2006 Chappellet Cabernet Franc

A visit from Cyril Chappellet, whom I had not seen in a few years. We tasted through the his current releases, which seemed to me to have taken a qualitative l;ep in quality since his last visit. Chappellet wines had always had character, they now showed across the board richness and soft textured fruit. They had lost hardness without any sacrifice in flavor complexity.
I was particularly struck bytheir Cabernet Franc, all estate-grown and labeled Pritchard Hill. it showed a rerved hard spice on being opened, with fine herbal notes, A day later it had grown deeper, with strong mineral notes in the nose and a rich acid-accented baking spice on the mouth, finishing deep with fine, fine tannins. Elegant at the price, it is like a well domesticated, friendly Fronsac, rich and affable.

2006 Chappellet Cabernet Franc Pritchard Hill; Aroma: firm, fairly light and racy, lightly spicy, fullish, very round, pretty elegant; Mouth: sweet very dark, slightly bitter chocolate understated,, dark very fine; Very Good - Excellent 74.99; Mixed Case, 67.49; Case, 63.74