 2020 will flesh out a bit over time. Today, it is a bit restrained, but that is not at all a bad thing. A second bottle was even better. The 2020 could very well turn out to be a jewel of a wine.

Jeb DUNNUCK

92-94

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/28/2021

I tasted the 2020 Château Fleur Cardinale from three separate bottles, all of which showed brilliantly. Offering lots of red and black fruits as well as dark chocolate and rocky, earthy minerality, it’s a full-bodied, firm yet promising wine with terrific overall balance and length as well as purity of fruit. Short-term cellaring is the name of the game here, but it’s going to shine for at least two decades. It’s well worth seeking out

Tastingbook.com

94

byMarkus Del Monegothe5/28/2021

Dark purple colour with violet hue and black core. Expressive nose with aroma reminiscent of ripe blackberries, fresh plums, juicy black cherries, with floral hints and mild spices in the background. Subtle oak and fine hints of dark chocolate. On the palate juicy character with ripe fruit, plums and dark berries, ripe tannins, fine toasting aroma and elegant vanilla. A complex and rich wine with excellent length and freshness.   

Vinous

91-93

byNeal Martinthe5/27/2021

The 2020 Fleur Cardinale has a well-defined and intense bouquet of black cherries, crushed strawberry, star anise and light floral scents, gaining more composure as it opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent tannins, graphite-tinged black fruit and a thumping, powerful finish that leaves a peppery aftertaste. This will require 3–5 years in bottle just to shave some of its edges and is likely to need several years in the cellar. Tasted twice with consistent notes.

Decanter.com

94

byJane Ansonthe5/25/2021

A ton of depth and body to this wine, you feel the cool blue fruit of a later-ripening terroir, plenty of tannic grip and bite, curls up with graphite, cigar box, liquorice root and a tiptoe balance of slate and baked earth. Plenty of juicy acidity on the finish, this is precise and elegant with a punch, and continues the run of successful vintages at Fleur Cardinale. A yield of 43hl/ha. 100% new oak. New cellar just finished up at the estate.

Jeb DUNNUCK

92-94

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/23/2021

I tasted the 2020 Château Fleur Cardinale from three separate bottles, all of which showed brilliantly. Offering lots of red and black fruits as well as dark chocolate and rocky, earthy minerality, it’s a full-bodied, firm yet promising wine with terrific overall balance and length as well as purity of fruit. Short-term cellaring is the name of the game here, but it’s going to shine for at least two decades. It’s well worth seeking out.

The Wine Cellar Insider

93-95

byJeff Levethe5/21/2021

Dark in color, the wine is all about its dark red fruits, licorice, smoke, wet earth and tobacco leaf characteristics. On the palate. the wine is rich, lush, ripe and voluptuous, with a finish that packs in layers of espresso, black fruits, licorice and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, concentrated and long, this is the best Fleur Cardinale I have tasted in a few years. 93-95

Wine Advocate

93-95

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/20/2021

Composed of 77% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, with an alcohol of 14.5% and a pH of 3.57, the deep purple-black colored 2020 Fleur Cardinale bursts from the glass with powerful notes of crushed blackberries, stewed black plums and Morello cherries, plus suggestions of star anise, pencil shavings and black truffles. The medium to full-bodied palate is chock-full of softly textured, juicy black fruits, countered by fantastic tension, finishing with great length and loads of earthy layers.

Anthocyanes

91-93

byYohan Castaingthe5/11/2021

Légèrement mentholé, frais et très fruits noirs, le bouquet de Fleur Cardinale est complexe et dense. Légères notes de prise de bois à l'aération. Bouche juteuse, tendue, plus qu'à son habitude, avec un boisé délicat. La tension est présente et rehausse une structure d'ensemble moyennement dense. Une bouteille qui pourrait se révéler totalement après les élevages.

Falstaff

93-95

byPeter Moserthe5/10/2021

Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, dezenter Ockerrand. Zart ta- bakig unterlegte schwarze Waldbeeren, Nuancen von Kirschen, frische Blaubeeren, angenehmer Edelholzanklang. Saftig, gute Komplexität und Frische, integrierte Tannine, mineralisch-zitroniger Touch im Abgang, salziger Nachhall, besitzt Länge und Entwicklungspotenzial.

My Bettane + Desseauve

91-92

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/7/2021

Jamessuckling.com

95-96

byJames Sucklingthe4/14/2021

Vivid and lively with blackberries, earth and some flowers. It’s full and layered with tannins that spread across the palate. Broader form to this young Bordeaux. Lots of tannins at the end.