Ratings & Tasting Notes:

99 points The Wine Independent
Review Date: 06/2022
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. (LPB)

98+ points Jeb Dunnuck
Review Date: 12/2021
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. 98+

98 points James Suckling
Review Date: 04/2022
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. (JS)

97 points Decanter
Review Date: 06/2022
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.

97+ points Vinous
Review Date: 09/2021
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. (AG) 97+

96 points Wine Advocate
Review Date: 05/2022
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. (JC)

Cult Wines International Notes:

Cardinale is the flagship Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant blend of Jackson Family Wines, established in 1982 in Napa Valley. The wine is unique in its deliberate focus on showcasing the complexity and structure derived from Napa’s diverse mountain appellations, often blending fruit from sites like Spring Mountain, Howell Mountain, Diamond Mountain, and Mount Veeder. This strategy allows the winemaking team, currently led by Christopher Carpenter, to craft a wine of immense depth and consistency across vintages.

The philosophy behind Cardinale is to produce a quintessential, world-class Bordeaux-style blend that marries the generous fruit of Napa Valley with the powerful, structured tannins unique to high-elevation vineyards. The mountainous terroir, characterized by shallow, rocky, and volcanic soils, yields small, intensely concentrated berries.

The resulting wine is known for its formidable structure and long aging potential. On the nose, Cardinale often exhibits concentrated aromas of cassis, black cherry, and dark plum, interwoven with earthy complexity, graphite, cedar, and crushed rock minerality. The palate is powerful, muscular, and beautifully integrated, with fine-grained tannins providing a foundation for a long, opulent finish. Cardinale is highly sought after by collectors and consistently ranks among the most acclaimed wines from the region.

Bottle Size:

750 mL

Storage History:

Always stored on its side in a climate-controlled cellar.

Condition:

Outstanding condition.

Please note: The condition of the bottle you will receive is accurately reflected by the one shown in the images.