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Tasting notes
Insignia, the top wine made at the estate, and since 2004 using only estate fruit, was conceived to represent the best wine that the family could make in any given vintage. It didn’t have to be the same wine every year – in the early days it was even a white wine in some vintages. But with its unmatched vineyard locations for growing Cabernet Sauvignon, the Phelps family found that they had the most wonderful fruit to choose from to make Bordeaux blends, with plots neighbouring Heitz and Bond in St Helena, as well as in Rutherford, Oakville, the Stags Leap District, the Oak Knoll District and South Napa Valley. In 2016 the blend is 84% Cabernet, 10% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec and 3% Cabernet Franc. Having tasted it ourselves, we were impressed by the fresh red fruit, cherry, plum, and sweet strawberry on the front palate, followed by a surge of fresh mint, dark blackberry fruit, violets, cocoa and coffee, with fine, mineral tannins and a long, elegant finish. With the critics hailing the 2016 as one of the best Insignias ever made (for Antonio Galloni it is “second only to 2013 among the top vintages of this decade so far”), this is one not to miss.
Critic scores
Average Score
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Elegant, silky, forward, fresh, clean and pure, the wine exudes class and an open character. Full-bodied, deep, but not overpowering, the texture is lush, soft and polished. Made from a blend of all 5 Bordeaux varietals, 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and, 3% Malbec, even though the wine was aged in 100% new, French oak, most of the wood has already fully integrated into the wine.
A barrel sample made up of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec to be aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak, the 2016 Insignia Proprietary Red Wine has a deep garnet-purple color and is a little reticent at this still nascent stage (to be bottled in January 2019), opening out to reveal chocolate-covered cherries, wild blueberries and black raspberries with touches of underbrush, cedar chest and bouquet garni plus a hint of grilled meat. Medium to full-bodied, the palate springs forth with exciting energy, offering loads of red and black fruit layers and compelling herbal sparks, featuring a firm, fine-grained backbone and bags of freshness lifting the finish. 13,500 cases are expected to be made.
84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec, 3% Cabernet Franc. The 2016 Napa Valley growing season began with a mild winter resulting in early budbreak for some blocks at the beginning of March. A normal period of bloom and veraison took place in early May and mid July, respectively. The 2016 growing season was cooler than the previous three vintages. A very deep purple colour in the glass. Ripe but not overblown on the nose, all damson, blackberry and baked vanilla. The palate is powerful but balanced, bright acidity and grippy tannins tempering the glossy black fruit. Expansive, heady and rich, this is a blockbuster that warrants bottle age.
About the producer
California winery Joseph Phelps is best known for its flagship Insignia cuvée, one of the first and finest proprietary red wines in the Napa Valley.