All of the Chappellet red wines in 2023 are simply dazzling. They capture the classic hallmarks of a cool vintage—blue-fruit fireworks mingling with black fruit and spice, and a towering tannic structure built for long-term cellaring. The Pritchard Hill and Hideaway wines are standouts, and in a photo finish, this Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon serves as a true standard-bearer and benchmark for the region. It’s got everything you could want and more: blue and black fruit, graphite and iron, violets, and fragrant toasty oak spices. Over the coming years, these elements will mellow and knit together into a beautifully complex, fragrant, and flavourful wine. For now, it’s bold, ripe, and seductively pure – so alluring you’ll struggle to put the glass down. Nuances of dark roasted coffee and dark chocolate weave fine threads of character through a bed of super-fine-grained tannins. Totally captivating.

Slate and pumice tannins, cranberry, blackberry, cassis, creamy fruits with the anis, fennel character. No Merlot in the blend this year. Philipe Titus winemaker, David Frankie director, Molly Chappellet owner, still going strong at 93.

Robust aromas of roasted cherry, spiced plum, espresso, and flowers lift the nose of this Cabernet Sauvignon. The palate expresses a lively personality with rounded tannin, juicy acid, and flavors of concentrated berry coulis, black plum skin, pithy orange peel, and violets that blossom along the finish. Delicious now, this will age effortlessly for at least a decade. — Tom R. Capo

Densely packed with dark-fruit aromas of currants, blackberry compote, coffee beans, tobacco leaves and mulberries. The palate is full-bodied with finely tuned tannins and balanced acidity that lead into a textural, concentrated finish. Nicely constructed with freshness beneath the power. Drink or hold. Ryan Montgomery Staff Writer & Critic

The 2023 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, with 7% Petit Verdot and 8% Malbec in the blend, is deep garnet-purple in color. It bursts with notes of blackberry pie, juicy plums, and cassis, with wafts of green coffee beans, mossy tree bark, and wild sage. The full-bodied palate is jam-packed with bold black fruit and earthy layers, framed by firm, grainy tannins and a refreshing backbone, finishing with great length.

Another excellent wine slated for release in early 2026, Chappellet's 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Signature combines hints of scorched oak and mocha with mixed red and black cherries, plus underlying cassis fruit. Sourced from various mountain sites in Napa Valley, it's medium- to full-bodied, richly textured and concentrated, with a long, velvety finish.- Joe Czerwinski

Dense purple-hued, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Signature offers up cassis, ripe blue fruits, graphite, scorched earth, and leafy tobacco, with a Pauillac-like lead pencil character that develops as the wine sits in the glass. It's medium to full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with ripe tannins and nicely integrated acidity. Very much in the style of the vintage, it should have 15-20 years of overall longevity. Drink 2025-2045.

The 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon is a total delight. Aromatic, bold and punchy, the 2023 will be hard to resist even in the early going. Crushed flowers, vibrant dark red fruit, espresso, mint, licorice and graphite soar from the glass. This exuberant Cabernet has a ton to offer.- Antonio Galloni