So much crushed lead pencil, tile and dried flowers, together with blackberries and brambleberries. Full-bodied with round, polished tannins. Layered and so delicious. Black olives and graphite at the end. This potpourri of Napa cabernet character takes your palate on a tour of so many of the regions, including all the mountains, such as Howell, Veeder and Spring Mountain, as well as Atlas Peak, Stags Leap, Yountville and St. Helena. Precision and polish to the wine. Drinkable now, but better to hold.

(98+ points) Pure, classic California notes of crème de cassis, spicy oak, chalky minerality, graphite, and spring flowers emerge from the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot that's sourced from multiple mountain AVAs in the valley. Full-bodied and powerful on the palate, it has a deep, rich mid-palate, beautiful tannins, notable acidity, and a great, great finish. It's another brilliant wine from Carpenter that can offer pleasure today yet also evolve for 20-25 years or more.

Heady aromas of beautiful brown spices, raspberry, boysenberry, leather and tobacco with the nuances of smoky clove, crushed wild herbs and cinnamon. More of the same unfolds on the palate, framed by burly tannins with grit, and finishing with intense pops of red and violet florals. A tremendously poised red with plenty of vivacity and complexity in youth that will only deepen with time in the bottle.

(97+ points) The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most finessed wines I have ever tasted here. That seems to be the direction Chris Carpenter is pursuing of late. So more than a vintage or place (Cardinale is a blend of hillside and valley floor sites) what comes through is the wines finesse. Floral overtones lift a core of red cherry fruit, pomegranate and blood orange. I imagine the 2019 will enjoy a long life based on its spectacular balance. - By Antonio Galloni on September 2021

The 2019 Cardinale is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot, with the Merlot from a particular block on Howell Mountain. Overall, it's about 80% mountain fruit and 20% valley-floor fruit, according to winemaker Chris Carpenter. Cherries and cassis dominate the nose, while the full-bodied palate is rich and velvety, with a long, mouthwatering finish that adds barrel-derived notes of vanilla, powdered sugar and cedar.- JC

Luxurious, balanced, supple tannins running through damson, black cherry and pomegranate fruits, wrapped up in curls of cigar box, gunsmoke, liquroice root and grilled coffee bean. As it opens up, brighter notes of star anise, fennel and turmeric appear, this is beautifully complex and arresting. 100% French oak, 81% new. Christopher Carpenter winemaker, bottled unfiltered and unfined. Sourced from 12 vineyards, with Spring and Diamond Mountains dominant. This was the first vintage on the Place de Bordeaux.

An inviting, fruit-driven style, with a gorgeous display of plum puree and blackberry confiture pumping along, flanked with licorice and apple wood and kept honest with a loamy accent through the finish. Polished in feel overall, but that belies the serious grip. Drink now through 2036. 5,100 cases made.