This 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot is a compilation of stellar growing sites incorporating the best mountaintop fruit from Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain and Diamond Mountain with some parcels from the valley floor. This is a blend from 11 vineyards and 32 individual wine lots. Cardinale gives winemaker Chris Carpenter a free hand in crafting the finest cuvee using grapes from noteworthy vineyards without being restricted to one location.

Another stellar achievement from winemaker Chris Carpenter who has a keen skillset and talent for taming mountain grown fruit, sculpting it into an illustrious piece of art. Nearly opaque and deeply garnet, this luxurious Cabernet unveils a bouquet of dried flowers and savory spices. The wine is a mosaic of flavors with kirsch, macerated black plums, cocoa nibs, graphite shavings, roasted espresso and a whisper of mountain sage. There is a density to this wine and a mid-palate richness that seem endless along with mineral tension and textural freshness contributed by the expressive mountain fruit. While accessible and attractive after aeration, this wine is destined to acquire more grandeur with additional aging.

By W Peter Hoyne