Chateau Fleur Cardinale 2016

Professional Ratings

• 95 Jeb Dunnuck
  A blend of 74% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2016 Château Fleur Cardinale spent 14 months in new French oak. Deep ruby/purple-colored, with a stunning nose of smoked black fruits, classy oak, violets, and camphor, this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, beautiful purity, ripe, present, polished tannins, and a great finish. It's a beautiful wine from this tip-top estate that has the class to keep for two decades or more.
• 94 James Suckling
  Quite earthy and savory on the nose, the fruit only emerging slowly. However, on the palate, this has a very attractive fleshy quality and a moderately dry, long finish of some real sophistication. Easy to drink now, but will hold. A blend of 74 per cent merlot, 18 per cent cabernet franc and eight per cent cabernet sauvignon.
• 93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The 2016 Fleur Cardinale is medium to deep garnet-purple colored and bursts from the glass with crushed blackberries, mulberries and chocolate-covered cherries with hints of spice cake, dried herbs and fragrant soil. The palate is medium to full-bodied and wonderfully elegant with soft, rounded tannins and a great backbone of freshness, finishing perfumed.
• 92 Wine Spectator
  Good brambly energy leads off here, with a mix of cassis, bitter cherry and plum puree flavors entwined with red licorice and floral notes. The juicy finish pulls everything together. Best from 2021 through 2034.
• 92 Decanter
  The grapes are sourced from a lovely vineyard owned by the Decoster family, located on cooler soils to the east of the appellation, where the late harvest of 2016, through to 25 October, is not unusual. There's plenty to enjoy here, with bitter chocolate, fresh menthol notes and rich, tight tannins. It has well expressed cassis and blackberry flavours and a silky texture. Jean-Philippe Fort consulted, with the wine aged in 100% new oak barrels after vinification in stainless steel. Bottled unfiltered. 35hl/ha yield.
• 92 Wine Enthusiast
  Dense and full of dark fruits, this wine has a solid structure and big tannins. Smoky and ripe with juicy, opulent berry flavors, it offers power and concentration. The wine needs to soften over many years before it reaches its full potential. Drink from 2024.