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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 87.6 pts. and median of 87 pts. in 47 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by shafer1994 on 8/15/2023 & rated 92 points: Problems with the cork. Dissimilar from other reviews my bottle was still fine: nice deep red color, fruity nose, some overripe notes at the beginning. Medium bodied wine, ripe and fully developed with charming berry bouquet combined with a lovely sweetness. Vanilla and even some Cola notes after an hour. Silky finish. (206 views) | | | Tasted by herbtcat on 1/3/2021 & rated 81 points: Used my Coravin to sample 3 years ago. Today, it appears that the Coravin failed to live up to it's hype. The fruit was flat, structure was nonexistent, and finish was short and astringent. Now I know. (1154 views) | | | Tasted by JTROCKER on 7/14/2020: Unfortunately this forgotten treasure was past its prime. I certainly enjoyed the other bottles 6 to 10 years ago. While properly stored all this time, this Merlot was not meant to be kept this long. Still drinkable and the color was nice, but the fruit had lost its pizzazz and the juice was clearly over the hill. Cork had not aged well and was a little difficult to remove, though still had good seal.
Opened and let breath for 30 minutes. Slowly drank 1/2 bottle with slight improvement during the evening. Finished 2nd half the next night and it showed little further improvement.
It was a very good wine in its day, my fault for losing track of it. If you still have a bottle, open it immediately. You may get lucky, but i think your experience will mirror mine ... at best. (1255 views) | | | Tasted by B&PBaker on 4/12/2018: mistake (1835 views) | | | Tasted by B&PBaker on 4/5/2018 & rated 87 points: Brick red. Nice and smooth. Fruit faded a bit. Touch of earth. Took an hour to open. 87 (1796 views) | | | Tasted by glou.sf on 9/5/2015 & rated 91 points: Earthiness, raspberry, menthol, and red berries on the nose. Medium finish. Well aged merlot. (2809 views) | | | Tasted by Spl232 on 12/7/2013 & rated 92 points: Lovely wine. NEeded some time to open up, but had lovely balance and depth. Would love to find more. (3016 views) | | | Tasted by JBVino on 8/1/2012: not expecting much from this 10+ year old merlot but life left, good structure, nice length...solid wine (3120 views) | | | Tasted by clmacarthur on 2/14/2012 & rated 87 points: Initially had stong tannins; mellowed after about 30 minutes. (3261 views) | | | Tasted by bwillia on 12/17/2011 & rated 90 points: Very youthful color. Still a little jammy but has some nice backbone acidity to support it. (2417 views) | | | Tasted by dv002i on 12/2/2008 & rated 86 points: Blackberry jam on freshly made toast mingled with a little lightly toasted oak and paprika on the nose. Sugared prunes, spices and a bit of blueberry on the palate. Large grained tannins lightly coat the teeth but slightly over-dominate the wines flavors. Finish is short and too tannic leaving a sawdust like feeling on the palate. (2705 views) | | | Tasted by B&T on 4/12/2008 & rated 86 points: Still a nice bottle, although I found the nose to be lacking. Gave a whiff of alcohol, rather than nuanced notes. Decant for 30 minutes before drinking. (2445 views) | | | Tasted by tubeman on 3/9/2008: Still OK - 85 pts (2539 views) | | | Tasted by JDRFoster on 2/7/2008 & rated 86 points: Dark cheery and blackberry fruit, restrained, with cola undertones and hints mint, herbs and earth. Somewhat chewy, and a bit flat. Good but not overwhelming. (2650 views) | | | Tasted by stevenp22 on 2/2/2008 & rated 89 points: Very nice, easy tannis. A little less flavor than I would have expected. (2607 views) | | | Tasted by jeffreym123 on 1/19/2008 & rated 86 points: nothing wrong with it per say, but very uninteresting. not alot of fruit. bad qpr. (2699 views) | | | Tasted by LSAngeli on 12/29/2007 & rated 85 points: Just OK...fruit had started to fade (2654 views) | | | Tasted by semichee on 11/19/2007 & rated 87 points: Very chewy; lots of cherry on the palate with a spicy finish. Leaves a hot feeling in the back of the throat; Beautiful, deep ruby color; Earthy on the nose. (2648 views) | | | Tasted by yotaiwan on 10/16/2007 & rated 87 points: deep,sweet with thick sawdust like wood flavor, too strong and over powering for me. (2952 views) | | | Tasted by wineward on 6/10/2007 & rated 89 points: Opened and tasted. Aromas of musky, earthy leather. Restrained flavors of dark cherry, a little cola and still a chewy tannic finish--though very well integrated. Drinking well...may improve with more age, but I'm skeptical if the fruit will hold up. Excellent. (2941 views) | | | Tasted by blackmistressdiva on 4/13/2007 & rated 79 points: Black fruit, leather on the nose which was promising, but this fell very flat. A disappointing wine. (2918 views) | | | Tasted by Mosco on 4/3/2007 & rated 90 points: No decanting Purple/maroon color. Surprised by how much we enjoyed this wine. Medium bodied with a medium+ finish. Flavor tends towards "jammy" a bit, but overall, very enjoyable. (2971 views) | | | Tasted by jcbrand on 4/1/2007 & rated 83 points: Very harsh out of the bottle, mellowed after about 45-minutes of breathing. Green pepper, mineral, herb & earth tastes. Overall, not a bottle that's worth the money. (2979 views) | | | Tasted by DanaSr on 8/13/2006 & rated 92 points: Very, very smooth, Full Body with Mega Fruit. Enjoyed to the last drop (3255 views) | | | Tasted by MetFan on 5/29/2006 & rated 88 points: Fruity nose. Hints of tobacco and mint. Opened up after an hour. (3467 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Joseph Phelps Producer website
In the late 60s, Joseph Phelps was running one of the largest construction companies in the U.S. when he won the bid to build Souverain Winery (now Rutherford Hill) located a few miles outside of St. Helena. Enamored with the beautiful Napa Valley and contemplating a career change, in 1973 he bought the 600-acre Connolly cattle ranch in Spring Valley, and began planting vineyards. The winery was completed in 1974 and that same year the first Syrah was made, the first grapes were crushed at the new facility and the first Insignia was produced. It was a period of unparalleled activity, creativity, ingenuity, entrepreneurship and risk-taking and it put Joe Phelps on the map of top Napa Valley wine producers.
Nearly four decades later, the flagship wine, Insignia, is recognized as one of the world’s great wines. Twenty nine of 34 vintages have been rated ninety or more points by various wine publications. From 1990 to 2007, the average score from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate is 94.5 pts., with the lowest score still a fabulous 91. The 2002 vintage was “Wine of the Year” by Wine Spectator Magazine, and the 2007 vintage has been rated 98 points by Robert Parker and 96 points by Wine Spectator Magazine.
Over the years, the goal of becoming 100% estate grown resulted in carefully planned acquisitions of prime vineyards in the Napa Valley. Today, the Phelps estate consists of the Spring Valley Home Ranch outside of St. Helena, Banca Dorada in Rutherford, Las Rocas and Barboza vineyards in Stags Leap, Yountville Vineyard in Oak Knoll, Suscol Vineyard in South Napa and Backus Vineyard in Oakville.
Beginning with the 2009 vintage, estate-grown wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Insignia, Backus (the single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville) and Eisrébe, a dessert wine made from the Scheurebe grape. In addition, a small amount of Syrah is produced from fruit owned by Hyde Vineyards in Los Carneros.
Though the main focus is on Bordeaux varietals, Joe Phelps has had a life-long love affair with the wines of Burgundy and a desire to craft wines in that style. Originally Chardonnay was sourced from St. Helena, later from Yountville and then from Los Carneros. Through the years, however, Joe continued to search for the ideal spot to grow both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and his search ended when the perfect combination of climate, soil and location was found in Freestone, located in the Sonoma Coast AVA, a mere eight miles from the Pacific Ocean. In 1999, 200 acres were acquired and planting began. Today, 80 acres of Pinot Noir and 20 acres of Chardonnay are producing some remarkable wines which are available for tasting at the Freestone Guest Center. Visit Freestone Vineyards to learn more.MerlotMerlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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