Rating: 95+
Reviewed by Jeb Dunnuck
Tasting Date: January 27, 2021
Source: Napa Valley’s 2018s
The 100% varietal 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve comes from the Prichard Ridge Vineyard on Atlas Peak and, I suspect, was brought up in plenty of new French oak. Its dense purple color is followed by powerful, brooding notes of blackcurrants, cassis, dark chocolate, cigar smoke and rocky, earthy minerality. It’s a full-bodied, concentrated, beautifully balanced wine that stays tight and coiled on the palate. Give bottles 4-5 years if possible and it should evolve gracefully for two decades.
Rating: 95+
Reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Issue Date: October 22, 2020
Source: October 2020 Week 3, The Wine Advocate
Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve displays a deep garnet-purple color and intense scents of crème de cassis, plum preserves and baked black cherries with nuances of spice cake, fragrant earth, lavender and spice cake. The rich, concentrated, full-bodied palate has a rock-solid foundation of firm, grainy tannins and a lively backbone, finishing long and perfumed. 127 cases were made.
Cardano Estate is a new project established by Edward Lewis Snider, former owner and winemaker at Beau Vigne. The vineyard is a tiny, four-acre plot of Cabernet Sauvignon situated high on Atlas Peak, at 1,200 feet, in an area called “Prichard Ridge.” These first releases are very impressive indeed, delivering powerful fruit juxtaposed by earthy restraint and with a solid backbone for long aging. With Snider’s son, Nicholas, on board, this is a hot newcomer to the Napa Cab scene and one worth jumping onboard early!