1999 Joseph Phelps Insignia
Community Tasting Note
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Tuesday, January 28, 2014 - This bottle was amusing. It played hide and seek from start to finish. Decanted for 2 hours for Bday dinner at Osteria Mozza. Upon opening, the bouquet exploded with lots of cassis, tobacco and meat as expected of classic higher end Napa cabs. The palate was spot on within 30 minutes of decanting with red fruits, cedar, chocolate. The tannins were silky smooth and balanced with the acid and fruits.
Drank another sample after 2-hour decant before putting wine back in bottle to take to Mozza. It was very disappointing...bouquet is practically gone, palate was very tannic. Took along a 2004 Kapcsandy as back-up wine.
Decanted again at the restaurant in hope that the magic would come back. And sure enough, the gorgeous bouquet and palate slowly came back...just to disappear again towards the end of the bottle. The wine got really tannic and out of focus about 2 hours into dinner.
I don't know what to make of this bottle. I guess you can say I got punk'ed. Hahaha! It was very enjoyable nonetheless. Very nice wine overall.
Got this bottle from a reputable auction site and it had good storage history. If I have another one, which I don't, I'd only decant less than an hour and would drink in 1 sitting. If you have some of these...cheers to you!
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