(91-93) From vines just beside Fleur Cardinale (the estate acquired this 4.5-hectare parcel in 2012), the 2018 Château Croix Cardinale reveals a deep purple color as well as medium to full-bodied notes of spiced plums, graphite, licorice, and earth. It’s a ripe, sexy wine that has plenty of sweet tannins, a great texture, and plenty of length on the finish, and it’s very much in the style of the ripe yet pure vintage. The blend is 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, brought up in new French oak.

Coming from a tiny parcel next to Fleur Cardinale and 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Château Croix Cardinale has a beautiful, complex nose of red and black fruits, white truffle, flowers, and sandalwood. With an almost Pomerol-like elegance, it nevertheless has beautiful minerality and limestone character, ripe, sweet tannins, and a great finish. It's beautifully done and shines on all accounts. It's going to impress for 15+ years.

(90-92) Medium/full bodied, silky, polished, forward and juicy, this wine is a show off with its ripe fruits, licorice, smoke and chocolate. Enjoy this early drinking charmer while waiting for its big brother to develop. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2018&wine=Chateau%20Croix%20Cardinale

This glides in seductively, with crushed plum, warmed raspberry compote and black currant paste flavors that have subtle energy, while hints of black tar, singed alder and savory underscore the finish. For more near-term consumption, thanks to its copious fruit. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2030. – JM

Currants, wild raspberries, hazelnuts, dried herbs and flowers on the nose. Some meaty aromas, too. It’s medium-bodied with sleek tannins. Fresh and silky. A little light on the finish, but very attractive. 75% merlot and 25% cabernet franc. Try from 2023.

Composed of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, possessing 14.5% alcohol, the 2018 Croix Cardinale is deep garnet-purple colored, bursting from the glass with notions of juicy black and red plums, lifted cherries and baked raspberries, plus suggestions of fruitcake and woodsmoke. The medium to full-bodied palate offers harmonious baked black and red fruits with a well-knit frame of soft tannins and a lively backbone, finishing on a fragrant earth note. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

This smoothly rich wine comes from an estate under the same ownership as cru classé Fleur Cardinale. It is spicy, dense with blackberry fruits and swathes of ripeness. This opulent wine will age relatively quickly. Drink from 2023. - Roger Voss