Joseph Phelps Insignia

Wine information: The 2004 vintage marks the first time Insignia has been blended entirely from estate-grown fruit. 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot, and 2% Malbec from estate-owned vineyards in St. Helena (27%), Stags Leap (24%), Yountville (22%), Rutherford (19%) and Oakville (8%). Fermented in stainless steel tanks then aged 24 months in new 60-gallon French oak barrels by a variety of French coopers including Taransaud, Dargaud Jaegle, Nadalie, Demptos and Vicard. The wine was blended and bottled in December, 2006. The low-yield vintage produced a wine with syrupy blackberry and blueberry aromas married with seductive spice, followed by velvety tannins, roundness in the finish and outstanding texture, all of which are superbly integrated. "I had this wine several times in Napa, and it is a beauty. A flashy, exuberant style for Phelps, with dense ruby/purple color, a gorgeous nose of crème de cassis, incense, licorice, smoke and spice, the wine has supple tannins, a flamboyant, full-bodied mouthfeel, and tremendous length. Despite its precociousness and up-front style, whis wine should evolve easily for 20 or more years." 95 Points, Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate.

 
     

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