2014 | Château Croix Cardinale | Saint-Emilion (Double Magnum)

Medium-bodied, lightly tannic and endowed with lovely ripe black fruits, this is an excellent early-drinking Bordeaux.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Straight to the point: I much preferred Dominique and Florence Decoster's Château Croix Cardinale 2014 to their Fleur Cardinale 2014. This year it is a blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon with malolactic in new French oak barrels and subsequently aged on the lees with no stirring. It is crisp and fresh on the nose with lively black and blueberry fruit. The 100% new oak here feels nicely integrated even if I feel that it would have benefitted from less. The palate is medium-bodied with gently gripping tannin, good depth and acidity with a structured, quite dense finish. There is good breeding behind this Saint Emilion. Tasted twice with consistent notes.

• James Suckling: A broad-shouldered red with dark fruit, cedar and tobacco. Full and round. Excellent structure and texture.

Producer Information

Château Fleur Cardinale is a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé that has been owned by Florence and Dominique Decoster since 2001. The property was promoted to the rank of Grand Cru Classé in 2006, retaining it in 2012. The vineyards extend for 23.5hectares (58 acres) across Saint-Émilion and are planted on soils of clay and limestone. Merlot dominates here and is planted alongside smaller plots of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The estate has the Engagé RSE certification for social responsibility. It has also been implementing the Bordeaux Wines Environmental Management System (based on ISO 14001) since 2013. This addresses energy and water consumption, waste sorting and effluent, recycling, cultivation, pest management and employee health and safety. No chemical weedkillers or insecticides are used. Vines are instead tilled mechanically, and cover crops are used to reduce erosion and avoid soil compaction. No inorganic fertilizers have been used since 2017. Disease controls include talc-based sprays to combat botrytis in wet years. The wines come from vines that are, on average, 40 years old. The grapes are hand-harvested and then manually sorted in the winery, plot by plot, and variety by variety, before being destemmed into fermenters. The winery has 22 temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks that the grapes are placed into to begin alcoholic fermentation. Wines are then aged for between 12 and 15 months in new French oak barrels. The family also produces wine under the Château Croix Cardinale label. Rather than a second wine, this is a separate, neighboring vineyard. It is planted mostly to Merlot, alongside some Cabernet Franc. Secret de Cardinale and Bois Cardinale were formerly part of the portfolio, but are now discontinued. A new second wine was to be announced in 2020. The château is named for two racehorses, Fleur and Cardinale. They ran in the colors of the Obissier family who bought the property (previously Clos Bel-Air) in 1975.

DISCLAIMER** This is a single item listing unless otherwise noted in the description. Retailer advises either in stock or in route to their location. Usually ships within one to four business days. Longer processing times may occur especially around holiday(s). Some items may become backordered or delayed without notice due to demand & will ship out upon arrival. Overseas 700ml products typically have longer processing/transit times. You can always verify product availability by calling 1-888-548-0333. Please refer to our cancellations & returns agreement or reach out to our support team at help@caskcartel.com for any additional questions.

Our dedicated team specializes in creating personalized shopping experiences. If you’re looking for a specific item or collection that isn’t appearing on our marketplace, please reach out to us at concierge@caskcartel.com or fill out the product inquiry form and one of our dedicated team members will be in touch.  Whether it’s a product you’ve experienced while traveling or a rare, hard to find item you’ve been searching for, we have an established global network of retailers with the ability to locate and source the rarest and hardest to find products.