"It’s a wonderfully complete, borderline perfect wine that shows the class of this estate as well as the vintage, revealing a seamless, full-bodied style 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 Chris’s 2018s, it’s a wine that builds slowly with time in the glass, offering a layered, singular character. It’s 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
"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 styled 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." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate
"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, Vinous
"Aromas of blackberries, plums and spice with some pine needles and fresh mushrooms. Full-bodied with very fine, round tannins and a juicy sophistication and flavorful profile. Dark and thought-provoking. So approachable. 90% cabernet sauvignon and 10% merlot." - James Suckling
"So much perfume, symphonic and layered with so much complexity, black pepper and exotic spice laid on thick, deep purple tasting wine with cherry chocolate, rolling fleshy melting tannin that spreads through the mouth, and that seductive scent again, carrying on the finish, with sumptuous tannin and so much length. Outstanding." - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
