Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
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.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Tom Parker MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Intense, spicy and concentrated, this was a low yielding year, and even at 9 years old 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.
90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 20 months in 100% French oak of which 83% was new. Started in 1982. Cardinale’s grape sources change from vintage to vintage to create ‘the most distinctive wine from each vintage’. This has settled somewhat into mostly picking fruit from sites in Mount Veeder and Howell Mountain to form its blend. Very pure cassis on the nose. Dark chocolate, juniper and baked plum come through on the palate. This is glossy and slick, but has good acidity to cut through the sweetness. Primary to the end, this needs a little time to develop its complexity and let the sweet spice of oak settle. (TP)
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)