Chappellet Mountain Cuvee Proprietor's Blend 2018
-
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blended from the traditional Bordeaux varietals, including our own coveted grapes, the Chappellet Mountain Cuvee Proprietor's Blend builds on our five decades of experience crafting great Napa County mountain-grown wines. Each component varietal in the cuvée contributes to nuances that complement each other. The result is a complex array of aromas and flavors that deliver pure pleasure in a glass. Made for more near-term enjoyment, this is the wine to choose when you're looking for vivid, mouthfilling fruit flavors.
Alluringly dark and spicy, this wine displays beautiful aromas of currant, cassis, sage, and thyme, as well as hints of cinnamon and clove from barrel aging. On the palate, the tannins are impeccably balanced, adding depth to the lush ripe berry flavors, with layers of cola and grenadine emerging as the wine evolves in the glass.
Blend: 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 10% Malbec, 8% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Chappellet Mountain Cuvée strikes gold with a stellar effort. TASTING NOTES: This wine delivers what every wine lover desires in a picture-perfect Napa Cabernet. Its classic, up-front aromas and flavors of black fruit, licorice, and oak stay firm and long on the palate. Pair it with a juicy, well-marbled grilled ribeye. (Tasted: May 6, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
-
Wine Enthusiast
This well-made blend leads with 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, adding in 33% Merlot and smaller amounts of Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Creamy in cassis and vanilla, it exudes brooding blueberry flavors that wrap around sage, leather and cigar, the tannins burly and thick
Other Vintages
2019-
Tasting
Panel -
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine &
Spirits
-
Wilfred
Wong
-
Wilfred
Wong
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Enthusiast
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.