2021 Chappellet Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

DEC96 It is a marvellously compact and coiled-up wine with a towering structure. Very beautifully fragrant dried purple flowers and herbs. Full-bodied with loads of succulent ripe blackberry, creme de cassis, graphite, and loamy earth. Very firm, tight-grained tannins form the base note of this wine, and the finish is long and rich in wild herbs and spices. Cellar worthy. It will release internationally in September 2024. It is rounded out with 6% Merlot.
WE95 An extra-dark color and heady aromas of crushed blueberries and blackberries leads to super-concentrated black fruits and milk chocolate on the palate, where silky tannins put a gentle grip around all that flavor. The wine is huge in pure fruit depth yet well polished in texture.
JS94 Aromas of cassis and dark berries with sweet spices, dried orange peel and minty undertones. Hints of walnuts, too. Medium- to full-bodied with well-integrated, melting tannins. Very silky texture. Succulent and layered, ripe but bright and vivid.
JD93-95 The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Signature shows the density and structure of the vintage, with medium to full body, good mid-palate depth, plenty of mountain tannins, and classic Pritchard Hill blue fruits, dark chocolate, and ample minerality. This is a serious wine in the making, and I suspect short-term cellaring will be warranted.
Estate Notes: Luxuriously dark and concentrated, this wine displays aromas of cassis, black cherry and boysenberry, as well as notes of fresh herbs and French oak- inspired hints of vanilla, cardamom and clove. On the palate it is beautifully full-bodied with supple, polished tannins and alluring layers of dark berries and spice, with notions of dark chocolate, espresso, sage and anise emerging on the long, dramatic finish.