(just bottled): Full medium ruby. Black fruits, minerals, licorice, tar, menthol and sweet oak on the nose. Sweet and creamy on entry, then quite penetrating and tight in the mid-palate, showing a medicinal reserve for the vintage. A backward and rather powerful Insignia with the structure to require, and reward, considerable aging. This was a good quantity year for this flagship bottling, with about 16,000 cases produced.

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The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Insignia is a towering, statuesque wine bursting with blackberry jam, tar, spices, leather and licorice. It shows fabulous depth and richness backed up by serious, imposing tannins that suggest it has a long life. Ideally, the 2008 should be purchased by those who can be patient; it is not a wine for those seeking immediate gratification. The blend is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2038.

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Dense and chewy, this is very tight and closed, but the glimpses of fruit offer tight mineral, crushed rock, graphite, dried currant, cedar and anise. Full-bodied and way too young to drink now, this needs time, but should provide years of rewarding drinking. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot.

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Bright fruit and great Insignia flavor profile. Heavy tannins right now left my tongue fuzzy and dry. I think a couple years more for this wine to hit its stride.