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  • Country ranking ?

    195
  • Producer ranking ?

    14
  • Decanting time

    3h
  • When to drink

    now to 2040

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96 Points - Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant scents of Black Forest cake, preserved plums and blueberry pie plus touches of redcurrant jelly, potpourri, clove oil and dark chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has gained weight from its in-barrel offering, boasting rich, decadently perfumed black fruit preserves flavors with a racy backbone and velvety tannins, fi...

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The Story

First produced from the 1974 vintage, Insignia is the first proprietary Bordeaux-style blend produced in California. Each vintage is comprised of the best grapes from Joseph Phelps Vineyards, first from both grower and estate fruit, and beginning with the 2004 vintage, from entirely estate-grown fruit sources. Insignia is a Cabernet Sauvignon based wine crafted from six of the Joseph Phelps estate vineyards: Spring Valley Home Ranch Vineyard i...

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Wine Information

The 2017 growing season saw much needed record-breaking winter rainfall which helped replenish groundwater and the vines. The cool, wet start to the season delayed budbreak and bloom compared to the three previous years. The summer and fall months were warm with regular heat spikes to ripen the grapes. Overall, 2017 was reminiscent of the 1997 and 2015 growing seasons. The wines lend to fresh dark black fruit characteristics with ample, refine...

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

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Written Notes

A beautiful, focused wine with a tight center palate of blackberries, blueberries and dark chocolate. Very subtle. Hints of mint and sage, too. Medium to full body and fine, racy tannins. A reserved and very pretty Insignia. Fresh finish. Hard not to drink now, but better in 2022.

  • 96p

Tasted out of bottle, the 2017 Insignia is beautiful stuff that excels in the vintage. Revealing a dense purple color as well as stunning notes of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, tobacco, and earth, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a silky, seamless texture, building tannins, and a great finish. It has the more linear, elegant style of the vintage, yet it’s balanced, has ample concentration, and is just a gorgeous wine that will evolve for 30 years or more.

  • 96p
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Information

Origin

Napa, Napa Valley

Inside Information

BLEND AND GRAPE SOURCES 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc from estate-grown Napa Valley vineyards: 46% Las Rocas Vineyard (Stags Leap District), 22% Barboza Vineyard (Stags Leap District), 13% Suscol Vineyard (South Napa), 10% Yountville Vineyard (Oak Knoll District) and 9% Home Ranch Vineyard (St. Helena).

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