1974 | Chappellet Winery | Cabernet Sauvignon

Introduction

Red Wine: 1974 | Chappellet Winery | Cabernet Sauvignon

The nose offers up a superb blend of cassis, dark berries, sale leather, cigar ash, dark soil tones a nice touch of meatiness and beautiful spice tones in the upper register.

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Producer: Chappellet Winery

Ratings: WA | 94 JG | 95

Vintage: 1974

Size: 750ml

ABV: 12.7%

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

Country/Region: United States, California

The nose offers up a superb blend of cassis, dark berries, sale leather, cigar ash, dark soil tones a nice touch of meatiness and beautiful spice tones in the upper register. The palate is medium to full-bodied and packed with rich, decadent fruit, supported by ripe, plush tannins and finishing very long with the spice layers coming through.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 1974 Chappellet Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is pale brick in color and hits the dance floor with a gregarious baked cherries, dark chocolate and Ceylon tea nose with touches of allspice, Sichuan pepper and dusty earth. The palate is medium to full-bodied and packed with rich, decadent fruit, supported by ripe, plush tannins and finishing very long with the spice layers coming through.

• John Gilman: The 1974 Chappellet Cabernet included 10% Merlot in the blend, which was rather a new approach at this point in time in Napa Valley. The wine was released in August of 1977 for $8.00 a bottle! This most recent bottle was one of the finest of our two tastings of the 1974s, with depth, breed and complexity to burn. The nose offers up a superb blend of cassis, dark berries, sale leather, cigar ash, dark soil tones a nice touch of meatiness and beautiful spice tones in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full and beautifully-balanced, with a rock solid core superb length and grip and still a bit of tannin on the very long, complex and vibrant finish.

Producer Information

Chappellet Winery is a wine producer based in the Napa Valley. Donn and Molly Chappellet started the winery in 1967 by purchasing land on Pritchard Hill at the advice of legendary California winemaker Andr Tchelistcheff. Pritchard Hill, just west of Rutherford, was an appealing site for a vineyard due to its steep aspect, high elevation and east-facing slopes. Chappellet remains family-owned and in 2011 bought the Sonoma County-based producer, Sonoma-Loeb, which had been making its wines at the Chappellet winery for over two decades. The estate vineyards on Pritchard Hill have an altitude that ranges between 800-1800ft (245-550m) above sea level. Chappellet’s specialty is red Bordeaux varieties, especially Cabernet Sauvignon, which accounts for 25 of the vineyard’s 34 individual plots. Its flagship wine is the critically acclaimed Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon which is sold mostly to members of its wine club by allocation. Even so, this wine often sells out due to high demand and limited production. Chappellet’s other labels have varied in production based on vintage but have included wines made from Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Sirah, Zinfandel, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. Chappellet prides itself on its commitment to its land and the environment. Only 16 percent of the estate is under vine, with the remainder being uncultivated land. Furthermore, the entirety of the Pritchard Hill vineyard is organic and in 2008, solar panels were installed that generate enough energy to completely offset the winery’s needs.