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The 95pt Insignia Wager
They never knew what hit them. Five months ago, we finally pried a little bit of one of Napa's greatest collectables out of the proprietor. But, Bill Phelps had been cautious. Internet platforms like WineAccess were something new. With the good might come the bad. Phelps was in -- but was playing his cards close to the vest.
By the time we got the go ahead on the 2008 Phelps "Insignia," distributors had been moving their small allocation of that Robert Parker collectable for the better part of eight months. Bill figured he had no downside. Most "Insignia" followers had surely locked in months before, most at the $200/bottle release price. WineAccess was surely too late to that 97pt party. Phelps earmarked a final small stash of the 2008 for WineAccess, then shook hands on our little wager.
That's when we wrote the story about our afternoon with Pat Cetta at Sparks Steakhouse, that day way back in the mid-90s when New York's most colorful restaurateur stopped at our table and tasted the 1995 "Insignia." Cetta said, "I'll take a hundred." We were puzzled. A hundred bottles? Strange, 100 isn't evenly divisible by 12.
"Not a hundred bottles!" Pat shouted, turning heads at the neighboring tables. "What am I going to do with a hundred bottles? I want a hundred CASES!"
Within two hours of hitting the SEND button on that story, every bottle of the 2008 "Insignia" that Phelps had earmarked for WineAccess was gone. The next day we called the winery. There was no gloating. Only a friendly reminder. It was time for Bill Phelps to make good on our wager.
The bet went like this: If WineAccess members bought every 2008 bottle allotted to us, we'd be given one small shot to raid the Phelps cellar. But, if our story failed to ignite the requisite fire under members, we'd owe Bill dinner for four at French Laundry. It only took 120 minutes for our blood pressure to begin to stabilize.
Why were we so determined to raid the Phelps cellar? Despite all the luxurious cassis concentration, all the violets and the graphite, and the fabulous silken texture of every "Insignia" we've tasted over the last fifteen years, the wine's greatest attribute is its longevity. But, unlike many of the top dogs of Napa, Joe and Bill Phelps always preferred selling their wine to storing it. As a result, little of the most age-worthy Napa red wine of the last two decades remains at the winery. That which does can be found resting in the cool, dark confines of the Phelps cellar. Today, we get to scrape that cellar floor.
This is a very small salvo, just 500 bottles. The vintage is 2006, one of the richest, darkest, most muscled offerings of the decade. Parker first rated it 94-96 points, then tasted it a second time and split the difference at 95+. But when you read the reviews below, focus not only on the 2006's mammoth blackberry concentration, its extravagant core of crème-de-cassis velour, and the sensationally muscled finish (thanks to that dollop of Petit Verdot), but to RP's take on when to drink a 2006 that's still in its infancy. Parker suggests "anticipated maturity in 2045!" If you've been collecting Insignia as long as we have, that suggestion seems tame.
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Tasting Notes
2006 Joseph Phelps Insignia Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley
"The 2006 Insignia (95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot) is a superb effort in this vintage. Another 30+-year wine, it boasts a dense plum/purple color as well as abundant notes of licorice, black currants, charcoal, black olives, and graphite. Full-bodied, pure, and rich with moderately high tannins, it represents a California version of a Bordeaux from Pauillac or St.-Julien. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2045."
95+ points -- Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
"Made in a dense, full-bodied, muscular style, it is less charming than the 2005, with high tannin, extract, and richness. The blackberry and cassis characteristics are accompanied by notions of damp earth, subtle oak, licorice, and forest floor. It, too will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age, and should drink well for two decades or more."
94-96 points -- Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
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*Important Shipping Information
- Orders will begin shipping the week of May 21, 2012.
- You will be provided with the exact shipment date during checkout.
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