2004 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Community Tasting Notes (157) Avg Score: 90.5 points

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  1/21/2024 - JTROCKER Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Similar to Robert's situation and review ... this bottle was a gift from my father in 2007 and cellared in an underground wine storage facility until 3 weeks ago. I have been pulling a "Past Due" each month in order to work through some of the older or forgotten bottles that may be past thier prime.
  
  Our JP 2004 bottle was still quite nice - still some solid fruit notes, very smooth on the pallet, but with a thinner and shorter finish than what I remember from prior bottles. The cork crumbled a bit, but looked to have held up well enough. To be honest, I was a bit surprised that we enjoyed it as much as we did
  
  If you still have a bottle of this vintage, I would probably open it soon as I think this has hit is peak and will not further improve. I question if the 05 - 09 vintages will have held up as well as this one. Maybe I'll open up our 05 soon.

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  12/25/2022 - robert.kalinowski@gmail.com Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Although Parker will say that even the flagship bottlings will go 25+ years, I decided to try our oldest Phelps just to check in. Mostly out of curiosity, but also caution: this is one of my most "overdue" drink date bottles, according to CT, and also based on some of the most recent user reviews. I purchased this at the winery ~ 2008/9 and can tell you that my bottle has been cellared the entire time, except for a cross-country move (winter). I imagine this may contribute to the difference in my experience vs. some of the recent reviews. There was some sediment, but the wine drank beautifully. So dark, almost no obvious bricking. The nose was heavenly. The dark fruit remains but of course is not what it once was; it is restrained but beautifully integrated. I think I opened it at what I would consider the sweetspot, and believe it is close to, if not at peak. If I had another bottle or so, I would check back in ~3 years. We loved it. I'm thrilled to have held onto it this long. I have confidence in continuing to age my 06, 07 etc. I am not yet convinced about more recent vintages going this long though and will approach those with caution.

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  9/6/2022 - Jim Cantalupo wrote:

  Almost bad. Had to be strained

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  6/29/2021 - lachord Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Dark ruby color. Fruit has diminished a bit, but still some notes of cherry and vanilla with an earthy base.

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  4/12/2021 - lachord Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Deep ruby color. Fruit has faded a bit, but an earthy, dark cherry hint remains.

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