March 21, 2024 - Drink now. Share with Jaffer!
Maybe a flight tasting of all the vintages with friends.
December 25, 2023 - From magnum, opened a couple hours beforehand without decant.
Beautiful nose, deep and full of fruit hinting at the darker stuff within. Very well-balanced and not monstrously complex but has both sides on the coin: pure fruit vs savory secondary elements.
Very nice. Curious to see how the remnant of this bottle plays in a few days.
October 2, 2022 - 92 points - Decanted for 3 hours and enjoyed with a NY strip. Cassis and pencil lead. Very nicely balanced at this point between fruit and earth-tones. Hard to say if this is at its peak but it doesn’t seem far off
January 9, 2022 - Really needs time to open up but worth the wait!
Opened 1 1/2 hrs before drinking. Starts a little muted with deep black fruits, some forest floor, & raspberry. Over the next couple of hours really blossomed. A little chocolate, plum, black raspberry.
January 3, 2022 - W whole duck - maybe it was the meal but this was nice but not expected from Chappellet with 10 yra on it. Bit flat in many respects.
October 15, 2021 - Very dark red with a garnet hue, 2mm clear edge. PNP, drank a couple glasses over 3 hours. 76CS, 13M, 7Mal, 4PV. This was all about the fruit to start, dark plum and black cherry a little green pepper, oak, clove and white pepper. The purity of the fruit shows and after a good hour the dry forest floor notes burst forth to really complement the fruit along with adding fennel, tobacco and cassis. The palate is deep and well layered, cassis, blackberry liqueur, clove, oak, spice, purple fruits, and the earth stands out here too. Round tannins and a full body. Thoroughly enjoyed this, in a sweet spot and may actually get even a bit better.
June 20, 2021 - Not surprisingly, this was basically identical to my most recent previous bottle three months ago. When younger, these wines are OK to good, but after ten years, they really punch above their weight. Just freakin' delicious. Don't know how much longer it will stay here, but this is at its peak.
March 30, 2021 - OK, I'm confused. A bottle five months ago seemed to be over-the-hill. Another bottle three months ago was just fine. This one was freakin' delicious. Black cherries have now joined the chorus of plums, tobacco, and licorice, giving the wine a lighter, brighter profile. Not to be overly technical, but this wine was just yummy. Nice balance, weight, texture, and viscosity, with - needless to say - a terrific finish. Probably at its peak.
December 28, 2020 - Don't know if it's bottle variation or Night Train variation, but I liked this better than a bottle just two months ago. Unlike the last bottle, this one had enough structure to stand up to a grilled steak. On both the nose and on the palate, it showed plums and quite a bit of both tobacco and licorice. Rich texture and a solid finish. Nevertheless, holding onto these much longer would be tempting fate.
November 19, 2020 - In a really lovely place. Dark lush but balanced fruit, perfectly integrated but ample structure. Classic napa cab.