2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill
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Tasting notes
78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 8% Malbec. The Chappellet family have been making Pritchard Hill wines since 1967. This is considered their top wine. Very deep ruby. Sweet blueberry fruit with lashings of oak on the nose. Plush and sweet on the palate. Very modern – the fruit at the core is concentrated, intense and pure. The oak builds a strong clove note that is a little numbing on the back end at this stage, but the long finish shows a promising future ahead. (TP)
Critic scores
Tom Parker MW, jancisrobinson.com
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot and 8% Malbec, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill has gone a little reticent at this stage, offering quiet notions of blackberry pie and blueberry tart with sparks of dried herbs, earth and savory/meaty suggestions. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated with a built-like-a-brick-house structure framing the massive fruit, it finishes long with exotic spices coming through.
Blackcurrants and black olives with hints of currants and basil. Hints of rosemary and lavender. This is linear and bright with a racy line of tannins running down the center. Structured and bright. A real beauty. Needs three or four years to soften. Classic cabernet.
Also inky colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill comes from the estate vineyard on Pritchard Hill and spent 22 months in new French oak. It has a similar level of purity, as well as incredible minerality, to go with notes of crème de cassis, scorched earth, crushed rock, and graphite. Reminiscent of liking a rock with its insane level of minerality, this full-bodied beauty is tight and closed on the palate, yet is just loaded with potential. It’s only for those with cold cellars and needs forgotten for 7-8 years, but will keep for 4-5 decades. Bravo!