Cabernet Sauvignon (1979)

About this wine

This 1979 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon opens with an immediate sense of Napa ripeness, led by Black Cherry and Cassis, then quickly turns savory with Tobacco Leaf and Dried Herbs. There is a warm Cocoa Powder note that reads more like dark chocolate than sweetness, giving the wine a comforting depth. On the palate, blackberry and black cherry fruit sit up front, while cedar and a gentle smoky spice note build through the midpalate and finish. The overall feel is balanced and structured, with the kind of firmness you expect from mountain influenced Napa Cabernet, but it stays surprisingly drinkable rather than heavy. It was made during a formative era for modern Napa Valley, when ambitious hillside sites like Pritchard Hill were still proving, to the wider world, just how distinctive Napa Cabernet could be.

About the grape

Cabernet Sauvignon at Chappellet traces back to the estate plantings on Pritchard Hill that predate the winery itself, with the first commercial Cab from the property released in the late 1960s and the winery focusing on mountain grown Cabernet by the 1970s. The vines sit on steep, well drained volcanic soils at roughly 800 to 1800 feet of elevation where low vigor and small crops produce intensely concentrated fruit, and in 1979 the bottling was made predominantly from these estate mountain blocks. Early plantings were dry farmed and trained on terraced slopes, and the winery worked with block by block selections rather than large uniform blocks, a practice that emphasized clonal and rootstock choices suited to each soil and exposure. Over time Chappellet refined its plantings and farming to match clones and rootstocks to micro sites, but the 1979 Cabernet remains an expression of those original hillside vineyards and the winemaking lineage begun by early winemakers on the estate.

Quick facts

• 🍇 The 1979 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon is a small‑lot blend made predominantly of Cabernet Sauvignon with about 14% Merlot, a reminder that early Chappellet bottlings often included Merlot in the mix.
• 🏔️ This bottle comes from estate vineyards on Pritchard Hill, one of Napa’s first high‑elevation hillside plantings that gave Chappellet its mountain‑grown identity and rugged concentration.
• ✍️ The 1979 was produced during the Chappellet family’s hands‑on era when Donn and Molly emphasized handcrafted, collectible bottles—an approach that led Donn to personally sign select vintages around that period as a family hallmark.
• ⭐ Decades after release the 1979 has been revisited and praised by critics, earning strong scores on retrospective tastings that celebrate its refined, aged character rather than youthful power.
• 🌸 As it matured the 1979 developed signature old‑vine perfume—dried red fruits, dried flowers and tea‑like savory notes with a mineral, dusty finish that longtime collectors often describe as quietly elegant rather than overtly opulent.

Palate profile

Producer

Chappellet Winery, established in 1967 by Donn and Molly Chappellet, was among the first post-Prohibition wineries in Napa Valley and the first to plant vineyards exclusively on high-elevation hillsides. Their inaugural 1969 Cabernet Sauvignon, crafted under winemaker Philip Togni, received critical acclaim and set a standard for mountain-grown wines. The winery's distinctive pyramid-shaped building, designed by artist Ed Moses, has been described as "the most remarkable wine cathedral of the modern world." Today, the second generation of the Chappellet family continues to uphold their parents' vision, focusing on sustainable farming and producing wines that reflect the unique terroir of Pritchard Hill.