JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5112
 | | 03/17/2003 7:29 PM |
| Paired with boneless leg of lamb rubbed and marinated with a lemon-pesto paste. Decanted 2 hours and served in Riedel Sommelier Grand Crus.
Wow. Wine of the Month, so far. Huge extracted fruit nose, coupled with copious chocolate and cigar wrapper. First whiff screamed blueberry pie. Inky black/purple in the glass. Smooooth. Gobs of dark fruit, but still has the tannins and acidity to withstand aging. I would NOT, however, lay this down for an occassion 20 years out. Decant and drink now or hold for 7-10 years max. After that, I suspect that this wine will become something else entirely, which you may like just as much. But if you want the fruit explosion, now to 7 years from now would be my recommendation.
97 pts. Really. It was that good. | |
Beta testing a new signature. | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4864
| | 03/17/2003 7:36 PM |
| | and to think that they made 35,000 cases of the stuff. Go Sarah! | | | |
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JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5112
| | 03/17/2003 7:50 PM |
| Gott-a love it!  | |
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Joseph Bembry
Wine Lover
Posts:4876
| | 03/17/2003 7:57 PM |
| JImmyV, I agree completely. This is drinking wonderfully right now. Those who wait more than 5-7 yrs on this will be disappointed.
jb | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10801
| | 03/17/2003 9:32 PM |
| | These bottles have been screaming to come out. Maybe now's the time! Thanks for the notes. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 03/17/2003 10:08 PM |
| | We had the '95 last night with friends (their bottle). I felt it needed another couple of years, but it's mighty fine now. | | | |
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Lakersguy
Orange County, CA
Grape Fermenter
Posts:524
| | 03/17/2003 10:24 PM |
| I would remind you all of the article at the Phelps website,
http://www.jpvwines.com/general_news_spring2002.html
that indicates the potential aging of Insignia. I think the 97 Insignia will age great but it might not improve much after 5 years because it’s so great to start with.
I believe the 97 Insignia will hold up very well and drink well for years to come. Parker said the drinking window on this wine was now until 2025!
It will be fun to taste how this wine evolves!
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JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5112
| | 03/17/2003 10:27 PM |
| | Board-O: That doesn't shock me. I bet I'll finish off my '97s before my '94's. I did decant for two hours. If I hadn't, I would have probably concluded that it needed more time. This is why it is important to pull and taste periodically. | |
Beta testing a new signature. | |
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JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5112
| | 03/17/2003 10:42 PM |
| I think it's important to keep in mind what "aging" and "drinking windows" are meant to convey. You can have a long drinking window meaning that the wine is wonderful now, and will HOLD ON to this quality for many years. (I personally don't believe many wines possess this quality). Or you can have a long aging window meant to caution that the wine NEEDS TIME in the bottle for flavors and acidity to come into proper balance. Or you can have a long aging/drinking window meant to suggest that the wine is a perfectly fine specimen now, but will EVOLVE INTO SOMETHING ELSE entirely over time. It can be summarized as:
1) Excellent now, and will stay that way for a long time;
2) Tough and out of balance now, but give it time and you will be rewarded; and
3) Excellent now, and in time will evolve into a different profile, but that new profile should also be great.
I think JPV is suggesting that Insignia is a #3. If Parker thinks it is a #1 that will maintain its current profile until 2025, well, I respectfully disagree. I'll bet he means that for the next 7 years or so, you will get the wine I experienced. And over years 8-22, you will get a different experience altogether. I think this is a textbook #3. I'm just not sure that I want to risk finding out that the butterfly I was expecting to come out of the cocoon 15 years from now turns out to be a moth. It's too good to waste. | |
Beta testing a new signature. | |
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Lakersguy
Orange County, CA
Grape Fermenter
Posts:524
| | 03/17/2003 11:02 PM |
| JimmyV
I have never experienced a Number 1 wine.
I agree with your assessment completely.
My point is that based on many tastings I’ve had of all the 90’s Insignia’s multiple times, these wines age really well, so far.
I think this wine will last considerably longer the 7-8 years and agree it could change after that and possibly be not as good as it is today. However, it could surprise.
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Seek
Upstate NY
Wine Thief
Posts:2772
| | 03/18/2003 12:15 AM |
| | I had an `86 Insignia back in January and I have to say it was one fine bottle of wine with 4-7 years left in it. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 03/18/2003 3:30 AM |
| | Great Bordeauxs are number 1 wines. | | | |
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JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5112
| | 03/18/2003 3:53 AM |
| | I agree. And great vintage Ports. I should have said that I don't think too many New World wines are #1s. | |
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Lakersguy
Orange County, CA
Grape Fermenter
Posts:524
| | 03/18/2003 4:33 PM |
| | But Great Bordeauxs evolve and change with years of bottle age. Isn't that more like a three? | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 03/18/2003 6:35 PM |
| | Not in my opinion. Bordeauxs don't start great and then evolve into something different but great as well. Rather they take quite some time to mature but once they do, they hold at that plateau for years if not decades. | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4864
| | 03/18/2003 11:15 PM |
| and, even as they mature, the style stays the same, just the intensity
starts to diminish (or become more mellow, to put a positive spin on it) | | | |
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wineismylife
Arlington, TX
Master of Wine
Posts:12265
| | 07/12/2008 5:25 PM |
| Dang, nobody has tasted this wine in 5 years? LOL!
1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia - USA, California, Napa Valley (7/6/2008)
WIML95
Tasted July 6, 2008 at an offline.
I believe this wine was decanted about 2 hours before being brought to the restaurant. Purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of laquer (not offensive), melted black licorice, plums and currants. Flavors of berries, cherries and currants. Medium acidity, moderate turning towards integrated tannins, medium to full body. Drink or hold. I'll stick with my previous rating of WIML95 but this might have been just a half step behind the previous bottle. (95 pts.) | |
Joe
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Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone. | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10801
| | 07/12/2008 7:12 PM |
| Drank 'em all a long time ago. A great wine. | | | |
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Rothko
Palm Beach
Wine Thief
Posts:2875
| | 07/14/2008 4:18 PM |
| | I've got 2 left, I think. | | | |
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Lakersguy
Orange County, CA
Grape Fermenter
Posts:524
| | 07/16/2008 12:41 PM |
| | This wine is the best Insignia of the 90's to me now and it's going to age for at least another 5 years. I still have three bottles and a couple of Mags. | | | |
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