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Château Fleur Cardinale 2008

Sincerity & Sensitivity

Un verre de Château Fleur Cardinale - © M. Johnson

Identity

Blend:

  • 70% Merlot
  • 15% Cabernet Franc
  • 15% Cabernet Sauvignon

Alcoholic degree: 14°

La vigne - © C. Decoster, Château Fleur Cardinale

Weather conditions

The cool, rainy spring disrupted flowering.

The good weather in July favored a homogeneous veraison. August was capricious, slowing down the maturity.

Finally, a beautiful Indian summer made it possible to make up for the delay of August, but with a late harvest.

Le temps des vendanges - © J. Buchholtz

Harvest

  • 15 October > 13 November 2008
  • Yields: 30 hl / ha
  • Production: 63 000 bottles
Ludovic carafant une bouteille de Château Fleur Cardinale - © M. Johnson

Tasting suggestions

  • Optimal tasting period: 2011 – 2024.
  • Today: place the wine one hour in a carafe before the tasting, or keep it in the cellar.
  • Serving temperature : 17-18°C.
Une bouteille de Fleur Cardinale 2015 - © C. Decoster, Château Fleur Cardinale

Personality characteristics

The 2008 vintage is synonymous of:

  • Sincerity
  • Sensitivity
  • Elegance
  • Resilience
Vin et musique - © C. Decoster, Château Fleur Cardinale

Soundtrack

Reviews for this vintage

B MY BORDEAUX, CHRISTER BYKLUM

89
Ruby. Ripe and fruity nose, quite intense, dark berries. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, juicy, fruity, quite well balanced, ripe but not overly so, good length. September 2015

BETTANE & DESSEAUVE

17
Robe profonde, corps onctueux et profond, tanin enrobé, fruits rouges et noirs bien mûrs mais sans confiture, allonge et distinction. Mai 2009

JEANNIE CHO LEE, MW

90
Ripe plums and spice. This wine has nice ripe, core fruit as well as toasty cedar and spice notes. Flavours are well integrated along with tightly knit tannins. Good length. April 2009

DECANTER

17 // ****
April 2009Rich and full with opulent fruit and texture. Fine but firm tannic frame. Length on the finish. Drink 2014-2024.

17,5 // **** Highly recommended
BEST OF FRANCE 2011Fragant, brooding, ripe dark fruit. Rich, powerful, structured, fresh and long. Drink 2014-2022.

GAULT & MILLAU

16,5
Guide 2011

GREAT BORDEAUX WINES, IZAK LITWAR

90-91
Meaty and fleshy wines with significant aroma of black cherries, splendidly balanced and well-structured. Smooth aftertaste. Primeurs 2008

INTERNATIONAL WINE CELLAR, STEPHEN TANZER

89
Bright ruby-red. Dark raspberry, flowers, dried herbs and a subtle smoky note on the nose. Sweet, suave and supple, but also nicely delineated. Finishes firm and dry, with good mineral grip and length. Still a bit of acidity to be absorbed. July 2011

JOURNAL D'UN PASSIONNÉ DE LA RIVE DROITE, DANIEL SÉRIOT

16
La robe est assez profonde, de teinte rubis. Le bouquet est bien ouvert et très floral ( roses et violettes) au premier plan, avec des arômes cerises mûres et fraîches, et des notes de cassis et de fines épices. La bouche est très veloutée, les tannins fins et mûrs sont enrobés par une chair bien formée, le vin très fruité se corse avec une bonne densité et de la rondeur. La finale est allongée, fraîche bien dessinée, veloutée, harmonieuse et persistante. Un vin qui offre déjà un très bon plaisir, le plus abordable de la dégustation. Juin 2016

ANDREAS LARSSON

93
Pure, floral and mineral nose that combines high ripeness and finesse, attractive and gracious density on the palate, concentrated without being heavy with layers of fruit, silky tannin and a very long finish, really most charming and utterly promising, should become very good indeed. TASTED Winter 2011-2012, January 2012

LE FIGARO VINS, BERNARD BURTSCHY

16
Dense, puissant et costaud avec des tannins très présents, le vin aura besoin de plusieurs années pour retrouver son équilibre, mais son avenir est radieux. 2012

JACQUES PERRIN

90-92
Dans la catégorie Grands Vins ****

PERSWIJN

****
Kersen en kruiden, iets minder heftig, aangenaam vijgen, pruimen, goede tannines. Mei 2010 Cerises et herbes, légèrement moins intenses, agréables figues, pruneaux, bons tanins.

JANCIS ROBINSON

16,5
Bright healthy crimson. Real personality on the nose – something quite mineral. Already quite resolved aromatically and then some chewy tannins underneath. Difficult to call on the ideal moment to drink. Seems much more advanced on the nose than the palate. February 2011

JANCIS ROBINSON, JULIA HARDING

17
Inky black wine. Very sweet and ripe on the nose then very dark and savoury on the palate. Surprisingly silky tannins given the massive power overall. For those who like blockbusters, though it retains fresh acidity. Savoury, beef extract aroma with toasty oak. Dark and resistant on the palate but suggesting a lot more to come when it takes on more flesh and opens out. Dense and promising. Drink 2013-19. April 2009

JEAN-MARC QUARIN

16,25
Ce millésime est conforme à la qualité constante offert par la propriété depuis 2002. La fin de saison a particulièrement bien profité à ce terroir tardif. Les dernières vendanges de cabernet ont eu lieu le 13 novembre. 2008 est millésime particulièrement aromatique. Il est très fruité et sent les fruits mûrs ainsi qu’une touche crémeuse. L’entrée en bouche est savoureuse, charnue, elle se développe avec du goût, une structure puissante et veloutée. La tannicité est particulièrement noble. très belle finale assez complexe. De la présence et du plaisir. Nouveauté : cette année, Dominique Decoster a décidé de diviser le parcellaire sur les cabernets sauvignons et les cabernets francs. Les mêmes parcelles ont été vinifiées dans sept cuves au lieu de trois. Depuis 2007, le vin est élevé dans 90% de bois neuf au lieu de 100%. Voilà qui pourrait affiner la granulation du tannin. Avril 2009.

THE WINE ADVOCATE, ROBERT PARKER

91-93
April 2009This 45 acre vineyard owned by Decoster family has produced fabulous wines over recent years. [...] The 2008 possesses a deep ruby/purple color as well as complex aromatics of graphite, cedar, blackberries, black currants, and subtle background oak. Dense, with abundant fruit, soft, ripe tannin, and a long, heady finish, I am not sure it is has powerful, rich, or as potentially long-lived as the 2005, but it will be drinkable at a much earlier age, and should evolve for 15 or more years.

91
May 2011A Sleeper of the vintage, this envolved, soft/silky, dark ruby/purple/plum-colored 2008 offers up scents of blue and red fruits, earth, and flowers. Medium to full-bodied as well as round, generous and seductive, it is a pure, impeccably made, wonderfully concentrated, endearing wine of enjoy now and over the next 7-10 years. Drink Date 2011 - 2021.

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER, JEFF LEVE

92
Still with nice, deep, color, you can easily find the licorice; truffle, crushed stones, dark, plums, black cherries and smoke. There is length and freshness and the finish is replete with sweet, juicy, plums and dark chocolate. Give this a few more years and it should rock! December 2017

WINE SPECTATOR, JAMES SUCKLING

88-91
April 2009Shows sweet tobacco and plum on the nose. Medium to full bodied, with lots of the new wood right now, but also plenty of good fruit and ripe tannins.

91
April 2011Ripe, juicy and flattering, with delicious linzer torte, boysenberry and blackberry compote aromas and flavors, supported by solid grip and nice lingering anise and espresso on the dense, lengthy finish. Drink now through 2019.

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