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The Chappellet family has been crafting fine wines from their Pritchard Hill estate vineyards since 1967. Spurred by the notion that Bacchus loves the hills and that mountain fruit would make superior wine, Donn Chappellet followed the advice of legendary California winemaker André Tchelistcheff and settled on the rocky eastern slopes of the Napa Valley. The Chappellets were the first to plant vineyards exclusively on high elevation hillsides and the second winery to be established in the Napa Valley after Prohibition. Today, 95% of their vineyards are organically farmed and the winery is solar powered.
Only 3,100 cases were made of Pritchard Hill Cab. Aged in new French oak for 24 months, the Chappellet's add small amounts of Petit Verdot and Malbec to the Cabernet base. Look for concentrated aromatics of black cherry, plum, dark chocolate, roast coffee and smoke with lush mouth-coating flavors of ripe berries, red currant, anise, vanilla, nutmeg and cedar.
Wine Spectator
Firm and concentrated, with taut, vibrant mineral, blackberry, wild berry and black cherry fruit that gives this a rich core of flavors. Deep and concentrated, ending with a long, persistent finish. Best from 2011 through 2017.
Score: 96.
—James Laube,
October
15,
2009.
Wine Advocate
The prodigious 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill Estate showcases this extraordinary area. Blue fruits intermixed with black raspberries, black currants, blackberries, camphor, spring flowers, and a forest floor-like character contribute to the complex aromatics. Opaque purple-colored, full-bodied, and seamlessly constructed with superb integration of wood, tannin, alcohol, and acidity, this beauty will be even better with 5-7 years of bottle age, and should last 30 or more years.
Score: 96.
—Robert Parker,
December
2009.
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