Released on Friday, tasted from a bottle that had been open for 15 hrs. I only was able to get a small taste. The first thing I noticed was the softness of the wine. I would guess that this wine has more Merlot in it than the 01. Great nose with a wall of tannins. I am going to let my two six packs settle down for a few weeks before I open one of these to really write a tasting note but this is going to be really good in a few years. Phelps has put the wine in a nice new 6 pack wood case.

Was this available at the winery? I was told that they were still a few weeks off.

Rudy: It's all over the place in So Cal as of Friday.

Great. K&L up here in the bay area said they would have theirs in October. I'm gonna look elsewhere.

Thanks.

you can get this just about anywhere now. i'm wondering if i should go for more.

By the way, I paid $97.99 per bottle which i thought was pretty good since futures at most places were more.

Lakersguy,
Thanks for the notes.
Can you compare this to the '01?

I really can't yet as I didn't really get to taste enough of the 02. My impression was that the 02 is a tad better but I want to wait until i open a bottle in a few weeks after they settle down a little bit from shipping.

Opened an '02 over the weekend. Still fairly primary so a little hard to judge, but certainly seemed a bit fatter, lusher, more opulent and fruit-forward than the '01. I'm a buyer.

WineLibrary in NJ had them for $90 a month or two back, and now avail for the unique price of $99.01 today (identically bizarre price at many others on winesearcher - a winery requirement to sell for "more than $99 perhaps?!?). WL said mine would ship next week, weather permitting.

Los Angeles Wine Co. has it for $89.99.

6-pak on the way.

Dick

The 02 Insignia is the finest they have ever produced, IMO.

That's possible, but they produced a great string of successes in the early 1990s that are drinking well right now.

It does seem possible based on the bottle of '02 I drank recently. The '01, which is a nice wine, seems lean and austere in comparison.

Was over at LA Wine Co. today -- they've sold out of 750s but have '02 mags for $199.99 if anyone's still looking...

I'm with Randy on this one. I thought the '01 was an outstanding wine, but at this early stage, I'll say that I'm more excited about the '02. I put my money where my mouth is, so I guess we'll find out a few years down the road.

Just had my first taste of the 02 (Not decanted). Very soft velvety tannins and an enticing nose. Look forward to tasting this again tomorrow to see how it develops.

Decanted for 3 hours. I just had this in a completely unfair CA Cab/blend lineup. Perhaps due to the competition, this wine dissapointed. The nose had lots of jammy dark red fruits as well as mocha and balsa wood. The midpalate was good and medium bodied; again with the jammy black raspberry and blueberry characteristics as well as lots of mocha (cream, coffee and chocolate all present). But given the intensity of the nose, I was expecting more from the midpalate -- I found it a bit hollow. The finish was about 30 seconds. I dissagree that this is the best Insignia ever -- my nod goes to the '97. I absolutely agree that this is more expressive than the '01. I have stopped buying Insignia on account of some smaller production wines I like more; nevertheless, this is the 8th vintage in a row I have tasted of this wine and I admire its consistency. My score might be low on account of the company this wine was keeping. 92

a