Chappellet Pritchard Hill 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon
Net pricing - no further discount.
Wine Advocate – 98+ Points
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill is composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot. It was aged in 100% new French oak for 22 months. The alcohol weighed in at 14.5%. Deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out of the gate with bold expressions of warm cassis, wild blueberries, and black raspberries, plus hints of chocolate box, menthol, tapenade, smoked meats, and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is bursting with vibrant black fruits, framed by fantastically ripe, fine-grained tannins and lovely freshness, finishing long and mineral-laced. Drink Date: 2022 – 2052.
Decanter – 95 Points
Sourced from the top 20% of Chappellet’s holdings on Pritchard Hill. Aromas of fresh violets, damp herbs and black fruits. Powerful and muscular on the palate, but a lean, toned muscle. Often, the flagship wine of a Napa estate pulls out all the stops with ripeness, but this bottling is impressively restrained and elegant. Several other releases from Chappellet also scored in the 90s, so this is a reliable estate in 2018.
Jeb Dunnuck – 98 Points
Always one of the top wines in a vintage, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill is another gorgeous wine with a more plush, supple texture that hides solid underlying structure and tannins. Beautiful notes of blueberries, new leather, camphor, violets, and smoked tobacco all flow to a full-bodied, seamless, gorgeously textured beauty that’s very much in the style of the vintage. Possessing remarkable purity, flawless balance, and building tannins, give bottles 4 5 years of bottle age, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following 25+ years.
James Suckling – 96 Points
Blue fruit with boysenberry and floral aromas. Cassis, too. It’s full-bodied, yet very tight and toned on the palate with fine tannins that are formed and polished. A classic wine. Give this three or four years to soften. Best after 2024.