1974 Joseph Phelps Insignia

Community Tasting Notes (11) Avg Score: 96.9 points

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  5/1/2024 - Cailles wrote: 97 Points

  23x California 1974: Do the legendary 1974s still hold up? The answer is a resounding YES, and not just for one or two top wines, but across the board. These best wines showed incredible complexity, with still vibrant fruit cores perfectly complemented by layers upon layers of tertiary aromas, a fully intact structural frame, stature, poise, and freshness. While many of these wines should continue to age well, I don't expect them to get any better than they are now. The top wines in the tasting were the Mondavi Cabernet and the Phelps Insignia (both 97pts), the Mondavi Reserve and the Mount Eden (both 96pts), and the Ridge Monte Bello (95pts). Many more wines scored in the 90-94 point range. I'm convinced that many wines would have scored even higher in a different tasting setting, where you can follow the wine over the course of an evening. Only 5 of the 24 bottles showed signs of weakness, with 1 of those already oxidized, but given the substance that could be tasted underneath, this is more likely due to weak corks or poor storage than anything nature delivered this year. All the wines had very good fill levels and had been quickly double decanted before tasting to remove the sediment.
  
  TN: Dark and dense with a strikingly mineral and potent dark berry profile, this 50-year-old wine impresses immediately. The palate is mature, adorned with fine leathery notes and a delightful sweetness of fruit, enhanced by caramel and malty nuances. It exhibits superb balance—smooth and rounded, with no sharp edges, though it slightly lacks mid-palate density. Nonetheless, its sweetness, maltiness, and elegance make it one of the standout wines in the tasting.

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  2/2/2024 - G_H wrote: 98 Points

  A 1974 Napa Retrospective (Zunfthaus zur Waag Zürich): Incredibly dense and opulent nose, black fruit, plums, soy sauce, malt, caramel, dense and long. A stunner!

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  10/16/2022 - Wine Kat Likes this wine: 96 Points

  I’m in awe and this can still go a few years in my opinion. Deep red color with just a hint of brick on the edges. Nose was cedar and lovely herbs. Mouth still had bright fruit but gave away to leather and tobacco with an amazing hang time. A truly amazing wine and indicative of Napa 40+ years ago.

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  6/26/2020 - Glaso da Vino wrote: 98 Points

  Wow, just wow... Red peppers, red fruit, leather, its soft and caresses your toungue. This wine helps me understand why I love wine. The tannins are soft, the fruit is still very much there. Its a surreal experience to drink wines like this. We thought it might be a 90’s wine. 1970’s California in all it’s glory. The best wine of the day and an amazing example of what evolved, bordeaux style wines could be from California.

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  11/21/2013 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: flawed

  With much hope and anticipation, this first vintage of Insignia was tasted as part of an Insignia mini-vertical. Sadly, this particular bottle, while drinkable, showed signs of heat damage and maderization.

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View all 11 Community Tasting Notes

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