Founded in 1973 by Joseph Phelps, this famous winery in St Helena is now a true classic of the Napa Valley. The 1974 Insignia was the first Bordeaux-style blend produced in California under a proprietary label. The flagship wine from Phelps, it is now one of California’s greatest wines and is a tribute to the huge abilities of Phelps’s chief winemaker, Craig Williams. The 2003 has just been released, following hard on the heels of the 2002 vintage which won rave reviews (including the Wine Spectator’s top award of # 1 Wine of the Year 2005 out of 12,400 wines tasted blind) and cemented Insignia’s position in the top echelon. It is layered with aromas of blackberries, black cherries, anise, dark chocolate and coffee. The aromas and flavours are framed by mouth-coating tannins and followed by an extremely long finish.
The Napa Cabernet is Insignia’s junior sibling. Also from the 2003 vintage it is blended with 11% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc and aged in a mix of new and used French and American barrels. It is filled with black cherry and blackberry aromas, underscored with a hint of allspice. The 2002 Napa Merlot shares the same style but is more fruit forward with chocolate and cinnamon and a lingering, velvety finish.
The Sauvignon Blanc contains 10% of Semillon and has flavours of grapefruit and lime partnered with a clean, citrussy finish. There are also two Rhône-style wines, a rich part of Phelps’s heritage: Syrah (100% Napa fruit, a white pepper nose with black fruit and plum flavours) and Le Mistral, a blend mainly of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre which is full-bodied with aromas of dried flowers and spices and ripe berry flavours. Backus completes the range: unlike Insignia, it is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a single vineyard source, a wine of tremendous complexity and depth produced in very small quantities.