Chappellet Cabernet Franc 2017
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Wilfred
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Robert
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James
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Blend: 75% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Chappellet Cabernet Franc is an outstanding wine by any measurement. TASTING NOTES: This wine saturates the palate with attractive and classic aromas and flavors of black fruits, lilacs, and oak. Enjoy it with a grilled Porterhouse steak. (Tasted: May 23, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Cabernet Franc displays pronounced red and black cherries, mulberries and warm raspberries scents with underlying blueberries, pencil shavings and dried Provence herbs plus a waft of lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate offers mouth-filling red and blue fruits with a firm, grainy frame and bold freshness, finishing long and perfumed.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2017 Cabernet Franc comes from Napa Valley (I'm not exactly sure where the fruit is from) and is all varietal. It's a more opulent wine than the Cabernet and has considerable fruit, richness, and depth on the palate, loads of dark, chocolaty fruit, and terrific notes of spring flowers, gravelly earth, forest floor, and hints of espresso. Beautifully done and balanced, with sweet tannins, it’s a beautiful wine.
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James Suckling
Lots of crushed-blackberry and floral aromas with raspberries, too. Very clear and bright. Full-bodied, dense and crisp with lots of fruit, yet it remains tight and toned. Some hot stones at the finish. Pretty big wine, but shows tension. Drink or hold.
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The Chappellets' romance with Pritchard Hill began when Donn and Molly Chappellet first glimpsed the mountain's spectacular vistas in the late 1960s. Inspired by the notion that Bacchus loves the hills, Donn and Molly followed the advice of legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff and settled on the rocky eastern slopes of the Napa Valley. There, on the mountain’s serene and picturesque hillsides, the Chappellets established their home and winery, raising their children and cultivating the vineyards.
Since being founded by Donn and Molly in 1967, Chappellet has earned acclaim championing the robust power and complexity of wines crafted from mountain grapes. At the same time, Chappellet has helped to establish Pritchard Hill as one of California’s most revered winegrowing sites. To honor the mountain's rich, expressive character, the winemaking team focuses on creating extraordinary, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignons that embody the intensity and finesse of fruit from Pritchard Hill.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.