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1995 Joseph Phelps Insignia |
| Vintage | 1995 |  Label 1 of 15   | |
| Type | Red | ||
| Producer | Joseph Phelps (web) | ||
| Variety | Red Bordeaux Blend | ||
| Designation | Insignia | ||
| Vineyard | n/a | ||
| Country | USA | ||
| Region | California | ||
| SubRegion | Napa Valley | ||
| Appellation | Napa Valley | ||
| UPC Code | 010465709509 |
| Community Tasting History |
Community Tasting Notes (average 93.1 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 100 notes) | |
| Tasted by wineismylife on 1/13/2010 & rated 92 points: WIML91-92 Tasted January 13, 2010 at an offline. Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Slightly subdued nose (could've used more air) of roses, leather, talc, plum and berries. Flavors of plums, berries and cherries. Medium acidity, tannins and body. Drink or hold? (218 views) | |
| Tasted by kosinski on 1/13/2010 & rated 93 points: (295 views) | |
| Tasted by profiler54 on 12/25/2009 & rated 93 points: Nice youthful color, a bit closed and shut down in the first hour.. Then wine opened with a red berry, lead pencil, sage and Napa dust bouquet.. This wine possessed a very long sweet finish that was very fruit driven. The balance was good.. (575 views) | |
| Tasted by Anonymous on 12/2/2009: Var forkølet. Ingen note. (995 views) | |
| Tasted by Anonymous on 11/29/2009: Dark red core, slight lightening at the rim. Rich forward nose of cassis, plums, nints of cedar, tar, and floral notes. Medium-full body, ripe plush fruits, some Bordeaux-like aged notes of sweet tea and cedar, very nice balance, mostly resolved tannins, medium finish, not as big as a few years ago but still drinking very well, excellent. (905 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 11/28/2009 & rated 87 points: Kevin & Margaret's Thanksgiving Dinner (Their House, Hong Kong): Deep blood red semi-transparent colour. Pure nose of Pauillac that is very remniscennt of Pichon Lalande. Palate is a real disappointment because it's just acidity and milk chocolate and surprisingly linear and surprisingly hot and acidic on the finish. I suspect this must have suffered from poor storage at some stage but I note that a lot of other CTers have had the same experience so maybe something went wrong with the bottling that year because there seems to be two distinctly different Insignia 1995s out there. (846 views) | |
| Tasted by How on 11/26/2009 & rated 93 points: Perfumey floral bouquet of dark fruit, dark purple in color with finer sweet tannins. Maybe a little too sweet? Aerated for only 20 minutes but seemed to drink the same 3 hrs later. Fair amount of sediment at bottom of bottle as would be expected by now. I was more impressed by this wine in Nov. 1999 than now, but received rave comments from others present this time. (862 views) | |
| Tasted by rralls on 11/15/2009 & rated 89 points: (684 views) | |
| Tasted by CabIsKing on 9/5/2009 & rated 94 points: Decanted for about a 1/2 hour. On the nose wonderful aromas of black fruits, cedar and hints of tobacco. On the palate the same with hints of chocolate. The tannins were silky smooth and the finish was as memorable as any. Gorgeous wine. Drinking wonderfully right now. (1380 views) | |
| Tasted by JonBobbi on 8/6/2009 & rated 88 points: Concentrated and purple, the color and nose would lead one to believe they are about to have a wonderful experience. However, the palate is unbalanced with dark fruit separating out from the relatively firm tannins in a borderline unpleasant manner for a wine of this heritage. The acidity and tannins were not in balance either. This wine did benefit from about an hour of aeration. I don't think that it will benefit from any additional cellaring either. (1701 views) | |
| Tasted by Haltermr on 7/25/2009 & rated 89 points: Beautiful complex nose on opening, smelling fresh but also with complex secondary notes. Palate did not live up to the nose, with the finish still being tannic but astringent, with a hole in the midpalate. Continued to harden with opening. This bottle had less than ideal storage, and likely suffered from this. (1602 views) | |
| Tasted by cococafe on 7/16/2009 & rated 94 points: (1407 views) | |
| Tasted by shaferguy91 on 6/28/2009 & rated 93 points: Still delicious but I believe a shade past its prime. (1982 views) | |
| Tasted by tarheel17 on 5/31/2009: Simply delicious, with firm structure, plush and juicy dark fruits, and caramel undertones. I was most impressed by the structure and balance of this wine (my first Insignia). (2179 views) | |
| Tasted by Jack on 4/25/2009 & rated 94 points: Needed a couple of hours to breathe and then was hogged by Dave. Had it with the 89 Pichon Barron and 94 Mondavi Resv. I hogged the PB. (2203 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 4/22/2009 & rated 96 points: Cult Californians Wine Tasting (Crown Wine Cellars, Hong Kong): I have never been disappointed by Insignia when it has gone beyond 10 years, which is when it turns into my kind of a wine. Lovely powdery tannins, elegant, refined but still with power. Lovely........ (2319 views) | |
| Tasted by Phin on 4/14/2009: Structured and more primary than a 1997 Insignia side-by-side. Plenty of life left. Paired well with bison and black pepper notes. (2340 views) | |
| Tasted by aslan-m on 3/26/2009 & rated 92 points: (1806 views) | |
| Tasted by hcampana on 2/11/2009 & rated 92 points: This is a 13 year old Napa Cab that truly evolved aromatically. The nose is incredibly appealing, offering a complex array of aromas. Leather, smoke and earth lace the fruitful core. It is an absolute pleasure to smell. In the palate, though, time has affected it adversely. It has lost density and weight, and the full midpalate it exhibitted when young falters now. This wine exhibits the weight of a 20 year Bordeaux. Tannin is not as evident as in its youth, but is still present, exhibitting a dusty quality. The finish is very long and pleasant. For the nose, this merits 96 points. For the palate, it only gets 88 points. This was paired with a Fois Gras terrine and a steak au poivre. (2518 views) | |
| Tasted by thenapalist on 1/27/2009 & rated 93 points: Drinking window seems to be right in the wheelhouse at the moment with a possibility to improve just a bit more as the tannin stood out just a hair. A bit light on the mid palate but overall a nice drink. But IMO, inferior to the lush, rich 97. (2757 views) | |
| Tasted by tommydiesel on 1/10/2009 & rated 92 points: Special, always but seems to be sweeter out of a 3.0 liter. Great structure, balance and finish.Great blend. (2621 views) | |
| Tasted by Cabcellar on 11/11/2008 & rated 94 points: I proposed to her on 11/11 at 11:11 in 1994. We got married the following year March 11, 1995. Not sure what it is about 11s but I'll never forget the day I proposed. So today, a 1995 Insignia to celebrate the occasion. I was blown away by the condition of this wine. No telltale signs of age but rather a dense, deep purple wine. It possessed a nose of dark fruit with hints of smoke, toast, pencil lead. Under any other circumstances I would expected this to be bordeaux. Palate of smooth sweet tannins, dark berries, pencil lead. Nothing but pure pleasure. (2859 views) | |
| Tasted by slave2thevine on 10/14/2008: Looking into the glass there is only a slight bricking of the wine...but you have to look for it to really notice it. Scents of black fruits, leather, and slight pencil shavings could lead one to believe this was in fact from Bordeaux. Underneath it all there is a light hint of cinnamon that can be caught in a trail at the end. In the mouth this is everything that people love about California Cabernet based wines...it's plush, full, round, and offers such wonderful focus as flavors of black & blue fruits lead into a symphony of bakers chocolate, graphite, and intense minerality. An absolutely outstanding wine... (2909 views) | |
| Tasted by zazoo on 10/1/2008 & rated 94 points: Always delivers. Had some bad bottles so needed a last minute "pop and pour" . This wine delivered just that. (2966 views) | |
| Tasted by GZ3 on 6/1/2008 & rated 94 points: Decanted for 90 mins and put back in bottle for another 60. This wine still has loads of fruit and tannin. Improved significantly in the glass, so if i had another bottle, would let breath for at least 3 hours. (3424 views) | |
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About red wine The variety Red Bordeaux Blend on CellarTracker implies any blend using any or all of the five traditional Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. As such, this is used worldwide, whether for wines from Bordeaux, Meritages from California and Canada, some Super-Tuscan wines etc. Of interest concerning the sources for grapes for this wine: http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-review/669/Insignia.html jht WineAmerica (National Association of American Wineries) | Free the Grapes! California Wines (Wine Institute of California) California is one of the most diverse wine regions in the world, with almost 100 grape varieties grown in almost 10 viticultural areas, including dozens of different microclimates and soil types, as well as a very individualistic set of winemakers, many with international experience, which adds to and deepens that diversity. Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners) | Article in CellarTracker Napa Valley AVA |
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