Photo courtesy of Chappellet

99pt Pritchard Hill
The Benchmark

Donn Chappellet painstakingly created one of Napa’s great estates along the rock slopes of Pritchard Hill. With guidance from the legendary Andre Tchelistcheff of Beaulieu Vineyards, this is how the famed vineyards of Pritchard Hill came to be. 

Chappellet quickly developed a following in the late 1960s that culminated with the 1969 Cabernet Sauvignon receiving a 100 points from Robert Parker Jr. Made by Donn Chappellet and Philip Togni, the 1969 Chappellet is largely considered one of Napa Valley’s Greatest Wines of All-Time. 

Years later Pritchard Hill became more developed with numerous wineries joining the Chappellets on the rocky slopes. Today, Pritchard Hill boasts some of Napa’s biggest names including: Bryant Family, Coglin, Continuum, Brand, Gandona, Ovid and David Arthur. Yet, this famed hill that is considered the Bordeaux equivalent to a “First Growth” or a Burgundy equivalent to “Grand Cru” remains an unofficial designation unlike many of the newly formed AVAs of Napa Valley. 

Through it all, the Chappellets have stayed true to their focus on Pritchard Hill, keeping the core original vineyard as their flagship cuvee aptly named Pritchard Hill. The quality and praise has only continued over the years and the 2021 Vintage is yet again a tremendous success amongst a long list of exceptional Cabernets from Chappellet.

Cheers,
Jeremy