Winemaker Notes
The 2007 Backus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon boasts aromas of licorice, violet, espresso beans, blueberry syrup and exotic spices. The texture and silkiness on the palate are seamlessly interwoven with concentrated layers of perfectly ripe tannin and fruit. Notes of minerality and sweet oak linger on the long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard boasts a stunningly pure nose of blueberries and blackberries with notions of toast and flowers in the background. Thefloral nature of the fruit only adds to the wine’s complexity. Full-bodied but civilized, this wine’s tannins can be borderline rustic, but that’s not an issue with this glorious, full-bodied, opulent 2007 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink it over the next three decades
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Wine Spectator
A stylish, elegant youngster, with vivid mocha-covered raspberry, blackberry, red and black licorice flavors. Full-bodied and notably complex, tight and focused, ending with a persistent beam of flavors and firm tannins, with a dash of tobacco and cedar.
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Wine Enthusiast
Shows the Bacchus profile of ripe blackberry and cassis fruit, pure, strong tannins and exceptional balance. It’s a dry, classically structured Cabernet of enormous complexity and interest. So delicious now, it’s tempting to drink, but it’s way too young. This is a wine to cellar, and it should blossom over the next 20 years.
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.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.