Ch. Fleur Cardinale 2023

Since 2001, Château Fleur Cardinale has been the flagship wine of the D. Decoster family: a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé with an elegant, racy organoleptic profile and a modern, dynamic image. A great terroir-driven wine, designed for ageing, expressing the freshness of its northern clay-limestone slope.

Vineyards

Surface area: 27.6 hectares in production
Soil: clay-limestone/ northern slopes of the Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse limestone plateau
Grape varieties: 74% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon
Third year of conversion to organic farming

Technical sheet

2023 potential blend: 56% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Franc, 7% Cabernet-Sauvignon
Potential degree: 14.5% vol.
Potential pH: 3.6

Château Fleur Cardinale (Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé): 40,000 potential bottles
Intuition de Fleur Cardinale (Saint-Emilion Grand Cru): 10,000 potential bottles

Climatology of the vintage

The winter of 2023 saw a period of cool weeks, with little rain from mid-January onwards. The buds gently burst at the end of March without any real fear of the frost, which was short and early. In spring, the vines exploded into life. Warmth, rain and mild nights gave way to magnificient flowering and wild growth, creating the right conditions for the plant kingdom to express itself (including fungi). The weather conditions at the beginning of the summer allowed good vegetative growth of the berries.

Harvest conditions

The end of the summer was favourable to the ripening of the grapes, with drier, sunnier weather and a significant contrast in daytime and night-time temperatures. The aromas developed and the tannins refined. As the harvest approached, we paid particular attention to the ripening of the grapes.

Harvest dates: 19 September – 4 October 2023
Yield: 15 hL / ha

Vinification and ageing

A short pre-fermentation cold maceration under bio-protection is followed by extraction by pumping over in an aqueous phase, with gentle maceration at the end of vatting.

Château Fleur Cardinale is expected to age for between 12 and 14 months.
45% new french oak barrels
20% one-year oak barrels
15% in demi-muids
10% in wooden vats of 30 hL
10% in amphorae TAVA of 7.5 L

Tasting comment

Château Fleur Cardinale 2023 has an aerial, floral and arborescent, almost sappy nose. The palate is distinguished by its clean, pure attack. The creamy, velvety texture of the tannins is accompanied by notes of blueberry and black cherry with a hint of liquorice. The finish is persistent and fresh, with hints of sweet spices and black fruit.