2018 Phelps Insignia Napa Valley

JS99 Blackberry and black chocolate with mint, conifer and clove. Sweet tobacco, violets and flowers, too. Some graphite. Cool and complex. Full-bodied with ultra fine, dusty tannins and a wonderful, extremely long finish. Savory and refined. A classic-styled 2018. This needs time, but is so approachable and gorgeous. One of the best Insignias ever. Alive and changing all the time. 40% Stags Leap AVA. 87% cabernet sauvignon, 8% petit verdot, 3% malbec and 2% cabernet franc. Leave this for five or six years, but so wonderful now.
WA96-98 A barrel sample, the 2018 Insignia is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec, to be aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Very deep garnet-purple in color, 2018 Insignia sings of fragrant lilacs, chocolate covered cherries, underbrush and charcuterie with a core of crushed black currants, black raspberries, chocolate box and red currant jelly. Medium bodied, the-palate is an exercise in finesse, with a wonderful showing of restrained black fruit and mineral flavors layers and wonderfully ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and uplifting.
JD 96-98pts A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, and the rest Malbec and Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Insignia will spend the usual two years in new French oak barrels. It sports a vivid purple color as well as super classic notes of cassis, crushed violets, fruitcake, and gravelly, earthy minerality. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, it has stunning purity of fruit, ripe, present tannins, and a great finish.