Joseph Phelps Insignia (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2003
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
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 blackberry, dark unsweetened chocolate and spicy plum fruit, and will easily hold for a very long time. Best now, if carefully decanted, and through 2020.
Cellar Selection -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2003 Insignia (15,000 cases) performed much better this year than last, when I tasted it right after bottling. A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and the rest Malbec and Merlot, it offers up attractive aromas of licorice, black currants, espresso roast, and background toasty oak. Full-bodied, opulent, and rich with outstanding depth, purity, and harmony, sweet tannin, and a long finish, it is approachable now, but will easily last for 20 years.
-
Wine Spectator
Supple, polished and harmonious, though not in the class of the 2002. Nonetheless, delivers a complex range of rich currant, berry and cherry fruit, cedary oak, hints of anise and sage, and a persistent, lingering finish. Mildly tannic. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Merlot. Drink now through 2011. 12,000 cases made.
Other Vintages
2019-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Wong
Wilfred -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Wong
Wilfred -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Guide
Connoisseurs' - Decanter
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Wong
Wilfred -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Wong
Wilfred -
Panel
Tasting -
Spirits
Wine & -
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Enthusiast
Wine - Vinous
-
Parker
Robert - Decanter
-
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Panel
Tasting -
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Parker
Robert -
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Parker
Robert -
Wong
Wilfred -
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine &
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
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.