Cardinale : Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

A ripe, juicy, seemingly forward style, with mouthfilling plum and blackberry compote notes before the back end delivers gutsy black licorice, chocolate and roasted apple wood flavors that will need some time in the cellar to integrate fully. Has the energy to pull everything together. Best from 2020 through 2032. 2,579 cases made.

The aim of Cardinale is to be accessible, though not mature, on release, as well as having the capacity to age, and this 2015 succeeds admirably. There's dense blackberry fruit on the nose, which has power and ripeness without being jammy or overbearing. The mostly new oak is evident on the nose, and the palate, but it's sumptuous and integrated. Plump and full-bodied, the wine is understandably youthful and quite grippy, but it's not too extracted, and the long finish is juicy and vigorous.

90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot. Bright, dense, crimson. Low-key nose with some complexity. Some real finesse of texture, though the green note is just very slightly too much for me. Very good effort. (JR)

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon has matured into a relatively delicate wine within the context of Chris Carpenter's top 2015s. Sweet floral notes meld into a core of red-toned fruit, cedar, pipe tobacco and orange peel. The 2015 is very pretty and accessible today. Like some 2015s, the Cardinale is softening in the mid-palate, which suggests it is best enjoyed over the next few years.

The 2015 Cardinale is heavenly juice made from 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot sourced from a number of AVAs in Napa Valley. It offers a beautiful perfume of crème de cassis, black raspberry jam, graphite, and scorched earth. This gives way to a full-bodied, elegant, impressively concentrated 2015 that has the deep, concentrated fruit of the vintage, yet stays fresh, lively, and graceful on the palate. This is high-class stuff that can be enjoyed anytime over the next 20–25 years.

Intense, spicy and concentrated, this was a low-yielding year, and even at 9 years old it feels just at the start of its life. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy it already though, as the tannins are supple, with blackberry and brambled autumnal fruits wrapped in cigar box, cocoa and fragrant sage, showcasing the mix of loud and quiet notes that Cardinale does so well. 100% French oak, 84% new. Christopher Carpenter winemaker, bottled unfiltered and unfined, with grapes selected from 12 different vineyard sites, the dominant being Veeder Peak.

Purple with violet highlights. Bouquet de Cardinale is very inviting and immediately reveals its ambitions. Not only through its fruity intensity, but also through its character and finesse. The attack is juicy and charming. Then, pedigree and breadth take the lead. The tannins are silky, compact, creamy, and in perfect harmony with the acidic structure. What a superb performance and what a long finish. A wine with character—pleasant and rebellious!

The nose is elegant and offers power, definition and intensity, all with finesse. It reveals notes of wild blackberry, fleshy blue fruits and, more subtly, violet and cornflower, along with touches of fleshy strawberry, fine hints of Sichuan pepper and an imperceptible hint of vanilla. The palate is fruity, fresh and balanced, with a juicy framework, good definition and indulgence, tension and a tangy thread. On the palate, this wine shows notes of juicy/fleshy blackcurrant and boysenberry and, more delicately, violet, joined by fine touches of crunchy wild raspberry and juicy/ripe redcurrant, as well as very fine hints of graphite, incense and chocolate. The tannins are elegant, fine and precise. A discreet chew on the finish.