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February 23, 2006
Tasting: 1999 Joseph Phelps Insignia
As I was thoroughly enjoying this lovely wine, I got to thinking: Why don't more medium and large sized wineries in Napa produce wine as good as Joseph Phelps Vineyards does with Insignia, year in, year out? It would seem to reason. While I may be able to achieve more of a sense of place by having a small vineyard source, my viticultural success is always dependent on one little plot of land -- Sink or swim by one vineyard. Phelps and other medium or large size wineries, on the other hand, sometimes have 100's or 1000's of acres worth of grapes to source from. Shouldn't their premium release be among the best each year? With Phelps, it is. Insignia, in my opinion, is almost always one of the best wines to come out of the Napa Valley. They use the best grapes they have to produce their best wine. Even in underperforming vintages such as 1998 and 2000, Phelps Insignia is still a "go to" wine. Yet we can all name many wineries that surely have access to a lot of grapes and yet produce ho-hum wines as their flagship wine. Here's hoping that the commitment to making a superb wine, whether it be 30000 cases, or 500 continues to be a priority in the Napa Valley and if production needs to drop in order to maintain quality, we all continue that commitment.
So... regarding the 1999 Phelps Insignia... inky dark color. Dark fruit of blackberries, rum soaked bing cherries, vanilla, and maple. Slight mint notes, cedar, and oak backbone. This wine is all about balance. My recollection was it was great young. It's great now. And it will probably be great in 5 years. My advice is to enjoy this one in 2-3 years giving the still ample tannins time to continue to integrate. Balance. It's what Insignia always seems to be about: balance which is the essence of great winemaking.
Posted by matchvineyards at February 23, 2006 07:32 PM
February 09, 2006
Spring release letter coming soon.
Awww... I'm such a creative cuss.
Yesterday Sasha and I finished the copy for the back label of the 2004 Baconbrook. (We'd already done the permanent copy for the Baconbrook label but 2004 will be unique). Got to get that printed.
Today I just about finished the Spring release letter and order form. If everything goes according to plan, that should be out to last year's customers within a week.
Posted by matchvineyards at February 09, 2006 10:05 AM
February 06, 2006
A peak at the 2003
I had a really good night on Saturday. Sasha was in The City with an old friend so I took Alec (my son) to Pizzaiola, a great pizza and pasta place at Telegraph and 51st in Oakland. It's fun to have a "guys'" night out. I also took along a 375 of the 2003 Butterdragon Hill. It was a good chance for me to sip on our upcoming release.
Just a few informal thoughts...
Elegance and restraint. It is not as fruit forward or primary as the 2002 was at this stage. The wine is regaining some heft as we put some time between it and the bottling last September. The fruit is really nice, but there's complexity showing through that differentiates it from the 02. Oak, spice box, anise, tea, mocha... it's not as big and lush as the 02, but probably a more complete and definitely more complex wine. Probably will age longer. Definitely more sophisticated. Definitely better than the 2002 with a meal. I like the color -- a medium ruby with lovely luster. Doesn't look "big" in the glass... yet. Charming cassis and raspberry ribbon of fruit. Some will like it a lot better than the 2002, some will not. While it also displays the candy aroma in the finished glass that seems to be the M.O. of Butterdragon, it's currently not the "fun" party wine that the 2002 was/is... also lower in alcohol than the 02. I like it. How cool is it to get to know this vineyard.
Posted by matchvineyards at February 06, 2006 12:03 PM
