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77
Joseph Phelps 2005 Backus Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville)
- $225
Price be damned, this is an authentically gorgeous, important Cabernet Sauvignon. It calls to mind the amazing 2001, with its huge, perfect tannins and acids and artistic appliqué of new oak. But the star of the show surely is the fruit. Mounds of ripe blackberries and cherries pile up, veering into currants and cassis and something wild and decadently animal, like…
— S.H.
(5/1/2009)
Joseph Phelps 2004 Insignia Red (Napa Valley)
- Cellar Selection
- $200
Tasted in October, 2007, the wine was mute, offering little aromatically except for teasing notes of blackberries and oak. That shyness extended to the taste, where strong, hard tannins provide an almost impenetrable coat of armor to what’s inside. But right down the middle of the palate is a deep, intensely powerful stream of perfectly ripened cassis that’s all…
— S.H.
(2/1/2008)
Joseph Phelps 2001 Backus Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville)
- Cellar Selection
- $150
Tasted alongside a bevy of Oakville Cabs, this beauty was the star of the show. It’s a huge, masculine wine, authoritative and ageable. Pours dark and drinks tannic and oaky, with a massive core of cassis, cherry and chocolate fruit encased in perfect tannins. What grace and power, what balance. Drink now through 2016, at least.
— S.H.
(11/1/2005)
Joseph Phelps 2003 Insignia Red (Napa Valley)
- Cellar Selection
- $165
One of the first, if not the first, of the proprietarily named Napa Bordeaux blends, Phelps Insignia has been one of California’s greatest Cabs for decades. This is their 30th anniversary bottling, and it’s worthy of the tradition. Ultrarich and smooth, with a mouthfeel that’s pure velvet, it’s fairly thick in tannins now, suggesting cellaring. But it’s huge in…
— S.H.
(3/1/2007)
Joseph Phelps 1999 Backus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville)
- Cellar Selection
- $150
Even at this price, most of the 400-case production is already snapped up. Nonetheless, this is great Cabernet. Incredibly plush, ultrafeminine, with all the bells and whistles of a hallmark wine. Flavors lean toward cherry, blackberry, plum, strawberry, toast, vanilla, anise, herbs, spice and chocolate. It’s all couched in velvety, smooth tannins and a finish that…
— J.M.
(2/1/2003)
Joseph Phelps 2001 Insignia Red (Napa Valley)
- $125
A triumph. Aged nearly two years in all-new French oak, this massive wine stuns with its superb balance. Manages the elusive challenge of reining in hugely ripe black currant, cherry and oak flavors and sweet tannins while keeping the palate impression soft and alluring, almost feminine. Just gorgeous right out of the bottle, but should develop effortlessly through…
— S.H.
(10/1/2004)
Joseph Phelps 2005 Insignia Red (Napa Valley)
- Cellar Selection
- $200
This is not a wine for tonight, or next year, or for at least the next six years. It’s shut down in tannins, with an astringency that can’t be overcome even with decanting, although that won’t stop people from opening it before its time. Buried beneath the tannins are well-developed black currant, roasted meat and cedar flavors that define upscale Napa Cab. Really…
— S.H.
(5/1/2009)
Joseph Phelps 2004 Backus Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville)
- $200
It’s impossible for a Cabernet to be richer, more opulent or more hedonistically stunning on opening than this beauty from veteran Phelps. Admittedly, there are significant tannins. But the wine delivers a broadside of the sweetest, ripest cassis fruit imaginable, along with richly toasted oak. It’s the kind of Cab that will dazzle even an amateur. Absolutely…
— S.H.
(2/1/2008)
Showing items 1
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2009 Merry Edwards Klopp Ranch
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