Summary:
Founded in 1967 on the rugged slopes of Pritchard Hill, Chappellet Winery helped define Napa Valley mountain wines long before the area became iconic. Through vision, grit, and striking architecture, Donn and Molly Chappellet established a winery that remains distinctive nearly 60 years later. Today, the family continues to produce bold, expressive red wines and a cult-favorite Chenin Blanc, all marked by purity, elegance, and a profound sense of place. Visiting Chappellet is as breathtaking as the wines themselves, and the standout 2023 vintage underscores why the winery remains one of Napa Valley’s enduring benchmarks.
Building Against the Odds
It began with a mountainside. A mountainside so remote and rocky that few believed anything would thrive there except for the old oaks that twisted themselves along the canyons and contours of the mountain.
Still, it was on a Napa Valley mountainside that, in 1967, Donn and Molly Chappellet founded Chappellet winery—at least the idea of it. The mountainside, reaching more than 1600 feet in altitude, was called Pritchard Hill, even though no “hill” ever looked like this. Later, the area would go on to become more and more famous as other wineries were established too—Colgin, Continuum, Ovid, Brand, and others.
But the track record was definitely set by the Chappellet family who now, after almost 60 years, continue to make beautiful mountain wines. When they began there wasn’t even a paved road to the place.
And the lack of a paved road was no small concern. It meant that the huge 60-foot long beams used to construct the winery had to be painstakingly hauled up to the site one by one using two tractors, with each beam precariously suspended between them, one of the tractors slowly going backwards up the mountain.
As for the winery itself, Molly,—now 94 years old and for her whole life a lover of art, gardens and design—couldn’t bear the thought of a warehouse-like winery in such an exquisite natural landscape. They built instead, a three-sided giant pyramid, its triangular base fitting snugly into the curves of the land. In 1968 when the winery was finished, the architecture and scale of it were mind-blowing. In the same split second, it looked both ancient and like something from outer space. It still looks that way.
The Signature of Mountain Wines
Chappellet’s red wines are bold, generous, and have an earthy complexity that I can never quite articulate. They have such unique personalities that I sometimes think I could pick them out in a blind tasting of other Napa Valley wines. (Which of course, I can’t).
Their one white—a legendary Chenin Blanc—comes from an old vineyard originally planted in the 1960s and replanted bit by bit starting in 2004. Over the last half century, almost all the good Chenin in California has (tragically) been pulled out. But Chappellet has stayed true to the variety and the Chappellet Chenin Blanc now has a cult following. It’s Molly’s favorite wine and like her, the wine is ethereal, refined and elegant.
When you visit (and you can), you drive up off the floor of the Napa Valley along a winding road past Lake Hennessy and through oak forests. There’s a moment, after the cattle grate, when the road tilts up so much you feel like you’re driving straight into the sky.
It’s a breathtaking moment. After which some great Chappellet wines await you.
Karen MacNeil’s Favorites
Chappellet wines are available at major retailers and via the winery’s website. Here are some of my favorites. In particular, 2023 is a great Napa Valley vintage and several of the 2023 Chappellet reds will come onto the market (and onto their website) soon.
CHAPPELLET Chenin Blanc 2024 (Napa Valley, CA) $75
Dangerously easy to drink. Very pure tasting with lots of aliveness. Fresh and elegant with great delicacy and complexity at the same time.
CHAPPELLET Cabernet Franc 2023 (Napa Valley, CA) $115
Napa Valley mountain Cab Franc is flat out amazing. The Chappellet 2023 Cabernet Franc is sleek yet dense, powerful yet elegant. The texture of this wine is silky, and the structure is majestic. Enticing dark foresty aromas. Great purity and length.
CHAPPELLET “Signature” Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (Napa Valley, CA) $95
Signature is Chappellet’s best known wine. Loads of rich berry flavors come straight out of the gate. Velvety texture yet big mountain structure. Cabernet’s cassis and tobacco notes are layered throughout the wine. Big Cab drinkers, this is for you.
CHAPPELLET “Hideaway” 2023 (Napa Valley, CA) $225
From a small rocky vineyard that was once a hideaway for Donn and Molly’s children (who now run the winery). The rocky severity of the landscape is the inverse of its beautiful flavor evocative of wild lavender, sage, cassis and spices. Long and structured.
CHAPPELLET “Pritchard Hill” 2023 (Napa Valley, CA) $325
Exquisite bright violety aromas with notes of wild sage. Sweetly ripe cassis and berry flavors, along with dark earthy, spicy notes. Intense and mouthfilling. This is steak territory. A Cabernet you can, of course, drink now or hide it away and rediscover it a few years in the future.
About Karen MacNeil
Karen MacNeil is the CEO and President of Karen MacNeil & Company LLC, and the author of the best selling book The Wine Bible. She gives keynote addresses and exclusive wine tastings for companies and individuals around the country. You can find out more and contact her at www.karenmacneil.com
