In 2024, Château Fleur Cardinale and Château Croix Cardinale were brought together under the name La Maison Cardinale

Château Fleur Cardinale 2009 - Château Fleur Cardinale
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Château Fleur Cardinale 2009

Spontaneity & Generosity

Un verre de Château Fleur Cardinale - © M. Johnson

Identity

Blend:

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

Alcoholic degree: 15°

La vigne - © C. Decoster, Château Fleur Cardinale

Weather conditions

The year began in perfect weather conditions.

Flowering and veraison were early.

The sunny summer was marked with a particularly dry August.

Le temps des vendanges - © J. Buchholtz

Harvest

  • 7 > 27 October  2009
  • Yields: 33 hl / ha
  • Production: 78 000 bottles
Ludovic carafant une bouteille de Château Fleur Cardinale - © M. Johnson

Tasting suggestions

  • Optimal tasting period: 2015 – 2028.
  • Today: place the wine two hours 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 2009 vintage is synonymous of:

  • Spontaneity
  • Generosity
  • Charm
  • Creativity
Vin et musique - © C. Decoster, Château Fleur Cardinale

Soundtrack

Reviews for this vintage

JANE ANSON

93
Owned by Decoster’s family, formerly of Limoges pottery compagny Haviland, since 2001. Smoth, silky, very soft black fruits, tastes quite well worked (there is 100% new oak), but this has real elegance and a lovely fresh finish. Really good.

BETTANE & DESSEAUVE

17-17,5
TASTParfaitement réussi, en évitant le piège de la lourdeur dans lequel sont tombés nombre de Saint-émilions : vins gras, intense et riche, fruit généreux, longueur suave relevée par une véritable fraîcheur mentholée en finale.

DECANTER, JAMES LAWTHER

16,5 // ****
Rich, powerful wine. Crushed-berry fruit expression – on the cusp of overripe. Tight, suave tannic frame. Needs time to settle. Drink 2015-2025.

DECANTER, JANE ANSON

92
December 2019. Plump raspberry and blueberry fruits on the nose alongside liquorice and black chocolate – with some added concentration in the glass from the low yield of 33hl/ha. There’s just a touch of heat on the finish, but it gets overtaken with a glossy cigar and mocha finish if you leave it in the glass for a good 15 minutes. Beautiful texture, this feels full and generous and is holding on extremely well at 10 years old. Harvest October 7-27. Drinking Window 2019 - 2038

FALSTAFF

91-93
Intensives dunkles Beerenkonfit, Dörrfeigen, Gewürze, Nougat, Orangenschalen. Stoffig, süß, runde, präsente Tannine, die dem Wein Länge geben, extraktsüßer Abgang, schokoladig und anhaltend. April 2010

GAULT & MILLAU

17,5
Sélection 40 Grands Crus Classés 2009, Avril 2012Belle définition tout en finesse dans une recherche d’équilibre très subtil. Un grand vin de plaisir aujourd’hui mais aussi pour un bel avenir. Le floral est enchanteur.

17
Guide 2011Le nez est magnifique, complexe, expressif, puissant. Il joue sur un large registre, avec un fruit riche, de suaves notes épicées, florales et minérales, le tout avec beaucoup de raffinement. La bouche est à la hauteur, offrant un grain superbe, une texture serrée et une longue finale équilibrée. Ample, dense, racé et au gros potentiel de garde.

GREAT BORDEAUX WINES, IZAK LITWAR

91
Fine, seductive and aromatic on the nose with great intensity and depth. Ripe fruit well supported by ripe tannins. Quite long aftertaste. Primeurs 2009

JEB DUNNUCK

93
November 2020 Plenty of cassis, toasted spice, black cherries, graphite, and tobacco notes emerge from the 2009 Château Fleur Cardinale, a rich, full-bodied Saint-Emilion that's still relatively youthful. Full-bodied on the palate, with firm, chewy tannins and a great finish, this powerful, pedal-to-the-metal beauty is ideal for drinking over the coming 10-12 years. It will be interesting to see how these tannins evolve over the coming decade. Regardless, it certainly has more than enough fruit at the moment.

LA REVUE DU VIN DE FRANCE

16,5
LES MEILLEURS VINS DE FRANCE 2011Le 2009 affiche ce côté très mûr et dense qui signe les vins de la propriété. Le fruit est explosif et l’acidité basse.

ANDREAS LARSSON

90
Dark ruby red, fine nose with some development, perfumed with some floral notes, dark fruit confiture, fine spices and mineral, very good structure on the taste, full with a creamy texture, mineral notes and a hint of black truffle, dark berries, spice and a very persistent aftertaste, nice complexity and already a fine drinkability. April 2012

LE FIGARO VINS, BERNARD BURTSCHYVIN

91-93
2010Robe sombre. Nez fruits rouges. En bouche, souple, beau milieu de bouche serré, lisse.

16,5
2012Fleur Cardinale avait été classé pour la première fois lors du classement de 2006, à juste titre. Dense, tannique, assez puissant, le vin possède une belle matière et il est impeccablement vinifié. Son architecture le situe dans les vins corsés, mais il n’est pas dénué d’élégance.

PERIODIC REVIEW OF BORDEAUX WINE, ALAN DURAN

95-97
The noteworthy Fleur Cardinale will ultimately compete in size with the remarkable 2005. A game-changing accomplishment for this estate which has produced a rich and concentrated wine. Its opaque purple hue proceeds to some intense aromas of blue flower, blueberry extract, crème de cassis, lavender, and a plancha beef juices. Full-bodied, dens and broad in its textural fruit mass with stunning concentration and a gorgeous definition to the fruit. The latter is more skillfully made and boasts a thrilling extract of flavor. Il will prove to last some 20-25 years. This is a fascinating, sumptuous Fleur Cardinale. Maturity period 2015-2027.

JACQUES PERRIN

92-94
Dans la catégorie Grands Vins // ****

JANCIS ROBINSON

16,5
Extremely dark and lustrous. Sweet nose with a hint of animal fur. Stewed black cherries this time! Very sweet start and very polished with a certain amount of alcohol in evidence. Strictly for modernists. March 2010

JEAN-MARC QUARIN

16-16,25
Sa couleur est belle, intense. Son nez se présente fruité, discret. Il manque un peu d’éclat. Bouche moelleuse, puissante, très fruitée, présentant plus de goût que le nez ne le laisserait supposer. Corps moelleux, finale de bonne longueur à la tannicité couverte. A suivre à l’élevage.

JAMES SUCKLING

93
Wow. Blueberry, minerals, oyster shell and black chocolate aromas. Full body, with velvety tannins and juicy finish. Delicious and succulent. Better in 2018. March 2012

THE WINE ADVOCATE, ROBERT PARKER

94
A good value among over-achieving St-Emilion estates is Fleur Cardinale’s 2009. Composed of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, some of the abrasive tannins noticeable early on in this big wine (14,5% alcohol) are now sweeter and better integrated. Made from tiny yields of 30 hectoliters per hectare, this is a concentrated, rich effort revealing lots of black cherry and black currant fruit as well as a fragant, firm, full-bodied personality. It should be at its best between 2016 and 2030. December 2011

VINO MAGAZINE

*** // Excellent Grand Cru Classé
Réalise un tout grand millésime.

WINE SPECTATOR, JAMES SUCKLING

92-95
2010Intense concentration of black chocolate and berry. Full-bodied, with loads of fruits and velvety tannins. The finish is long and juicy.

WINE SPECTATOR, JAMES MOLESWORTH

93
January 2012This delivers the textbook panoply of blueberry, plum and blackberry fruit of the appellation, with a lush, creamy mouthfeel and a long licorice-and sweet toast-filled finish. Along with the suave fruit, there’s latent grip that should mellow nicely with midterm cellaring. Best from 2013 through 2023.

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