Cardinale Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot. Cardinale offers the same winning combination in vinous form: a brilliant ensemble of celebrated Napa Valley vineyards where each brings its own personality and flavor contributions to create a singular storyline of their vintage. The 2017 has the signature structure of Cardinale and showcases Asian spice, blackberries, sweet black cherry, a touch of cedar, and a lush tannin expression that carries on the tradition of this wine at the highest level. Winemaker CHRISTOPHER CARPENTERReviews: The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is based on a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot that spent 22 months in 81% new French oak. Its a wonderfully complete, borderline perfect wine that shows the class of this estate as well as the vintage, revealing a seamless, full-bodied that carries lots of blackcurrant, graphite, lead pencil, and tobacco aromatics, a deep, layered mid-palate, ultra-fine tannins, and flawless balance. As with most of Chriss 2018s, its a wine that builds slowly with time in the glass, offering a layered, singular character. Its a gorgeous 2018 that can be drunk today with ample pleasure, but it will ideally be given 4-6 years of bottle age, at which point it should evolve gracefully for 30-40 years. - Jeb Dunnuck The 2018 Cardinale Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and sumptuous right out of the gate. Soaring aromatics and silky tannins add finesse to the dark mountain fruit. It's hard to remember a vintage with this much sheer appeal in the early going. As always, Cardinale is a blend of choice hillside blocks. In 2018, the core is built around Stags Leap, Atlas Peak and St. Helena. Winemaker Chris Carpenter has backed off some of the overtness of the past years, and that is a huge benefit in allowing the wine to be more natural, more relaxed. The 2018 spent 21 months in 80-90% new oak, and clearly has the stuffing to handle the oak. It is one of the most refined Cardinales I can remember tasting. -- Antonio Galloni Composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, the 2018 Cardinale was aged in French oak barrels for 22 months, 81% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it prances out of the glass with gregarious notions of warm cassis, black cherries and wild blueberries, followed by emerging earth scents with a tobacco and garrigue undercurrent. Medium to full-bodied, gracefully d and refreshing, the vibrant black and blue-fruited palate offers a wonderfully fine-grained texture and bags of energy, finishing long with a skip in its step. 5,107 cases were made. - Wine Advocate