Château Fleur Cardinale 2024

Bright ruby red, with floral notes over raspberry and elderberry; gripping on the palate, well-structured, crisp fruit, silky tannins, the wine shows precision and length, echoing with red-fruited notes on the finish. A safe bet with good ageing potential.

Fragrant and expressive, with a super lively, open-knit nose full of floral and red-fruit scents. Smooth and creamy, it has instant charm, clearly ripe fruit with hints of both sweetness and tension, creating interplay between vibrancy and structure. Serious yet fun. It shows clarity and purity with a well-honed overall expression. Very complete. Elegant and balanced. Packed with flavour.

All the tenderness and aromas of a handful of flowers combining old rose, wisteria, and iris in a charming bouquet, before red fruits—especially raspberry—bring their delicious juiciness. This aromatic duality carries onto the palate with a very straight and fresh texture, full of energy and notes of redcurrant and wild strawberry. Silky tannins accompany the tasting from start to finish, and the finale proves particularly persistent, with lovely bitters.

Lovely nose with fruit, a certain depth, beautiful purity of fruit, elegance, a chiselled edge and a fine grain. It reveals notes of pulpy/fleshy blackcurrant, shiny black cherry and, more subtly, lilac and camphor, accompanied by touches of crushed red plum, fine hints of cornflower and sweet spices, a subtle hint of Bourbon vanilla and a touch of cinnamon. The palate is beautifully textured, sapid, gourmet, velvety, offering good definition, precision, purity, brightness, relief, and a chiselled character. Lovely soft, gourmand mid-palate. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy/juicy blackcurrant and violet, and more subtly lilac, with touches of juicy purple plum, hints of roasted-juicy red berries, fine hints of anise and cardamom, and a subtle touch of toast. The tannins are supple. Rounded finesse. A lovely seductive character brought by Cabernet Franc.

Maison Cardinale, as the overall Decoster group of estates is now called, has produced a wine with energy and lift. Doing this in the 2024 vintage without overpowering acidity is a tough ask, but you can find a good example of what is possible here - smooth rich blackberry and red cherry fruits, firm tannic grip, definitely on the slim side of fruit expression on these north-facing slopes but with a ton slate minerality and finesse. 36% new oak, 42hl/h yield, 26ha vineyard, 25% 600l new oak casks, and 2% amphora. They have introduced a variety of differently-sized containers for ageing, overseen by technical director Ludovine Chagnon. The blend given is likely to be final, but the decision will be taken after ageing.

Deep red color with purple highlights. An intense, refined, pure and fruity nose. A floral evolution in the glass. Juicy on entry, very flavorful on the mid-palate, the wine develops with a noble progression, a silky body and a long, fragrant finish. It is very good. Blend: 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Alcohol content: 13.5% - pH: 3.5. Yield: 42 hl/ha before selection. Production: 100,000 bottles.