Winemaker Notes
Blend: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot, 3% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Looking at the two releases from Chappellet, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Signature is the larger production cuvee and sees 22 months in 50% new French oak. Its deep, inky color is followed by an incredibly pure bouquet of crème de cassis, hints of blue fruits, graphite, and cedar. With gorgeous minerality, full-bodied richness, building tannin and notable purity, it's an incredible wine, as well as a sensational value.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
One of the finest Cabernet Sauvignons of the vintage, the 2015 Chappellet Signature Series has put it all together in one beautiful package. The wine offers ripe blackberries, cassis, and savory herbs. Its finish, with a subtle accent of oak and excellent liveliness, make it a perfect foil for a thick ribeye. (Tasted: September 28, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
A juicy and flavorful red with aromas and flavors of chocolate and currants. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a flavorful finish. Refined and fresh for the vintage. Real structure. Drink now or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Signature delivers mocha, cassis and black soil notes with touches of black cherries, charcoal and fried herbs. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with black berry and earthy flavors, textured by chewy tannins and finishing earthy/savory.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is blended with a hearty 14% Petit Verdot and smaller additions of Merlot and Malbec. Together, they form a harmonious whole of soft, supple and densely packed flavor, characterized by red currant, earthy dried herb, plum and crayon that finishes in bold tannin and dark chocolate.
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 prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.