Château Fleur Cardinale 2018

Ripe and focused, with tasty red and black currant fruit flavors that have a racy edge, mixed with hints of anise, bramble and steeped dark tea developing through the finish. Very solid. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2022 through 2034. 10,000 cases made, 2,500 cases imported.

An estate that is just doing such good work right now. This was delicious en primeur and for me a little better in bottle. It has that slow, slate-textured finish that makes things inch along slowly, giving time to appreciate the rich berry fruits and the floral edge to the aromatics. An interesting initiative in the packaging as well, with a wooden cask that comes with instructions to turn it into a bird box afterwards, encouraging recycling. A yield of 45 l/ha. 100% new oak.

Blackcurrant, clove, walnut-husk, tobacco and pine-cone aromas. Dried flowers and mocha, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins. Polished layers of dark fruit and wood notes with a long, chewy finish. Focused. Very fine. Try from 2025.

Full-bodied, round, lush and polished, this richly textured wine is filled with espresso, dark chocolate, licorice, and dark red fruits. The wine is round, full of flesh and flash with an endless supply of dark chocolate and ripe fruits. The wine is a blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Deep crimson garnet, purple reflections, broad ochre rim. Blackberry confit with delicate herbal and savoury undertones, fresh cherry orange zest, tobacco nuances. Medium body, elegant, cherry, fine extract sweetness, round tannins, mineral-salty finish, has developed well, a versatile food companion. (2020-2040).

The Grand Vin 2018 Château Fleur Cardinale checks in as a blend of 74% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, raised in new French oak. It has beautifully integrated its oak élevage and, while it shows a kiss of modern character and polish, it still delivers loads of classic Saint-Émilion character as well as minerality. Deep ruby/plum in color, with a gorgeous bouquet of black cherries, white truffles, camphor, pencil lead, and exotic spices, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a beautifully balanced, layered texture, building, firm tannins, and a great finish. It’s certainly in the same class as the 2015 and 2016, but the cellar is going to be your friend. Hide bottles for at least 4–6 years and it should cruise for 20 years or more.

Kunz barrel sample 19: broad, jammy, peppery bouquet, blackberries, white pepper, baking chocolate. Opulent, brawny, powerful palate with sweet fruit, broad structure, sandy tannins, medium aromatics, dry finish.

Rich autumnal fruits, architectural with plenty of tannic muscle, still closed at this stage with clear ageing potential. As it opens, the polished, confident and well balanced house signature of Fleur Cardinale comes to the fore, delivering juicy damson and blackcurrant fruits, all expertly judged and with velvet textured tannins that keep pace through the mid palate. You feel that you are in safe hands here, just give it another four or five years to open up.

On the palate, the wine shows measured richness and a decidedly hedonistic style, with an imposing yet fresh creamy texture. A great success.

An orange-fruit and plum nose, with a herbal, tangy edge that’s as fresh as it is alluring. The palate is clear and succulent, leading into a rich finish, with tannins that are still cumbersome at this stage—powerful and slightly drying.

The bouquet of Fleur Cardinale 2018 immediately reveals its origins, showing a chalky edge. That’s the limestone plateau of St-Emilion. Then come notes of prune, chocolate and spices… That’s Fleur Cardinale. Finally, the complexity is rounded out by hints of peat and morello cherry. On the palate, the wine unfolds from different angles. Yes, it has the charm of 2018, but there is also finesse, delicacy, and tannins that provide solid backbone. They’re still somewhat gripping, but given the vintage profile, that bodes well. Savory, persistent finish.

Few Saint-Emilion crus, apart from those ranked among the very top, earn such a score and manage to keep it for the same wine several times in a row. Such is currently the case for château Fleur Cardinale 2018. Some of you may remember my enthusiasm for this then-unknown cru in the mid-1990s. Much water has flowed under the bridge since. The release of a new soil map of Saint-Emilion revealed a highly qualitative terroir in this outlying part of the appellation. Back then, both trade and private audiences, highly skeptical, showed a certain disdain at the mention of these areas far from the center of the medieval town. If only they were closer to Pomerol! But no, Fleur Cardinale, located in Saint Etienne de Lisse, borders Côtes de Castillon. An outsider, as I was saying! And above all, no great wine without human will. My latest visit bears witness to that. Inside and out, Fleur Cardinale is becoming a highly personalized estate. The new second wine, including its name “Intuition,” a planting of white vines, a cellar designed as a didactic visitor route—this all conveys a new passion, a new sensitivity, a re-enchantment. Go see for yourself! As for the taste of this 2018, the novelty lies in the last third of the palate. The wine lingers longer on the finish, with a newly defined texture—more precise, more distinguished, more mysterious, less simple. The choice of new coopers and this second wine certainly play a role. But first, one had to be able to perceive it—and then to achieve it!