the Parker 100 
…but really 400 cases, 1st real release of Cab from the winery. Phillip Togni’s start
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I bought those 2 and still have them. Also have a good amount of 72-80 Chappellet — love those wines.
More interesting maybe is that I have two bottles with this identical label but no vintage stated. Winery told me those are most likely the 1968 vintage. They told me they made wines in 67 and 68 from estate grown grapes with the wines cellared at Mondavi and bottled at Schramsberg. The on-site winery wasn’t finished until late 1968 and that made 1969 their first official vintage.
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First bottle(s) I’ve seen come to market in a while. I collect old Napa and have been hunting this wine for a while, but not a buyer at $10k.
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Yep, i feel the same. My cellar is pretty heavy with aged CA and id love to snag a bottle… but I’m not interested at all at $10k.
Look at CT ratings of this wine over the past few years: 100, 98, 98, 100, 98, 97, 100, 99.
I have a friend who is a Napa nut with more than 10k bottles of Napa in his cellar, a house in Napa (but he‘s from Europe) and a side business of importing Napa wines and he considers this the best Napa he ever had.
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Randy,
Congrats on the profitable purchase. I have had a lot of great old Napa wines from the '70’s, Diamond Creek, Mondavi Reserve, Stag’s Leap, Montelena, Phelps and I really love these wines, but I find it hard to place a 4 digit price tag on any of them. I have not had the '69, but I see some posters noting this bottle is considered the best ever Napa by some so I guess that is the reason for bidding wars.
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I don’t feel so bad now for buying a 74 Sterling Reserve for $600.
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Thanks. Of course only profitable if I ever sell them but I am still intending to drink them. Only thing this does is make me more nervous about that lol
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If you’re motivated by Philip Togni’s start maybe spend $10k on a lifetime supply of the best aged Togni Cabnernets instead of one bottle of this.
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About seven years ago, I got case of the 74 Sterling Rev CS. I remember one bottle so fresh I wondered if it had gotten more sulfur than the other bottles.
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Maybe back in 1999 or 2000 I got a couple magnums of Chappellet Cab, I think vintages might have been 77 and 78, and they were only ‘ok’ not as radiant as I’d hoped. This must have been around the time that Parker had mentioned the 69 being a stunner, but it was a throwaway comment in his normal reviews of the 97 (I think) so the world had yet to cotton on to those older ones. Those mags were pretty cheap even in the context of that era, hardly much more than what prevailing releases were (on a 750ml basis).
For anyone motivated, Doug Shafer had a good interview with one of the Chappellet family on a podcast, which I listened to in the last week. It’s interesting for those who want to learn more about that Togni (and later) era. I’ve “read” some of Molly Chappellet picture/coffee table books too, which are neat, but not worth the money.
The 1969 Chappellet was an instant legend when it was released. Everyone, including the Brits, said it was Chateau Latour in California and it made growers search out mountain vineyards. Generally on the short list of greatest California wines.
um . . . am I reading it right? One went for $16,000 and the other for $17,700? 
I guess if anyone wants to trade me say, a 6 pack owc of 98 Petrus for one of my bottles, please let me know 
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I know there are some questions about the price here, but in the context of expensive hobbies, the buyer has got the most desirable and rare old California cabernet for the cost of a good minor painting.
I try not to judge, it has a uniqueness to it; just seems like that painting was bought on a cruise ship.
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It’s a lot of money … but also … if you’re shopping for a single bottle of wine and have the budget to spend $17k on it … you can buy a random bottle of DRC, Leroy, Leflaive Monty, etc from any random vintage — something that, if you drink in that circle, you’re probably going to see again, and know several people that own lots of them.
Or … you could buy a legendary bottle (that is, by all accounts, a fantastic wine) from one of the world’s most important wine regions that you’ll probably never see again. I know personally that if I walked into a tasting and saw the table lined up with GC Burgundy, First Growths, Screagle, etc … and the 69 Chappellet, I’d 100% be most excited to taste the 69 Chappellet.
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Are those older Chappellet’s bottled up with fruit that now goes into the ‘Pritchard Hill’ line?
But a bottle of wine has zero in common with a painting as a collectible. I guess you could frame it and hang it on the wall with a spotlight in your wine cellar. It’s still pretty much gonna look like just a bottle of wine though.
The real question is what will the next one sell for.
I purchased mine to put in a dinner with other legends from that era including a 71 Ridge Eisele and 78 Diamond Creek Lake.
I think I am a seller at $15k…