It gives me great pleasure to let you know that the Chappellet Mountain Cuvee is back, and it's one of the best vintages of this wine I've ever had. This Bordeaux-inspired blend is always one of Napa Valley's great red wine values, but the 2021 is on another level. Boasting beautiful concentration, nice complexity, and ripe tannin, it's a joy to drink.
The 2021 Napa Valley vintage is one you're going to hear a lot of good things about. It's a year that producers are thrilled about, especially coming on the heels of the disastrous, smoke-tainted 2020 vintage. Blue-chip producers like Chappellet capitalized on the nearly perfect vintage conditions to produce highly stylish, luxurious reds with a lot to like.
2021 Chappellet Mountain Cuvee Proprietor's Blend
94 points Yours Truly | More big scores on the way, I guarantee it!
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I think a strong argument can be made that this is the best Chappellet Mountain Cuvee ever produced. I tasted this one last week, and I was deeply impressed with the wine's perfect balanced of ripe fruit, pliant texture, and perfectly integrated French oak. It's such an immensely likable wine, and you're going to be just as thrilled as I was when you get this in your glass.
I know $43.99 sounds like a stretch to be calling a wine a great value, but hear me out. Contained within this bottle is coveted fruit from Chappellet's Pritchard Hill estate vineyards, some of the most expensive viticultural real estate in our country. The Chappellet family bought their land back in the late-1960's, before this zone gained its pristine reputation and became so sought after. These days, wines produced from Pritchard Hill grapes start at $75 and go up from there. We're talking $75 to $500+!
Because Chappellet bought their land and planted their vineyards so early, they're not paying a land lease, and they can offer their wines up at more-than-fair prices. That is exactly what you get with their Mountain Cuvee. A blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot, 14% Merlot, 12% Malbec, and 5% Cabernet Franc, this truly is a perfect blend of all 5 of the classic Bordeaux varieties. Aged for 12 to 14 months in French oak, the finished wine is super classy and quite sophisticated.
Full-bodied and deeply-colored, this displays aromas of currant, cassis, sage, thyme, clove, and allspice. Equally impressive on the palate, the tannins perfectly balance out the ripe fruit and add depth to the lush ripe berry flavors. This is a wine to decant or sip slowly, not because it doesn't taste good right out of the gate, but because it gets so much better, expressive, and complex with air. Bravo Team Chappellet!
What a wine, what a great deal, and what a perfect red to enjoy with grilled meats. With 4th of July celebrations just around the corner, I recommend you pick some of this up and enjoy with friends, family, and good food. Cheers to happy drinking, eating, and celebrating in the AVL!
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Josh Spurling
Owner, Operator, Wine Monger
Table Wine Asheville