CARDINALE
2014
A magnificent wine made the by the brilliant winemaker Chris Carpenter, who also works for the Kendall-Jackson empire at Lakoya and a handful of other estates, this blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot is sourced from multiple vineyards owned by the Jacksons, from Veeder Peak to Spring Mountain to Howell Mountain. In 2014, it reminded me of a great vintage of Pontet-Canet from Pauillac, but slightly bigger than life. The inky purple color, the stunning nose of cedar wood, unsmoked cigar tobacco, graphite, crème de cassis and subtle new oak is followed by a multi-layered, profoundly concentrated, large-scaled wine with sensational levels of blackcurrant fruit moving toward blackberries. A wine of great intensity, silky tannins and adequate acidity, this is clearly one of the great, great wines of the vintage, and another tour de force in winemaking from Carpenter. It is a 15- to 20- year wine, but the window for drinking its is probably that big as well. P.S. If you want to catch Chris Carpenter doing something other than making exhilarating wine, check out the Rutherford Grill on Friday nights, where he tends bar and makes some pretty badass cocktails. Drinking range: 2016 - 2036 Rating: 98 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Oct 2016)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
A powerful, unctuous wine, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is striking. Intense, expressive aromatics make a strong first impression. Silky tannins wrap around a core of dark red cherry, plum, mocha, spice and leather. Deep, unctuous and beautifully layered throughout, the 2014 Cabernet is a fabulous wine in this vintage. All the elements simply fall into place effortlessly. Drinking range: 2019 - 2034 Rating: 96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Dec 2016)
Mountain terroir is essential to Cardinale’s character. While the rocky soils, steep aspects and exposed conditions are among the most challenging in California, they also produce the most structured, masculine and complex wines.Winemaker's notes (Sept 2017)
Cardinale
Cardinale, founded in 1982 and owned by Jackson Family wines, is one of the older wineries in Napa’s Oakville district. While most vineyards in Napa and indeed elsewhere in the world focus on producing a number of wines each year, Cardinale concentrates all its effort into making one great wine - producing a single Cabernet Sauvignon (blended with smaller amounts of Merlot) every vintage.
Christopher Carpenter, Cardinale’s chief winemaker, regards the creation of his blended signature cabernet sauvignon as a composer would a finely balanced piece of music. He blends different layers and sounds together to create one harmonious piece. The wine is a limited-production blend from Napa Valley’s most recognized mountain appellations including Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain, Howell Mountain and Diamond Mountain. This blend of mountain terroirs, sourced from ten different vineyards, is essential to Cardinale’s character.
The steep aspects, rocky soils and exposed vineyards are instrumental in crafting this structured and complex wine. Well layered, both on the nose and the palate, it has dense, rich, dark fruit flavours while showing oaky tannins and grip on the finish.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond' (excluding duty paid and VAT).
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price sits within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
You can register your interest via the online wishlist form, by emailing privateclients@leaandsandeman.co.uk, or by calling 020 7221 1982. All wishlist requests are subject to availability and final confirmation. Inevitably, some wines will have to be allocated but please do not let that deter you from asking. We will do our best to satisfy all requests.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date.
Invoices are raised at in bond prices. Duty and VAT invoices will be raised on request when the wines land in the UK.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We reserve the right to levy a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant Storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other in bond deliveries are free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1,000. Orders below this total will be charged at £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchase from this offer, not a per-case charge. Please inform us of in bond delivery addresses and account details at the time of ordering.
- If the wines are required duty paid we will issue invoices at prevailing rate of duty and VAT when the wines arrive in the UK.
- The wines will become available by the end of the year and should be shipped very early next year.