Joseph Phelps Insignia 2007
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Winemaker Notes
The darkly pigmented 2007 Insignia is a perfect example of the amazing color this vintage produced. Rich aromatics of mineral, baking spices, dark chocolate, graphite, and opulent plum and blackberry lead to the concentrated and balanced mouthfeel. Silky, well structured tannins,core black fruit and sweet oak notes from our estate vineyards create length and weight that will allow this beautiful wine to age, as well as remain approachable in its youth.
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Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet colored with a lingering hint of purple, the 2007 Insignia Proprietary Red Wine reveals the most seductive crème de cassis, Black Forest cake and licorice notions with touches of violets, eucalyptus, chocolate box and unsmoked cigars plus a waft of cedar chest. Full-bodied with tantalizing opulence yet compelling restraint, the palate beautifully juxtaposes the rich, ripe fruit with wonderful freshness and a firm yet plush backbone, finishing beautifully perfumed.
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Wine Spectator
Firm, intense and concentrated, massive yet well-proportioned, with a dense, focused core of graphite, dried currant, blackberry, black tea, forest floor and blueberry flavors. Full-blown, finishing with rich, layered tannins that beg for cellaring. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
This year's Insignia builds on past success and is as always a sophisticated and exceptionally deep wine. Its extraordinary marriage of layered richness and finesse places it among the year's very best, and, while fit with plenty of young Cabernet tannin, it is even now a wine of real polish that seems to show a little more with each sip. It is a wine for collecting and saving to special occasions, and it will last if well-cellared for a decade or more.
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Tasting Panel
Saturated dark ruby! Ripe but reticent aromas of blackberry, boysenberry, bitter chocolate oak, licorice and mocha are very subtle and complex. Wonderfully pliant and balanced wine, with plush purple fruit and violet flavors displaying a smooth grain and superb depth. Spreads out to saturate the middle palate and builds slowly and inexorably on the aftertaste. This fully ripe, complete wine finishes with stylish tannins and outstanding length. There may still be more fireworks ahead for this beauty.
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James Suckling
Aromas of blackberry, leather, lead pencil, and flowers. On the palate this is dense and velvety, with a gorgeous texture. Agile and balanced, this is hard not to drink right now. The finish is long, with notes of coffee and dark fruits.
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Wine Enthusiast
You have to count this as another great Insignia, dry and complex and ageworthy, although the tannins are fierce now and it may lack just a bit of the glamor of say, the 2004 or 2001. It's certainly a big wine that floods the mouth with blackberry, black current, cassis and new oak flavors. The tannins and acids make it aloof, resistant, tough. It wants time in the cellar.
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Wine & Spirits
Phelps' top red is a blend of cabernet sauvignon (88%), merlot and petit verdot, all grown at estate vineyards. Most of the fruit comes from the southern end of Napa Valley - Suscol, a relatively cool site in South Napa, along with Stags Leap adn Oak Knoll. That cool tone comes across in red currant flavors, in the quiet presence of a substantial wine. It's sleek with dark tanning that feels youthful and austere, hinting at a Christmas spice that predicts what holiday celebrations might be in store tend years down the line.
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Joseph Phelps Vineyards is a family-owned winery committed to crafting world class, estate-grown wines. Founded in 1973 when Joe Phelps purchased a former cattle ranch near St. Helena in the Napa Valley, the winery now controls and farms nearly 375 acres of vines on eight estate vineyards in St. Helena, the Stags Leap District, Oakville, Rutherford, Oak Knoll District, Carneros and South Napa Valley. In 1999, the Phelps family added 100 acres of vineyard property near the town of Freestone on the Sonoma Coast, where Phelps now grows Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Phelps is best known for its flagship Napa Valley blend of red Bordeaux varietals, Insignia, first produced in 1974. Awarded Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year" in 2005, Insignia is widely regarded as a qualitative benchmark for California winemaking.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.