Chappellet Wine Dinner at Cafe Maxx with special guest Cyril Chappellet

Wednesday, April 22, 2015 - 07:00 PM

This Event has been read: 3218 times.

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It's Just wine... Drink it!!

 

…and we have a busy week next week with a couple big events like the Taste of the Nation in Palm Beach with over 40 restaurants on Thursday night and then the AFWC event with over 700 different wines on Friday!!


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This makes our dinner with Cyril Chappellet a nice warm-up and a much more intimate affair with only 16 spaces available for this “Once in a Lifetime” tasting with one of the landmark wine producers of Prichard Hill.  We have 5 vintages of their estate wine to show how a great Napa Cabernet Sauvignon ages over the span of a decade in the bottle going all the way back to the 2004 vintage.  I know that doesn’t seem long for Chappellet as they have been around since 1967, they were only the second winery to be built after prohibition in Napa Valley – Robert Mondavi winery was the first!

Join us as we break bread with one of the first families of Napa Valley for a special tasting that will feature 11 wines from the Chappellet family and a special tasting menu by Chef Oliver Saucy.  The fee for this tasting is $275 per person all inclusive (tax and tip are included), for reservations call 954-523-9463.

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Chappellet Wine Dinner at Cafe Maxx with special guest Cyril Chappellet
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
7:00 PM

 

Reception

Crab and noodle summer rolls with mango sambal dipping sauce

Grilled mahi-mahi fingers with orange & peach glaze

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Chappellet Chenin Blanc Napa 2013
Price: $38.00    Sale $33.44    Case $388

They have been making Chenin Blanc since 1968, the stopped producing it in 2004 but Molly really likes this wine so she convinced then to plant 3 acres behind the winery, 1100 cases in a good year. A good amount of fresh pear and white peach like fruit, some white floral notes. A very thick and juicy wine on the tongue with a nice touch of white floral notes, a nice zest and freshness on the finish, tongue tingly acidity orange blossom. Finish 40+ Excellent

 

First Course

Butter poached Maine lobster, toasted brioche & Fuji apple bread pudding   vanilla beurre blanc and blood orange Carpaccio

 

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Chappellet Chardonnay Napa 2013
Price: $39.00    Sale $34.32    Case $398

With lovely ripeness and denition, as well as fresh, lively acidity, this Chardonnay shows the exceptional quality of the 2013 vintage. Enticing fruit layers of Meyer lemon, apple, pineapple and nectarine rise from the glass, underscored by hints of nutmeg, butter, cinnamon and orange blossom. On the palate, zesty avors of orange and Key lime are complemented by rich oak-inspired notes of vanilla, crème fraîche, caramel and brioche that carry through to a long, satisfying nish

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Sonoma-Loeb Chardonnay Private Reserve 2012
Price: $26.00    Sale $22.88    Case $266

A good amount of rich butterscotch and ripe peach fruit with notes of crème caramel and vanilla crème notes. This wine is lush and creamy on the tongue with a good amount of ripe tropical fruit and that butterscotch and caramel notes from the nose through the finsih, but still quite fresh. Finish 45+ Excellent

 

Amuse-Bouche Palate Cleanser

Seared yellow fin tuna Sashimi, tropical fruit ponzu and wasabi cream cheese rice truffle

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2013 Sonoma-Loeb Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch Russian River 2013
Price: $37.00    Sale $32.56    Case $378

A very spiced and floral quality to the raspberry and red cherry fruit, hints of cola and brown spices, very complex bouquet. Thick and juicy on the tongue with a thick velvety texture on the tongue with ripe cherry liqueur like fruit, nice concentration and richness, layers of sweet cherry and raspberry coulis like fruit and that pretty floral notes along with exotic spices on the finish. Most Excellent

 

Second Course

Cherry cola braised short rib with foie gras and black cherry-raspberry gastrique

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Chappellet Mountain Cuvee Napa 2012
Price: $31.50    Sale $27.72    Case $322

Fans of the wine formerly known as Cervantes Mountain Cuvée rejoice, this is the same fantastic wine that used to carry the Cervantes label. It has always been made by the folks at Chappellet, a source for some of the best mountain wines in the Napa Valley for the past 50 years. And while the wine isn't make entirely from fruit grown on the Chappellet estate, it emphasizes Chappellet's experiencing growing and blending mountain fruit, done in an approachable style for near-term drinking. A blend of 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12% Malbec, 8% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Syrah. Winery notes: "The aromas are rich, ripe and enticing, with sweet fruit layers of plum, Bing cherry and cassis, as well as notes of mocha, roasted coffee, cedar and baking spices, all supported by delicious hints of French oak. On the palate, this wine is supple and round, with balanced tannins, weighty texture and a smooth, mouthfilling structure. Though there are abundant ripe red and black fruit flavors, there is also an elegant complexity to this wine that comes from artful blending."

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Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon Signature Napa 2012
Price: $60.00    Sale $52.80    Case $612

Only 7,000 cases produced, mostly estate grown, this wine has a very enticing bouquet with a bit of petite Verdot , Malbec and Cabernet Franc, Deep dense fresh plowed earth, coffee, espresso and dark chocolate and currant and cassis berry fruit, dark cherry berry fruit. Thick and chewy on the tongue with rich black berry fruit, cassis and black currant with a host of dark earth and black spices on the finish, juicy fruit but long and layered finish, very fresh and balanced, this wine already drinks nice but needs another decade in your cellar. Finish 50+ Most Excellent

 

 

**We will be ordering off the Menu for dinner

 

Vertical of Prichard Hill

 

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Chappellet Pritchard Hill Red 2004

(95 Points)  Another beautiful example of a top-flight, hillside vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from the terroirs of Pritchard Hill, this 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot and 8% Merlot. Its deep ruby/purple color is followed by beautiful aromas of black currants, flowers and crushed rocks, an opulent, multilayered texture, terrific purity, good balance, and a long, 35-40-second finish. This cuvee spent 18 months in 100% new French oak and the oak is completely buried underneath the cascade of fruit. It can be enjoyed now or cellared for another 15-20 years.  Wine Advocate #212, Apr 2014

 

Chappellet Pritchard Hill Red 2005

(96 Points) Big, ripe and complex, but light on its feet. An elegant, spicy mix of rich currant, anise, toasty oak, espresso and subtle herbal scents, all of which fold together nicely, ending with a long, persistent finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Best from 2010 through 2016. 1,426 cases made. –JL  Wine Spectator, Issue: Oct 15, 2008, Top 100: 2008, Rank: 24, Designation: Highly Recommended

 

Chappellet Pritchard Hill Red 2006

(96 Points) The prodigious 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill Estate showcases this extraordinary area. Blue fruits intermixed with black raspberries, black currants, blackberries, camphor, spring flowers, and a forest floor-like character contribute to the complex aromatics. Opaque purple-colored, full-bodied, and seamlessly constructed with superb integration of wood, tannin, alcohol, and acidity, this beauty will be even better with 5-7 years of bottle age, and should last 30 or more years.

Brilliant wines have emerged from this showcase estate high on Pritchard Hill, which is producing some of the most exciting Cabernets coming out of Napa. As for my estimated aging curves, readers should keep in mind that the 1969 Chappellet made by Philip Togni, at age 40, remains a remarkably young, vibrant wine!  Wine Advocate #186, Dec 2009

 

Chappellet Pritchard Hill Red 2008

(91 Points) Tough-edged, earthy and leathery, though deeply concentrated and muscular. Built around a core of dense dark berry fruit, mineral, cedar and graphite, this is not the early-allure charmer it's been in recent years. Best from 2013 through 2022. 2,309 cases made. –JL  Wine Spectator, Issue: Nov 15, 2011

 

Chappellet Pritchard Hill Red 2011
Price: $174.00    Sale $153.12    Case $1775

Winemaker's Notes:  This wine has a rich and powerful nose of dark chocolate, anise and cardamom. Seamlessly integrated tannins balance the rich mouthfeel beautifully, underscoring flavors of dark fruit, cassis, roasted coffee and cedar. The mouth-coating richness persists long into the finish, where power and finesse resonate on the palate.

 

Dinner is $275 All-Inclusive (Tax and Tip included) and there are only 6 spaces left for this event.  For reservations call 954-523-9463.

 

A bit about Chappellet Vineyards:

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Established in 1967 by Donn and Molly Chappellet, Chappellet Vineyard is the second winery to be built in the Napa Valley after Prohibition - just after Robert Mondavi opened his doors in 1966.  Wine had been a passion with the Chappellets for many years.  After they were married on their last day in college, they drove through the Napa Valley and reflected on what a wonderful way of life it could someday be for them.  Shortly thereafter, Donn went to work in the competitive, cutthroat business environment of Los Angeles and in 1955 co-founded the tremendously successful Interstate United Corporation, an industrial food service business in Los Angeles.  Ten years later he left the business to establish a winery where he could challenge his creative instincts and find an appealing way of life for himself, his wife, and their six children.

Donn Chappellet found what was a natural amphitheater on Pritchard Hill on the slopes of Lake Hennessy some 1700 feet above the Napa Valley.  He purchased almost 600 acres - a little over 100 of which would be planted to vineyards.  Then, the vineyard land cost him about $4,000 an acre - today vineyards on Pritchard Hill go for twenty times that amount.  Although the property was already partially planted to vineyards in 1964, Chappellet will always be regarded as the first modern California winery to make a major commitment to "mountain farming".  Because of the added stress to the vines and the small, intensely- flavored grape yields, hillside and mountainside grapes often produce more powerful, long-lived wines than their counterparts on the valley floor.  "The volcanic soils and warm, dry temperatures of Pritchard Hill contribute both force and finesse -the essence of truly great wine," says Donn Chappellet.

Chappellet's winemaking facility is symbolized on the label by the brand logo.  Construction was begun on the building in 1968 and completed by the harvest of 1969.  The spectacular geometric structure designed by Donn and Molly resembles a cathedral more than a winery.  It is a section from a tetrahedron, which forms a pyramid.   Intended to integrate with the natural environment, the building reflects the surrounding volcanic soils with a reddish steel roof.  It is 212 feet on each side at the base with a towering roof of rust colored red steel parted by long panels of glass that bathe the interior in light.   The inside is as interesting and spectacular as the outside.   Two sides of the pyramid are stacked with small french oak barrels, where the wine develops until judged ready for the bottle.   The third side, where rows of fermentors stand reaching toward the apex of the pyramid stretching above, completes the structure.

Today 110-acres of vines cling to the steep, terraced hillsides around the winery - the vineyard is planted to Cabernet, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Merlot.  There once was an excellent Johanissberg Riesling, but sluggish sales forced a halt in production after the 1988 vintage.  Dry-farmed until recently, the Chappellets have completed reservoirs enabling them to expand their planting program and explore new varietals and rootstocks.  Chappellet remains family oriented with three children participating in "generation two" of Chappellet's sales and marketing efforts.  Production has reached a level of 25,000 cases annually with four varietals: Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

To many critics Chappellet has been an enigma.  The winery debuted in 1969 with what many regard as one of the greatest Cabernets of the vintage and repeated again in 1970 and 1973 with several more spectacular efforts.  However, since then, the winery has never again reached its early heights with Cabernet - despite some excellent Cabernets made there in 1976, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1985, and 1987.  In 1980 the winery began designating what it deemed its best vintages as "Signature Reserve".  In a Signature year, all Chappellet Cabernet released is so labeled.  In other years the Cabernet is sold simply as the Estate Cabernet.   Over the years the winery has employed some of the legends in California winemaking.  The first was Phil Togni, English-born and French-schooled, who had been a veteran of a number of other California operations from the gigantic Gallo to the tiny Chalone.  Togni now operates his own small winery, and it has been drawing much recent critical acclaim.  Shortly after the 1974 vintage (a disappointment for Chappellet), the young Joe Cafaro arrived fresh out of Fresno State; and Cafaro made wines there until the 1977 vintage.  Cafaro left and went to Robert Keenan and then Acacia, where he made some legendary wines; today he is a highly-regarded consultant and operates his own small Cafaro Cellars, which has been heralded for its phenomenal Cabernets and Merlots.  In 1977 Tony Soter joined Chappellet.  Soter, who left in the early 1980's to develop and make the Spottswoode Cabernets and launch his own brand, Étude Wines, is considered one of the top half dozen winemakers in California.  Soter was succeeded by Cathy Corison (now his former wife) who made wine at Chappellet through the '87 vintage.  Corison has become an overnight star in the Napa Valley since leaving to make her own wines - her '88, '89 and '90 Cabernets have been among the top Napa Valley Cabernets in their price class.  This all-star line-up of winemakers over the past two decades has further contributed to the mystery of inconsistency and occasional mediocrity at Chappellet.  The next winemaker, Philip Titus, made several changes by increasing the use of malolactic fermentation and by employing more oak.  We were still a bit underwhelmed by the results in the early nineties.  It was not been until the 1996 & 1997 vintages that the Cabernets here have begun to show the signs of greatness that the early wines displayed.  Today the Prichard Hill wine, the Signature Cabernet Sauvignon and the Mountain Cuvee are among the top wines in each prospective price point.  The top wine from Prichard Hill just scored (99+ points) Robert Parker Jr.'s Wine Advocate for the newly released 2012 vintage!!  This wine is still only a fraction of the cost of the Chappellet's neighbors that moved in a few decades after they did.

 

The "Signature" Cabernet Sauvignon has been Chappellet's flagship wine for more than three decades. It is a benchmark for the long-lived hillside wines of the Napa Valley; full of structure and ageing potential, yet seductively forward in its concentrated varietal character.  Collectors covet vintages from the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's, and the acclaimed 2000's uphold this enduring tradition.

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