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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.6 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 60 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by pellejeros519 on 12/27/2023 & rated 96 points: Fantastic. Great dark hue, blackberry and tobacco aroma, medium body and very enjoyable finish. Still has room to run. (312 views) | | | Tasted by jonwill on 12/29/2020 & rated 95 points: Drinking at its peak right now, tannins are fully resolved, silky smooth and attenuated dark fruits and cherry. (2175 views) | | | Tasted by Bruce 1er on 11/20/2020 & rated 91 points: Big; Dark. Intense. Brooding. Earthy, tobacco, coffee, plums. Bottle 12432. (1907 views) | | | Tasted by Ranndy on 8/2/2020 & rated 90 points: Decant for at least two hours before drinking. Very good aroma of Bock cherries. (2005 views) | | | Tasted by Bruce 1er on 5/18/2020 & rated 95 points: Excellent. Very balanced; rich luscious fruit; soft tannins in the finish (stood upright for 6 weeks and decanted); no noticeable brown in the rim. Very youthful - many years left. Bottle No. 12,434. (2146 views) | | | Tasted by LiteItOnFire on 4/12/2020 & rated 91 points: Mature velvety, dark fruits (black and red), plum, some heat with hints of leather and maybe a touch of tobacco. Would have been curious to taste this five years ago. At its peak or on way down but a ton of life left with fruit still at the forefront. Nice wine. (2994 views) | | | Tasted by zinnut on 3/18/2020 & rated 92 points: A really nice, mature Napa Cab. Tannins fully resolved and revealing a complex profile of red fruits, cherries, tobacco, leather. A pleasure but I honestly don't see this getting any better. Drink now. (924 views) | | | Tasted by markcic on 12/25/2019 & rated 92 points: Opened three hours before dinner. Dark fruit on the nose. The palate was dark berries, tobacco and tree bark. Finish was moderate to long. (1220 views) | | | Tasted by spartap on 11/28/2019 & rated 94 points: This was a beautiful wine - powerful but balanced. Could age for another 5 years but excellent now. (745 views) | | | Tasted by Bruce 1er on 9/7/2019 & rated 95 points: Rich, complex, vibrant. Dark. Stone fruits, berries. Delicious. Second tasting. (867 views) | | | Tasted by aquaman on 9/30/2018 & rated 93 points: Decanter for 1 hour.
Sweet that is the verdict. Even for cali wine lovers.
But over all still good. Let it breath more to get ride of the sweet smell. (1586 views) | | | Tasted by Coachron13 on 9/3/2018 & rated 95 points: An outstanding cab. Still lots of fruit, drinking like a much younger wine. (332 views) | | | Tasted by Brett on 6/10/2018 & rated 97 points: Simply fantastic! (1910 views) | | | Tasted by aerosol on 4/29/2018 & rated 94 points: I had a bottle last night with friends and the wine seemed to have a lot of youth in it. This 100% Cab is not a fruit bomb like a Caymus so set your expectations towards a Bordeaux left bank experience. The color was dark garnet and the nose was forest floor. This is not a sweet wine but a well crafted, concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon for the purist. The palette had nuances of black coffee, cassis, and unsweetened blackberry. The finish was about 30 seconds and the tannins are well structured with mild acidity. We tasted this side by side with an Insignia of the same year and that seemed like a fruit bomb in comparison; go figure! I think this wine is in its window of opportunity and I am guessing this should hold up being a tightly wound CS for another 5 years (1934 views) | | | Tasted by GiWineDoc on 11/26/2017 & rated 95 points: Great wine! (2298 views) | | | Tasted by Brett on 3/17/2017 & rated 96 points: Great wine, love it! (3115 views) | | | Tasted by redpine42 on 12/24/2016 & rated 92 points: Having a cab with some wagyu steaks. The tanins are perfect. Nice fruit. Finish is weak or I'd score it higher. (2699 views) | | | Tasted by Livermore Dan on 5/15/2016 & rated 90 points: Excellent wine with wonderful nose. I expected more complex flavors on the palate, but still quite delicious. (3182 views) | | | Tasted by AlexHop on 4/21/2016 & rated 88 points: Not great. A little sour and not wonderful flavors. Good nose. (3043 views) | | | Tasted by AlexHop on 3/5/2016 & rated 90 points: Nice. Really bitter at first but it opened up. Not really showy through. (2822 views) | | | Tasted by psusfca on 3/5/2015 & rated 96 points: Much improved from my last review. Needs to decant some. Took to dinner and first taste was delish, but 30min to 1 hour in, this wine sang. Tannins are still present but softened enough to be quite integrated. Lots of dark fruit flavors, with an amazing finish. Had this with "Whole Hog" Dinner at Oliveto in Oakland and it went spectacularly. Well done. 2 bottles left - yum (3274 views) | | | Tasted by KenK on 4/20/2014 & rated 94 points: Better then I expecred, great depth of flavors and concentration without going over the top. Well balanced dark chocolate, deep black cherry fruits and sweet tannins. Smooth and inviting giving lots of pleasure. (4383 views) | | | Tasted by Brett on 2/6/2014 & rated 94 points: Great wine (3612 views) | | | Tasted by Grenik on 1/25/2014 & rated 94 points: $100 bottle tasting (Home): Inky purple color, opaque, almost black. Sweet vanilla nose with a little wet forest. Warm, rich cherry flavors and smooth profile. Layers of cherry, blueberry. Medium/long finish. A lot of balance for such a powerful wine. It has a lot of time left. This was the favorite wine of the night. 50+5+13+17+9=94 (3849 views) | | | Tasted by Brett on 10/22/2013 & rated 92 points: Very good wine, ready to drink. (3894 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2005, IWC Issue #120
(Joseph Phelps Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| 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.Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican 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)Oakville |
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