Château Fleur Cardinale Surf Session Saint-Émilion 2019 - Grand Cru Classé (Magnum)

Florence and Dominique Decoster, their son Ludovic, and his wife Caroline have developed a passion for this 23-hectare hillside estate near the town of Castillon. The wines display a rare richness, even in average vintages, and have gained finesse in their tannic texture. It is one of Saint-Émilion’s most reliable choices, and the new winery is already yielding greater precision and purity. What remarkable progress and dedication! This estate is well on its way to the top.

Aromas of smoked coffee beans and ripe blackcurrants. The texture and flavor of this wine are excellent; it’s full of herbal notes and licorice-tinged black fruits (mainly cherries). It’s so well-integrated that no single aspect stands out. The tannins are incredibly fine and velvety. The acidity is well-balanced, supporting both the fruit’s density and its freshness. Without a doubt, this is a wine with impressive depth, combining power and balance. Harmonious, charming, and elegant. A very well-rounded wine that strikes a balance between generous fruit, tannins, acidity, and mineral freshness. You can tell it has been excellently crafted. It exudes a true, sculpted, and refined purity. A great wine, still just as juicy and appealing on the finish. A first-rate purchase. Best enjoyed between 2027 and 2045.

In 2001, Dominique and Florence Decoster acquired Château Fleur Cardinale, a 23.5-hectare estate located on one of the highest points of the AOC, east of Saint-Émilion. Their investments quickly paid off: the wine, which has shown steady improvement, joined the ranks of the “classified” wines in 2006, a classification that was confirmed in 2012. The estate expanded by 4 hectares in 2011 with the acquisition of the neighboring Croix Cardinale vineyard. Ludovic Decoster joined the estate in 2015 and serves as operations manager.

The Decoster family (with roots in Limoges porcelain, Haviland) spares no effort in making this wine one of the appellation’s most reliable choices. This beautiful estate, located in the eastern part of Saint-Émilion, north of Saint-Étienne-de-Lisse, benefits from a rich clay terroir that requires patience to achieve a high level of ripeness. The Fleur Cardinale vineyard is located in the latest-ripening sector of the Grands Crus Classés. With guidance from Jean-Luc Thunevin, the estate produces wines with a modern, rich, and flattering style, often bordering on overripeness. Expanded by 8 ha following the 2012 classification, the estate now covers 23.5 ha. Of these 8 ha, which come from La Croix Cardinale (a brand the Decosters still produce), 4 ha are used to produce Fleur Cardinale’s flagship wine.

A beautiful, crystal-clear wine with aromas of crushed red berries, dried flowers, and thinly sliced oyster mushrooms. Full-bodied, with layers of ripe tannins and juicy fruit. Hints of chocolate and nuts come through, along with notes of vanilla beans. Magnificent.

The nose is quite subtle, refined, and delicate, as if it were blushing discreetly. After hints of elderflower, it opens up to a palate that is exceptionally smooth, clear, and pure, with notes of black fruit, spices, and cloves, and a finish of great tenderness.

With a subtle, slightly woody nose, the surprise comes on the palate, which is full-bodied and flavorful. “A little gem,” comments one taster—a wine crafted with attention to detail, offering a heady, opulent, and quite sunny palate, with juicy red fruit. The overall impression is delicious yet dense, with a very elegant tannic structure. You’ll already be looking forward to having it again. It’s a well-rounded, refined wine with good aging potential.

The nose is all finesse and elegance, offering a lovely, airy opening, controlled power, complexity, and a certain depth. It features notes of wild blackberry, camphor, and violet, combined with hints of juicy, tart blue berries, blueberry, and lily, as well as subtle hints of pepper and a delicate touch of terroir. The palate is fruity, refined, elegant, and balanced, displaying subtlety and delicacy in its power and structure, and offering juiciness, smoothness, a tangy backbone, good definition, richness, and a lovely finesse of texture. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of juicy, pulpy blackcurrant, plump raspberry, and, to a lesser extent, blueberry, combined with hints of plump red currants, as well as subtle notes of lily, plum, chocolate, caramelization, and an imperceptible hint of sweet spices. The tannins are precise, powerful, polished, well-integrated, and elegant.