Community Tasting Note

Somm David T Likes this wine:

Monday, October 31, 2022 - Scoring this straight out of the bottle w/ 10 minutes of air. Follow up notes for an hour afterwards.

I also should say that Backus is not necessarily my favorite wine from Phelps. I generally prefer their Insignia. This Backus is better than most in memory.

The nose shows fruits that are slightly stewed, yet have some syrupy notes with withering to decayed florals, core of anise to licorice candy, blackberries, black plum, dark cherries, purple fruit; gooseberries, boysenberries, dark Indian/Asian spices, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, some rubber toy, rich, dark soil on forest floor w/ dry leaves, lush, ruby, candied violets, steeped, black fruit tea, ruby & candied, dark, red, florals, wet clay, hint of fresh herbaceousness & eucalyptus.

The palate is big, ruby and lush. It is a bit of complex wine candy here. The tannins are still big, meaty, dry and tarry. This is still youthful. The 08 still needs another 5-8 years. The fruit are fresh, juicy & gorgeous. Blackberries, black, stewed plum w/ plenty of skin, dark cherries, poached strawberries, gooseberries, boysenberries, raspberries as it opens up, very dry cranberries, dry top soil, dry crushed rocks, Rutherford dust, yet moist clay as well, core of anise to black licorice, saw dust, cigar box, & leather, dark spice, nutmeg, cinnamon, lite vanilla, dark, cocoa powder, eucalyptus, dry twig, tree bark with some sap, black tea bag, dry meaty tannins, black, moist soil (forest floor) with dry leaves, withering florals that are dark, red, purple, nice acidity not great with a long elegant finish that runs dry at the end. Still show some astringency.

Wait on this for better evolution & integration…10 years if you have the patience and proper storage. You’ll get another 2-3 points from the 94 I give it today.

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