A tribute to the crest called Rattlesnake Hill, highest point of Monte Rosso Vineyard, famous for rattlesnakes living among the vines, seeking sunshine by day and coiling around the vines at night. Dark Ruby with aromas of berry fruits, tangy herb, pepper and sweet spice. On the palate flavors of blackberry and ripe cherry with black pepper spice, vanilla and earthy sweet herbs. Soft chewy tannins, medium+ finish ending with fruit, spice and earthy oak. Nice! — 2 years ago
Picked up the bottle a Ferreo at Ritz Carlton, had a glass with dinner and corked the rest. Second day it was fantastic. Beautiful floral flavors, no oak, excellent. — 5 years ago
Well, wow. Unlike any GG I've ever had. Yeah, the evidently high-toast oak might be controversial, but the results shouldn't be: this is a stunning btl. On the nose: toasted wood, lemon oil, almond, lemon peel, wet stone...those descriptors don't do justice to the heavenly aromatics. On the palate: fantastic acidity, and just so unctuous, leather and lempn oil, savory and vibrant at the same time...and the length on the finish is stunning. Just, wow. — 5 years ago
Chappellet – Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2022.
Napa Valley AVA · Pritchard Hill · California, USA 🇺🇸
Overview
The crown jewel of Chappellet’s portfolio and one of Napa Valley’s true mountain icons. Made in extremely limited quantities, this wine represents the pinnacle of the estate’s Bordeaux-inspired philosophy, an expression of power, elegance, and the profound identity of Pritchard Hill.
A masterful blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot, crafted with meticulous precision to honor Donn Chappellet’s original vision.
Aromas & Flavors
A captivating aromatic spectrum: liqueur-like blackcurrant, cassis, and ripe blackberry, followed by violet, cedar, and sweet oak. Layers of black tea, roasted coffee, graphite, cinnamon, and vanilla bean slowly emerge as it opens in the glass, revealing depth with each minute.
Mouthfeel
Monumental yet refined. Silky but tightly structured tannins frame a core of ultra-concentrated mountain fruit. The palate expands with flavors of black cherry, currant, cocoa powder, espresso, and subtle mineral tension. Long, resonant, and commanding.
Food Pairings
Best reserved for special meals, think: Dry-aged ribeye, Herb-crusted lamb rack, Wagyu with peppercorn sauce, Truffle risotto and/or Aged Gouda or Parmigiano Reggiano
Verdict
A breathtaking Cabernet Sauvignon at the highest echelon of Napa Valley winemaking. Dimension, finesse, and mountain precision all converge here. Every sip affirms its place among California’s elite. Worth every penny, and deserving of a distinguished spot in any serious cellar.
Did You Know?
Pritchard Hill is often called “The Rodeo Drive of Napa Cabernet” due to its ultra-prestigious hillside estates and intensely low-yielding vineyards. Chappellet was the very first to plant here, which is why they’re referred to as “The Pioneers of Pritchard Hill.”
🍷 Personal Pick Highlight
A wine I proudly cellar myself. Massive yet graceful, a true mountain Cabernet that stops you in your tracks. This is the Chappellet bottle that leaves even seasoned tasters saying “whoa.” Cheers! — 6 months ago
Inky in color with a very short reddish/ brick rim.
Full bodied with medium acidity
Showing black fruits with earth, bell pepper, tobacco, oak, dark coffee, pencil lead, bitter herbs, earth, light roasted bell pepper and forest floor.
Soft tannins on the tangy finish.
This 10 year old Napa Cabernet Sauvignon is probably on its way out. Still very drinkable, but a little unbalanced and showing lots of earth notes.
Good right out of the bottle, and better after two hours of air time.
Showing nice complexity at this point, but a little bitter for my taste.
Although still good, I expected more from this second wine from this producer and this vintage.
90 points.
$80 (current vintage). — 3 years ago
Stellar. Tasted a bit over the hill at first (just a touch of raisination) but the color and tannin are from a 2015 or thereabouts. It’s continually developing. Black tea, xmas spice, black cherry, cacao nib but really dark, idk if descriptors do it justice honestly. Was worried cause of vintage/storage/reviews but this is hitting. Btw idk if delectable has it right but it’s the Michel Bonnefond bottling made by Roumier. Texture is honestly seductive — 5 years ago
A perfect balance between oak and fruit (blackberry) from this Barossa Shiraz. Great winemaking from John Duval who has quite the CV. John was Chief Winemaker at Penfolds from 1986 until 2002 being only the 3rd custodian of Penfolds Grange after Max Schubert (creator of Grange) and Don Ditter. In 2020 this wine received Shiraz of the Year and 99 points from the James Halliday Wine Companion. The product of old vines in the Barossa. Luscious but in balance and overall - delicious. — 7 months ago
Presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine is a deep garnet color a near opaque core and some significant rim variation; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous and showing some signs of maturity. There are fascinating notes of tart, ripe and dessicated black and red fruits: blackberries, black currants, tart red cherry, accompanied by some tobacco, cigar box, green bell pepper, some leather and beautiful baking spices. It smells like money (expensive, lavish oak treatment). On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins (well integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose with some coffee and cocoa also showing up to the party. The finish seems to go on forever. This is a very balanced wine in a very fun spot.
Initial conclusion: this could be a Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend, a Tempranillo or Sangiovese-based blend from the United States, France, Spain or Italy with 25+ years of age. However, the fruit was kinda the star of the show so, final conclusion: this is a Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine from the United States, from California, from Napa; vintage 1990. Ha!! 1992 Bryant Family!? Suhhhhweet! This is in the zone. Drink now through 2032. — 2 years ago
See several previous tasting notes for this wine. This was made back in the day when Hunter Valley reds had strayed from their medium bodied, savoury, sweaty saddle origins to being riper and more full bodied like a South Australian Red. This was declared in a speech by Chief Winemaker at the time, Jim Chatto, at a dinner I attended at the winery. Also plenty of oak still evident at 15 years of age. I prefer the original Hunter Valley style which Mount Pleasant has wisely reverted to utilising the wonderful old vine fruit at its disposal. Tasted again 35 weeks later on 26th March 2022. Nothing to add to the note here. A Hunter Valley wine trying to look like a South Australian wine back in 2006 with ripe fruit and oak. Thankfully HV reds have returned to the medium weight savoury long living style that Maurice O’Shea made in the 1950’s. — 5 years ago
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego
2022 vintage. Part IV of this 2022 Marc Morey Chassagne-Montrachet premmie cru vintage journey. Les Vergers (tasted 5.15.25 and 10.24.25 both 9.4). Les Chenevottes (3.4.26 rating 9.4). En Virendot (3.9.26 rating 9.4). Still have at least a few of all of these. None of them are on the wine list, and frankly, may leave them all off and just hand sell to appreciative white Burg aficionados. This go round…more historically familiar with Caillerets vs the previously mentioned plots. Held up exceedingly well. As with the other efforts mentioned, plenty of ginger notes/influence. Acidity present and accounted for. Not as much as expected mineral visitation but enough to do the plot justice. Restrained, spicy oak power points. A finish that goes on longer than an Alex Lifeson Hemispheres solo and nearly as good. Marc Morey nailed it for this vintage. All the same, we take our chances. 5.3.26. — 23 days ago