Joseph Phelps Vineyards Spring Release Event (Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Napa Valley): Nose of rich fruit, black cherry, black currants, old time cabernet sauvignon nose, same on the palate, big body, mouth filling fruit, rich fruit, very tasty, delicious, at peak, savory, elegant, long finish, lovely finish, long, flavorful aftertaste, 2 pours. Great vintage and it shows it today!!!!
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WineBid Tasting Event (Mandarin Oriental): Much more vibrant than the two Phelps we had before (one from 70's, one from 80's). This is piles of black fruits and something else that is a bit tough to make out in my notes. Wine was in a good spot. Very tasty.
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Had at a spectacular WINEBID.com tasting event. Total of 39 wines tasted with an unbelievable lineup ! Bravo to Sterling Roig.
Drank from a magnum. Wildly berry laiden fruit. Much more aromatic than the 94' but not quite as melancholy as that one. More forward and aggressive. I loved this wine.
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wonderful wine that took a couple of hours to truly show it's colors and flavor. First 30-45 minutes the wine was brittle and light but with a stunning nose of great things to come. Every 30 minutes following opened more and more of a beautiful bouquet of floral, earth, and light chocolate tones to the tongue. Medium finish. Very satisifying with short rib and a chocolate puff pastry for dessert.
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the fruit is great needed lota of time to open here is a wine that is very straight up could have used a touch of merlot to soften or franc to harden it is still great
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Dark red, some garnet. Profoundly interesting nose of hard coal dust (not experienced since childhood, not ever before in wine), spearmint, chocolate, cherry, leather. Low tannin, low acidity. On the palate, the silky structure enables the chocolate mint with cherry theme to dance in a wonderful match with a simply braised roast beef and mixed veg. Bottle #2 of two.
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Drinking beatifully. Still dark butsmooth with perfectly resolved tannins. Nicely balanced cassis intermingled with sweet cherries. A long sumptuous finish. Just gorgeous.
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Smoke, coal, black and purple fruit. Some kick on the back end. Serious acidity still. Leaner on the palate as a whole. Loved the nose, palate was a touch less impressive. Still a cool wine to sample.
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This was pure California cabernet. The wine was ready to be drunk in that it had shed any tannins but was a touch lacking in acidity and a touch monolithic. A yummy wine with our steaks.
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'94 vs '97 California Cabernet Sauvignon: The fruitiest of the three '94's tasted, but less structured than the others. A tasty wine, but simple by comparison. Drink this one sooner than later.
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Iron Chef dinner at Rob's -- showing spectacularly, what a gorgeous gem of a '94 cab! Absolutely loaded with exotic spices, dark chocolate, wonderful fresh dark cherries. Nice and sleek mouthfeel, balanced (altho there is exotic wood, integrated tho), and begged you back for sip after sip.
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Gorgeous wine. Fully bodied and tons of black fruits. Still a bit of a baby I'm shocked to say. Well integrated tannins but plenty of hearty life left in this wine. Not sure it gets any better than this but I think it has another 15+ years of life easily.
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Dark color without signs of age. Beautiful nose of cedar and black fruit. The mouthfeel shows the tannins have resolved and yields a creamy silky texture. Nice wine.
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Overindulgence after the Madeira (Seattle, WA): Dark color. Brooding. Beautiful structure. Mmm, this is gorgeous. Rich, chocolatey. I love the 1994 Insignia, but this is a step up. More about Cabernet personality than the sweeter, slightly oaky Insignia blend. Phelps clearly did very well in 1994.
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Cedar, and violets on the nose. Soft leathery qualities on the palate. Hollow with no fruit build up in the finish. Wine leaves the palate very quickly.
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Decanted at the table at Beaujolais in Banff. Color shows intense ruby with slight brick on the edge. Aromas of concentrated currant and sweet cherries, cigar ash, minerals explode from the glass after 40 minutes of air time. Finish is backed by a solid tannic backbone giving this years to age. If I had any, I would wait another 4-5 years where I think it will be just right. Nonetheless, a joy to drink now too.
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Tasted unblinded at Region restaurant. Bottle provided by Doug Harrigan. Bright disc. Opaque purple robe with violet rim. Clean nose, showing explosive aromas of black cherry, cassis, vanilla, tar and chocolate. Full-bodied on the palate, with low-to-medium acidity, massive ripe tannins and flavors which mirror the palate. While liberally oaked, the oak is extremely well-integrated and is accordingly complimentary rather than dominant. The finish lingers for more than a minute. Absolutely stunning, but still a "baby". This wine will definitely benefit from further cellaring and has the structure to drink well for many years thereafter. Bravo!
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4/19/2024 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 97 Points
Joseph Phelps Vineyards Spring Release Event (Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Napa Valley): Nose of rich fruit, black cherry, black currants, old time cabernet sauvignon nose, same on the palate, big body, mouth filling fruit, rich fruit, very tasty, delicious, at peak, savory, elegant, long finish, lovely finish, long, flavorful aftertaste, 2 pours. Great vintage and it shows it today!!!!
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12/22/2021 - norsktorsk Likes this wine: 92 Points
Holding up well. Up against 91 insignia magnum Backus was fav
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12/2/2018 - jcstip wrote: 93 Points
Nice pepper nose. With good tannins spicy with smoky and deep berry flavors.
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1/18/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
WineBid Tasting Event (Mandarin Oriental): Much more vibrant than the two Phelps we had before (one from 70's, one from 80's). This is piles of black fruits and something else that is a bit tough to make out in my notes. Wine was in a good spot. Very tasty.
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1/18/2018 - tomoem Likes this wine: 94 Points
Had at a spectacular WINEBID.com tasting event. Total of 39 wines tasted with an unbelievable lineup ! Bravo to Sterling Roig.
Drank from a magnum. Wildly berry laiden fruit. Much more aromatic than the 94' but not quite as melancholy as that one. More forward and aggressive. I loved this wine.
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9/29/2015 - napasoutherner Likes this wine: 95 Points
wonderful wine that took a couple of hours to truly show it's colors and flavor. First 30-45 minutes the wine was brittle and light but with a stunning nose of great things to come. Every 30 minutes following opened more and more of a beautiful bouquet of floral, earth, and light chocolate tones to the tongue. Medium finish. Very satisifying with short rib and a chocolate puff pastry for dessert.
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7/14/2012 - soyhead wrote: 92 Points
tasted blind, from magnum
nose - portlike, ripe fruit
mouth - rich sweet and sour cherry, good concentration
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5/6/2012 - sergiozy wrote: 90 Points
the fruit is great needed lota of time to open here is a wine that is very straight up could have used a touch of merlot to soften or franc to harden it is still great
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10/6/2011 - Hodby wrote: 94 Points
Dark red, some garnet. Profoundly interesting nose of hard coal dust (not experienced since childhood, not ever before in wine), spearmint, chocolate, cherry, leather. Low tannin, low acidity. On the palate, the silky structure enables the chocolate mint with cherry theme to dance in a wonderful match with a simply braised roast beef and mixed veg. Bottle #2 of two.
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8/24/2011 - WinoRick wrote: 93 Points
Balanced and complex, but not as big as they're makig them now. At its peak.
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7/14/2011 - Chateaunewf wrote: 93 Points
Drinking beatifully. Still dark butsmooth with perfectly resolved tannins. Nicely balanced cassis intermingled with sweet cherries. A long sumptuous finish. Just gorgeous.
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4/27/2011 - beezer6 wrote: 93 Points
Smoke, coal, black and purple fruit.
Some kick on the back end. Serious acidity still. Leaner on the palate as a whole.
Loved the nose, palate was a touch less impressive. Still a cool wine to sample.
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10/4/2010 - WinoRick wrote: 92 Points
This was pure California cabernet. The wine was ready to be drunk in that it had shed any tannins but was a touch lacking in acidity and a touch monolithic. A yummy wine with our steaks.
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8/31/2010 - Johann Von Mastiff wrote: 95 Points
From a magnum. Still looks really young and still purple. Lots of grippy tannins and long lush fruit.
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12/23/2009 - Alex G. wrote:
'94 vs '97 California Cabernet Sauvignon: The fruitiest of the three '94's tasted, but less structured than the others. A tasty wine, but simple by comparison. Drink this one sooner than later.
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3/15/2009 - danstrings wrote: 97 Points
Iron Chef dinner at Rob's -- showing spectacularly, what a gorgeous gem of a '94 cab! Absolutely loaded with exotic spices, dark chocolate, wonderful fresh dark cherries. Nice and sleek mouthfeel, balanced (altho there is exotic wood, integrated tho), and begged you back for sip after sip.
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12/28/2008 - mappleton wrote:
Gorgeous wine. Fully bodied and tons of black fruits. Still a bit of a baby I'm shocked to say. Well integrated tannins but plenty of hearty life left in this wine. Not sure it gets any better than this but I think it has another 15+ years of life easily.
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4/9/2007 - redforlife wrote: 92 Points
Dark color without signs of age. Beautiful nose of cedar and black fruit. The mouthfeel shows the tannins have resolved and yields a creamy silky texture. Nice wine.
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1/7/2007 - Eric wrote:
Overindulgence after the Madeira (Seattle, WA): Dark color. Brooding. Beautiful structure. Mmm, this is gorgeous. Rich, chocolatey. I love the 1994 Insignia, but this is a step up. More about Cabernet personality than the sweeter, slightly oaky Insignia blend. Phelps clearly did very well in 1994.
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4/6/2006 - jhngo wrote: 91 Points
Cedar, and violets on the nose. Soft leathery qualities on the palate. Hollow with no fruit build up in the finish. Wine leaves the palate very quickly.
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11/1/2005 - Cracker Barrel wrote:
Very good, ready to drink
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8/6/2004 - Dteng wrote: 95 Points
Decanted at the table at Beaujolais in Banff. Color shows intense ruby with slight brick on the edge. Aromas of concentrated currant and sweet cherries, cigar ash, minerals explode from the glass after 40 minutes of air time. Finish is backed by a solid tannic backbone giving this years to age. If I had any, I would wait another 4-5 years where I think it will be just right. Nonetheless, a joy to drink now too.
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12/18/2003 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 97 Points
Tasted unblinded at Region restaurant. Bottle provided by Doug Harrigan. Bright disc. Opaque purple robe with violet rim. Clean nose, showing explosive aromas of black cherry, cassis, vanilla, tar and chocolate. Full-bodied on the palate, with low-to-medium acidity, massive ripe tannins and flavors which mirror the palate. While liberally oaked, the oak is extremely well-integrated and is accordingly complimentary rather than dominant. The finish lingers for more than a minute. Absolutely stunning, but still a "baby". This wine will definitely benefit from further cellaring and has the structure to drink well for many years thereafter. Bravo!
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2/10/2002 - danstrings wrote: 93 Points
Talamonti Munich -- wow, exploding with incense, tar, smoke, purple popsicles, eucalyptus, cloves, and black cherry!
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