Chappellet Pritchard Hill Estate Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
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Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Pure, powerful and beautifully structured, this opulent wine captures theessence of great mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon. Alluring aromas of blueberry, blackberry, dark chocolate and espresso rise from the glass, followedby notes of anise, smoke and spice. The luxurious fruit continues on the palate,where lush flavors of ripe berry and dark cherry are framed by a beautifulstructure and mouthcoating tannins. The finish is rich and lingering, accentedby notes of toasted oak, clove, nutmeg.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill has a very deep garnet-purple color. To smell the nose is like hearing angels trumpeting at the pearly gates! The most incredible and evocative scents come spilling out of the glass, conjuring notions of freshly crushed black raspberries, wild blueberries, red and black currant compote and raspberry leaves with subtler hints of roses, violets, tilled soil, cigar box and fragrant earth. Medium to full-bodied and achingly graceful in the mouth, the perfumed black and red fruits seemingly dance on the palate with a very firm yet beautifully fine-grained texture and just the right amount of freshness, finishing with epic persistence. Hallelujah—this is perfection!!
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Jeb Dunnuck
Cut from the same cloth with the intensity turned all the way up, but with no loss of purity or elegance, the heavenly 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is a worthy follow up to the otherworldly 2015. Awesome notes of crème de cassis, gamey blueberries, sappy underbrush/mountain scrub brush, flowery incense and crushed rocks all literally soar from the glass of this full-bodied beauty. Hitting the palate with awesome intensity and depth, it stays magically weightless and seamless, with both structure and considerable opulence. Don't miss this wine. I followed this wine for multiple days and it never budged an inch with regard to evolution and oxidation. It's going to keep for 3-4 decades.
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Tasting Panel
Dark, smooth, and toasty with a silky texture; ripe and fresh with no heaviness. Intense and complex but also elegant and layered, this is what a great Napa winery can achieve in a great year.
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James Suckling
Very rich, ripe, sweetly fruited cabernet with an intense array of boysenberry, blueberry and blackcurrant aromas, as well as violet-like florals. The palate has a plush, seamless and cleverly articulated array of ripe, long, detailed and very concentrated blackcurrants. This is impressive. Try from 2020.
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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.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.