I still have a 13 Signature and that wine was a tannic beast young. I haven’t opened any 14s yet. If there is a style flip somewhere down the line I either didn’t notice it when tasting at the winery or it happened after I stopped buying.
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if one would take personal taste out and include all wines made from fruit from pritchard over the past ten years i would go with fairchild stones 2 over all years chappellet estate for a buy now pritchard hill fruit stones 2
price not a consideration
queen? AT.
My experience is somewhat limited and I don’t mean for it to sound like a gloopy mess. We went through a 07-09 vertical a couple years ago and both the '07 and '09 were long gone (the '08 was actually good so maybe it just speaks more the vintages). We’ve had quite a few '18s and '19s and I feel like they should be treated similarly to a “typical” appellation wine - made with “lesser” grapes and made to enjoy sooner. They certainly have more structure and will hold up longer than say a Caterwaul NV but they aren’t going to last 20 years either.
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Maybe there was a shift change with the Signature bottling and if they are ramping up production of that wine specifically they are going to need more fruit from other places. I know on my last winery visit I asked about fruit sources and I’d have to find the trip report on here to see if I noted where they are getting all the fruit.
It is interesting to see style changes over times with wineries and there was no winemaker change there since Phil has been there 30+ years. I will have to wait a good while before I start drinking any Napa 18s to see if it has the milkshake effect.
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I’m a big fan of Chappellet more so that they are still family owned than class leading winery. Family owned and operated by generations of family members. The wines are fruit driven (shocker Napa fruit) but still retain some structure. I don’t find them to me Mega Purple blueberry milkshakes. The pricing has gotten high as with nearly everyone in Napa Valley. I work in the insurance world and can say that insurance may be the largest contributor to their price increase rather than them buying new land, getting a new winemaker, etc. 4X increase in annual policy in 1 year due to all of the catastrophic fires from '17 -'20. A lot of wineries are still struggling to find insurance. Same with home owners as StateFarm and All State pulled out of CA.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/18/climate/napa-wine-heat-hot-weather.html
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Insurance is a huge reason they had price increases per my last visit there.
Fyi my friend Jeff down here has been on the list forever also. I think he’s gonna drop. He switched to just getting the Hideaway in his shipment. Had the most recent one friday night and even with several hours decant it wasn’t very good. Time to find other places to spend his money
18’ vintage was my last buy. The price increase for 19’ turned me away.
I am a big fan of Continuum wines(and all of Pritchard Hill for that matter.) I tasted the 21’s on property just yesterday. The wines were outrageously good, well balanced, fruity, and delicious. The tasting experience is top notch as well and not to be missed, one of the best in the Valley(this one is WAY above the valley with gorgeous vistas).
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One of my favorite chapellet stories was about five or six years ago. I was up in Napa with my friend Jeff and we had an appointment there. The tasting room direction sign was missing and we ended up the road at a house. My friend Jeff goes this doesn’t look familiar but let’s go knock on the door and check it out. We walk up and the front door is open. We step in and say hello hello? around the corner comes Molly herself. She looks at us, smiles, and says I’m sorry dear this is my house you must be looking for the winery. It’s back down the road to the right. She couldn’t have been nicer, and we apologized, then went off for our tasting.
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No love for David Arthur Vineyards?
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I was at Continuum in November, the 2021 was not available however we drank the 2019. Young and stunning. The visit is as always amazing. Have been getting the cabernet for a long time. These wines are made to go the distance. ( age ). I do not even touch them yet. When I do I say to myself lots of time left.
As a note Ovid Cab ages well, my older Brand Proprietary seems fine may just enter its window (13,14 ) Colgin and Bryant age very well. 2035 for the 12, 13, 14 vintage
I do not feel any of the above flagship bottles have come near their prime yet.
They may not be a 30 year plus Bordeaux. Don’t know have not had them that long but should easily hold 20
Stopped Chappellet in 16.
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After some years, I think Continuum is hitting its stride. To me, the wines are just now finding a sense of identity that feels exciting. As for Realm and the former 9 Suns property, I have to say that Houyi and other wines from the site have always felt a bit anonymous. Fine, but not great. In the context of Pritchard hill, and even Realm’s whole portfolio, it feels like it is missing a depth of character. Maybe with the change of hands and a few years of farming and winemaking they will coax something out of the property that we have not seen before…
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Agreed on the Continuum wines. I’m excited to open these in the years to come!
Any thoughts on the Bryant wines in the last few years under the newest winemaker? It’s been years since I had these wines…
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Shes a great winemaker. Cost is the biggest issue.
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Ovid is my favorite on Pritchard Hill. Had an allocation for chappellet PH and dropped this year. The 19 felt so over-oaked I couldn’t have more than a glass. My gripe with both of these wineries is their flagship bottling a can be found much cheaper and readily accessible in store. Love the Ovid experiments which are much cheaper and harder to come by unless on the mailing list. Also loved a Hall bottling of Montagna vineyard which I understand was bought by Brion
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David Arthur 1147 is my favorite Pritchard Hill.
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I have limited experience with Pritchard Hill overall, but I will say that a bottle of Colgin IX Estate was quite possibly the best red wine I’ve ever had
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Ditto. The Austin Peterson era as winemaker is a golden age at Ovid. They age quite nicely. The experiments turn up at auction occasionally and are a bargain. He is detailed oriented and continues to try different combinations of vineyard management to see what the site can produce. I dropped from the list years ago as the prices climbed. They can be found in the market for decent prices, sometimes even below release price.
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