Premiere Napa Valley Live Auction

Highlights

• A selection from the best barrels of Chappellet’s prized Cabernet Franc Block #1, planted in 1991
• Grapes were grown on an organic-certified northwestern slope with red, volcanic and Sobrante loam soils that limit yields
• Aging for 22 months in Orion Jupilles and Allier French oak barrels
• Crafted by Phillip Corallo-Titus, the acclaimed winemaker at Chappellet for more than 30 years

Description

For half a century, Napa Valley’s famed Pritchard Hill has been the source for some of the world’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignons. But for the Chappellet family and in-the-know collectors, Pritchard Hill’s secret treasure is its extraordinary Cabernet Franc. In 1991, when the Chappellets first began an ambitious replanting of their estate’s original vines from the 1960s, the very first new block established was Cabernet Franc Block #1. Today, the 30-year-old vines from this storied block planted just below founder Molly Chappellet’s home produce a Cabernet Franc of unparalleled richness and elegance. Grown high on the mountain on a northwestern slope in red, volcanic and Sobrante loam soils, these wizened old vines produce small yields, resulting in an epic, ageworthy and profoundly unique Cabernet Franc. A selection from the best barrels from Block #1, this stunning wine combines the power and complexity that are signatures of Pritchard Hill’s famed mountain terroir with velvety tannins, perfumed aromas of violet and anise and soaring flavors of cassis, dark berries, sandalwood and cardamom. Aging for 22 months in Orion Jupilles and Allier French oak barrels, it is a wine of exquisite depth and sumptuous sophistication that will dazzle any lover of great Cabernet Franc.