2001 Cardinale

Community Tasting Notes (30) Avg Score: 92.9 points

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  2/15/2024 - BordeauxBoy Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Proper cellaring makes all the difference. This is fantastic. Brought to blind tasting and everyone guessed Bordeaux. Fruit is still amazing even 5 hours after opening. Wish I had more. Another 5 years of prime drinking if well cellared. P.S. this is not the first vintage of Cardinale.

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  10/14/2023 - Juliansi Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Chris Carpenter's 1st ever.. yes the iconic 1st vintage of this cuvée, and it seems this high ratio of Merlot hasn't been used since.
  
  73% Cab and 27% Merlot, from Jackson owned Mt Veeder, Keyes (Howell M), Alexander Mountain Est, and other purchased fruit.
  
  There's still some blackfruit remaining after 20+ years, medium+ acidity and oddly heat too. Balsamico, raisins and fig too. Silky finish.
  
  Found a fun interview with head winemaker Chris Carpenter.. If you could only drink one wine for the rest of your life, which would it be and why? And what’s your death-row bottle?
  "If I’m choosing one of my wines, it would be Cardinale – only because I know the amount of right brain effort that goes into each vintage and reflecting on that as I drink it brings me right back to the blending sessions. Right before I pass, a giant pint of Guinness stout."
  
  Napa County 73%, Sonoma County 27%
  🍇 Cab Sauv 73%, Merlot 27%
  ⏲️ 100% new French oak.
  
  Amazing.. thanks for the treat brother LMC, at the Napa Cult wines dinner curated by R and organised by LN. What an evening!
  
  14 Oct 2023
  Napa Cult Wine dinner at Stoked, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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  9/19/2020 - tommydiesel wrote: 90 Points

  Opened and poured directly from the bottle. Youthful tannins, black fruit,leather and tobacco. Looking at the older tasting notes, it is hard to believe we are talking about the same wine.

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  4/1/2019 - msuwine wrote: 95 Points

  This is significantly better than the bottle I opened 11 months ago - more fresh, more intense, more ethereal (5/18 - 92 points). Whatever the reason (e.g., provenance, bottle variation, randomness), this bottle is clearly a great wine: energetic, integrated, and delicious. It delivers layered fruit in a graceful package, like the best Cardinale wines can do - and few 18-year old Napa Cabernets can.
  
  Cherry red in color, medium in body, nose of black cherry, warm gravel, bay leaf, and fresh herbs. Tastes of blueberry, cherry tart, eucalyptus, and leather, with a finish that goes on and on. This has none of the prune or plum notes from the other bottle, and the finish is more round and lingering. 14.2% alcohol. Blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27% Merlot. The vineyard sources are 27% Howell Mountain, 20% To Kalon, 19% Veeder, 14% Knights Valley (Peter Michael Les Pavots), 13% Alexander Valley, and 7% Stagecoach. Drink now.

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  1/1/2019 - Zhart Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Very much a Bordeaux style wine. Opened, poured into a decanter and immediately began drinking at a restaurant. Earthy, forest floor, cedar and leather. A very interesting wine but styled much different that the current Cardinale. 2001 was also the last year that fruit from Sonoma was incorporated.

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