… offers up attractive aromas of licorice, black currants, espresso roast, and background toasty oak. Full-bodied, opulent and rich with outstanding depth, purity, and harmony; sweet tannin, and a long finish. It is approachable now, but will easily last for 20 years.

Full-bodied, powerful and rich, the deep purple-hued 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard boasts a rich sumptuous bouquet of graphite, blueberries, truffles, and damp earth. With an almost inky intensity, it will benefit from another 2-3 years of bottle age and should drink well for two decades or more.

Joseph Phelps 2005 Le Mistral - Monterey
Score: 89-91 points

The 2005 Le Mistral… offers a blast of berry fruit, pepper, earth and spice, followed by a sweet, expansive, medium to full-bodied palate, and a lush texture.

Joseph Phelps 2003 Insignia - Napa Valley
Score: 96 points

(Dec/Jan 2006-07)… Phelps Insignia has been one of Napa’s greatest Cabs for decades… Ultra-rich and smooth, with a mouthfeel that’s pure velvet, it’s fairly thick in tannins now, suggesting cellaring. But it’s huge in blackberry, dark unsweetened chocolate and spice plum fruit, and will easily hold for a very long time.

Joseph Phelps 2003 Insignia, 30th Anniversary - Napa Valley
Red Blend of the Year

(Dec/Jan 2006-07)… Slow-to-open nose exhibits blackberry-black cherry fruit, dried lavender, mocha and espresso bean. Rich and supple on the palate with medium-full tannins and balancing acidity, the wine delivers layered flavors that replicate the nose, enhanced by Insignia’s signature fruitcake-like spice and sweet oak. Finishes long and graceful. Bottled unfiltered, the wine is best decanted for near-term consumption.

Joseph Phelps 2003 Insignia - Napa Valley

(December 2006).… a very deep and involving wine with a genuinely complex interplay of ripe cherries, sweet smoke, subtle herbs and notes of dusty soil running its length.  As always, it displays hallmark polish and exemplary balance, yet it is never wanting for richness or strength.