March 29, 2024 - Our penultimate bottle, double decanted off its sediment and poured three hours later. Appearance is darker and more youthful than one might expect for its age. Aromas of plum, black currants, mocha, tobacco, blueberry cedar and violets. Complex and absolutely gorgeous. Full-bodied and mearly fully-integrated with just the slightest bit of tannin remaining. Flavors of black fruit, tobacco, chocolate and plum with a long finish. Will hold for quite a while yet but when it’s drinking this well, why wait?
March 21, 2024 - Paired with steak and fried onions. Excellent. Decanted 30min in advance
March 10, 2024 - I agree with Highlander, this is not on a par with other vintages in the 15-20 year age. I found it in an uncomfortable place with spiky alcohol. It is no longer primary and not enough tertiary with an unbalanced ethanol component. I am not sure this is going to go to a good place - feels like I missed the boat when it was young and opulent which may have been its best era. Note to myself: sell up instead of drink up!!
February 11, 2024 - Dark garnet and opaque, but the slightest bit of amber edge. Pronounced nose of cassis, dark cherries and plums, but none of the mint-herbal notes I usually associate with Insignias going back several decades, to the 70s and 80s. The flavors are deep and concentrated, still with moderate tannin...blackberries predominate, with cassis and plums. The aftertaste is very long, a bit hot, and moderately tannic. An excellent wine, ready now, the only surprise is the persistent tannin which is more than I would expect. Definitely a bigger and more tannic wine than the 2005 Hundred Acre Kayli Morgan from a few nights ago. I think these should be drunk soon.
ADDENDUM: the second evening it had changed...still garnet and opaque, but the nose had opened to show mocha, leather, cedar, some toasty oak, and cassis. On the palate much more smooth, balanced and round, with tannins barely noticeable. Cassis-blackberry flavors. Very long, slightly hot aftertaste. More of a Bordeaux style, increased my rating from 93 last night to 97 now!
Note to self: open these hours before drinking, to let them evolve.
Ric
December 19, 2023 - Nose of raspberry, mocha and smoked meat; Rich, smooth and still vibrant; excellent depth; substantial tannins and good finish.
December 16, 2023 - Grand vin, I doubt you can expect more in the future but a future it has. Ready now and for a while still.
November 25, 2023 - Absolutely in a perfect place and a stunning bottle to drink. Everything you want from Napa. Lush fruit but tamed with age, that beautiful Napa mint, cedar box. Everything in its place and was gone too quickly!
November 5, 2023 - Much enjoyed. Very feminine in a positive way. The fruit has evolved into a more complex set of flavors. This is no longer a fruit forward wine. Others did not like this, but I did. Tannins are fully integrated. I am moving up my drinking window. While I much enjoyed this, it isn't on a par with other Insignia vintages....07 comes to mind. Still this is a classic Insignia...finesse over brut force
June 19, 2023 - This was showing a lot more green bell pepper than my last bottle, but it wasn't obtrusive. Still a rich and elegant wine that doesn't require much if any decanting.
May 14, 2023 - D60; G5; 4.5+9.5+4.5*+9*+9+4.5+4.5=96; All the expected high scoring Insignia aspects for aroma, flavor, finish, balance, age-ability. What was surprising was the change from decanting. I poured a taste direct from bottle when opened and it was great, albeit just a bit gritty, which showed more as depth and complexity than harshness of tannins or bottle tightness. Many recent (last couple of years) CellarTracker reviews were still calling for a decant, so I went ahead and did it. In retrospect, I would not decant, rather, I would let the wine air and evolve in the glass. I say this because the decant made the wine more simple and deliciously smooth, but seemed to remove the depth of penetration and the mouth character that tannin can bring to a great wine. Right now this wine is mature and ready to enjoy, so my recommendation is to let a great glass coax the evolving (one wonderful glass after another) rather than using a decanter to force the whole bottle at once.