Joseph Phelps Vineyards - Insignia 2006 (750ml)

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Price: $499.99

Producer	Joseph Phelps Vineyards
Country	United States
Region	Napa County
Subregion	Napa Valley
Varietal	Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage	2006
Sku	123148
Size	750ml

Joseph Phelps Vineyards Description

Winemaker Notes

The 2002 vintage of this wine was ranked #1 on the Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of 2005

Deeply colored, concentrated and layered, with floral, anise, black cherry and graphite aromas, this wine is classically structured with excellent acidity, well-balanced tannins and a mouth-staining, persistent finish.

Blend:
92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, and 1% Merlot sourced estate-owned vineyards in Rutherford (30%), South Napa (22%), the St. Helena home ranch (17%), and Stag's Leap District (Barboza Vineyard, 17% and Las Rocas Vineyard, 14%).
Only shipping discounts can be applied to this product, other promotional discounts do not apply.

Professional Ratings

95Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Insignia (95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot; 16,000 cases produced) is a superb effort in this vintage. Another 30+ year wine, it boasts a dense plum/purple color as well as abundant notes of licorice, black currants, charcoal, black olives, and graphite. Full-bodied, pure, and rich with moderately high tannins, it represents a California version of a Bordeaux from Pauillac or St.-Julien. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2045.

In case you think the aging curves I have described are unrealistically long, I have the Joseph Phelps regular Cabernets from the mid-seventies as well as the Insignias in my cellar, and those wines are still drinking beautifully at 30+ years of age. Today's wines are better made.
Rating: 95+

95Connoisseurs' Guide
Already amazingly seductive with wonderfully rich aromas of sweet oak, cocoa and fully expressed fruit making a first-rate introduction, this riveting young wine in no way lets up on the palate and delivers deep, multi-faceted flavors that combine ripeness, sweet oak and very precise fruit in near-perfect proportion. As is often the case with Insignia bottlings, it is so beautifully balanced that it invites early drinking, and, while we do not condemn giving in to its charms, we also would lobby strongly for patience as its best lies years down the line.
94Wine Spectator
Teasing with its floral, spicy cherry, wild berry and currant aromas, this is full-bodied, firm and structured, tight and focused, offering glimpses of what lies ahead with its complex mix of flavors and tightly wound tannins. Yet its finesse and refinement are apparent on the finish. Needs time. Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.
94Wine Enthusiast
This is so strong and fruity, so oaky, so tannic, it just overwhelms the palate in its extreme youth. Just massive in blackberries, black currants, coffee, cocoa, dried herbs and 100% new, smoky-sweet French oak.