Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Mineral driven, this impressive wine is lively and layered in apple, pear and brioche, its oak integrated and lightly toasted. A touch of richness gives it additional weight and breadth across the memorable texture and lasting baking spice.
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Wine Spectator
The 2017 Chardonnay Grower Collection El Novillero has a lovely nose of white apricot and peach with apple pie, honey toast, toasted hazelnut, wet stone, and creamy lemon. Medium-bodied, it packs a punch of flavor in the mouth with great layers of ripe fruits, savory/toasty notes and creamy citrus plus suggestions of white blossoms, with refreshing acidity to lift the long, long flavorful finish. Rating: 94+
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Jeb Dunnuck
Also from Carneros, the 2017 Chardonnay Chappellet Grower Collection El Novillero saw a slightly longer elevage of 10 months in barrel followed by four months in tank. Rocking notes of white currants, crushed citrus, brioche, and honeyed lemons all flow to a medium to full-bodied chardonnay that has a fresh, focused, crystalline texture that carries beautiful depth of fruit. It's another high-quality wine from this team that has loads to love.
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 popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Known for elegant wines that combine power and finesse, Carneros is set in the rolling hills that straddle the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the abutting San Pablo Bay, combined with lots of midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing wines with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.
This cooler pocket of California lends itself to growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Carneros is an important source of sparkling wines made in the style of Champagne as well.