2020 Chateau Croix Cardinale Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

The Decoster family's boutique Right Bank cuvée, made beside their Grand Cru Classé Fleur Cardinale.

2020 Chateau Croix Cardinale Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Name: 2020 Chateau Croix Cardinale Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Brand: Chateau Croix
SKU: CCCSEGC20
Price: 44.99 USD
Availability: InStock

The Decoster family's boutique Right Bank cuvée, made beside their Grand Cru Classé Fleur Cardinale.

Retail $52

$44.99

/ bottle

You save $7.01

From The Fleur Cardinale Grand Cru Classé Team
"Absolutely Charming Saint-Émilion" ~ Jeb Dunnuck
Age-Worthy Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
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2020 Chateau Croix Cardinale Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

$52

$44.99

/ bottle

You save $7.01

About The Wine

Here's a Right Bank insider move.

The Decoster family owns Château Fleur Cardinale — a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé on the clay-limestone plateau of Saint-Étienne-de-Lisse. In 2011 they took over the tiny parcel next door and named it Croix Cardinale. Same team, same soils, same standards.

This is the estate's quieter, more confidential cuvée. It's where they lean into the Cabernet grown on limestone and push toward something more precise and mineral than your average plush Saint-Émilion.

In the glass it's a Merlot-led Right Bank blend — brambly red and black fruit, cedar, and that earthy, truffly, tobacco-edged character good Saint-Émilion earns with a little age. It's silky and supple enough to open tonight, but there's real backbone and salinity underneath. A wine with a spine, not just charm. The house signature is fine, chalky tannin, and it shows here.

Pour it with something off the grill — ribeye, lamb, anything roasted and a little spiced. It's drinking well now with the structure to hold and evolve for a decade-plus. For a wine made by a Grand Cru Classé team, it flies remarkably under the radar. That's the whole reason it's on our site.

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At A Glance

Varietal:: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region:: Bordeaux
Sub-Appellation:: Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Alcohol:: 14.0%
Size:: 750ml

TASTING NOTES

What's in the Glass

PAIRS WITH: Ribeye · Lamb · Duck · Ribs · Mushroom Dish · Risotto · Cheese

Mouthfeel & Acidity

Light Body Full Body

Low Acidity High Acidity

Soft Tannins Firm Tannins

Dry Sweet

Merlot-led blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Brambly red and black fruit — Morello cherry, black raspberry, redcurrant — over cedar, crushed stone and light sous-bois.

Medium to full-bodied, silky on entry with fine salinity and chalky tannin giving it backbone.

Earthy, truffly, tobacco-edged finish. Drinking well now through the early 2030s.

CRITIC REVIEWS

What the Critics Said

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 Croix Cardinale skips out of the glass with bright, vivacious scents of Morello cherries, redcurrant jelly and black raspberries, plus suggestions of cinnamon toast, wilted roses and oolong tea, with a waft of woodsmoke. The medium to full-bodied palate is soft and juicy, featuring bags of red fruit preserves and a velvety texture, finishing long and savory. ~ 93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aromas of ripe plums and mulberries with hints of chocolate, licorice and bark. Medium-bodied and dry with polished tannins and chalky texture. Soft and creamy finish. 84% merlot and 16% cabernet franc. Drink or hold.~92 James Suckling
The 2020 Croix Cardinale has an open bouquet with brambly red fruit, cedar and light sous-bois scents that unfold in the glass. This is fairly composed and focused. The palate has retained that quasi-Médoc-like personality, very well balanced with fine salinity, though it needs just a tad more backbone right on the finish. Otherwise, this is very commendable.~ 91 Vinous Media
The 2020 Château Croix Cardinale showed well, with a ripe, nicely balanced, medium to full-bodied profile carrying ample red, blue, and black fruits as well as some truffly, earthy, tobacco-like nuances. This round, supple, absolutely charming Saint Emilion is going to drink nicely for at least 8-10 years. ~ 91 Jeb Dunnuck