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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.2 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 9 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by bestdamncab on 4/19/2024 & rated 92 points: Joseph Phelps Vineyards Spring Release Event (Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Napa Valley): Tasted twice today. I have always enjoyed Napa Cabernet Sauvignon from this vintage and this was no exception. Nose of black berry, black cherry, with lots of allspice, and spring flowers, same on the palate, with perfect winery storage this showed very tasty, at peak, but suggest you enjoy soon, reminded me of 1988 Dunn Napa, medium/big body, lovely, flavorful finish, and a flavorful aftertaste of sweet fruit. (64 views) | | | Tasted by Javachip on 4/12/2024 & rated 90 points: Allowed to breathe in glass 1 hour. Clear deep garnet-blood red color with bricking at the rim. Lovely notes of red berries, red plums and their liqueurs; cigar humidor, green tobacco, sage, earthy mushrooms, with hints of tidal mud flats, meat juice. Mostly tertiary at this point. Like a traditional old claret. (59 views) | | | Tasted by Wine_lvr on 3/28/2015 & rated 92 points: Out of double magnum: Mature red. Nose shows mint, chocolate and pipe tobacco. Great balance, elegant has a clear 'old world' touch to it. Nice sweetness. Maybe a bit short but out of this 3 liter bottle it was a wonderful wine. Now fully mature.
Normal bottles are likely past its prime, so here it was a clear large format bonus. (3964 views) | | | Tasted by dannyk8232 on 4/26/2011 & rated 80 points: Fail. Dead. (6611 views) | | | Tasted by iamandyc on 11/28/2009 & rated 89 points: Red fruits that were still relatively lively. Some bricking. Well aged and fairly well balanced. Some leather on the palate as well. Nothing truly special in and of itself but was a nice test of a 21 year old wine. Probably the vintage is more at fault than the age. (7044 views) | | | Tasted by Siggy on 10/13/2007 & rated 88 points: Insignia Vertical Tasting 1974-2004 (WA Frost, St. Paul): Deep and brooding. Nose of smoky black fruit. The palate thinned out a bit. A straightforward, down-the-middle Insignia. (9057 views) | | | Tasted by Dave Dalluge on 10/13/2007 & rated 89 points: Thirty Years of Phelps Insignia (1974 through 2004): The nose is very straightforward with red fruit, mushroom, and mineral. The taste is very enjoyable but a bit compact on the palate. Good fruit. Drying tannins. Nice. (9395 views) | | | Tasted by jusuf on 11/26/2006 & rated 87 points: Disappointing. Unidimensional simple red table wine. Not defective but not good either. Red fruits; nothing else. (141 views) | | | Tasted by mdefreitas on 6/13/1998 & rated 87 points: Insignia Vertical @ Joe C: Mint, herbs, cassis and red fruits on the nose. Nice mouth-feel. Not bad, given the vintage. Short finish. Good. (4858 views) |
| 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.Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.InsigniaOf interest concerning the sources for grapes for this wine:
http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-review/669/Insignia.html
jhtUSAAmerican 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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