Joseph Phelps has long been enshrined as a Napa Valley icon, having pioneered the concept of curating multi-varietal wine blends in Napa (most notably bringing to Napa, California, the ambition to create an American-made French-Bordeaux style blend), growing select varietals at specific vineyards that best suited particular varietals, and of course its reputation itself is bolstered by the fact that it remains one of the most established wineries from Napa where you don't need to take a 5-7 year queue on a waitlist before getting your allocated 2 cases of wines - Joseph Phelps' wines, which are completely estate grown and vinified, are much more accessible and thus serves as the likely first contact with cult Napa wineries for most who're just getting into the swing of things.

Joseph Phelps.

Who Is Joseph Phelps?

Joseph Phelps might be best known to the public for his wines, but in reality, he was foremost a construction guy. And not just any construction guy, his firm, Hensel Phelps Construction, has actual claim to being one of the pioneering builders of America - they've built key landmarks, airports, schools, bridges, hospitals, museums, libraries, and many more; some of which includes NASA's launchpad, the San Francisco International Airport, resorts for Disney, theme parks for Universal, and hotels for Hilton and the Hyatt.

After serving in the US Navy during the Korean War, Joseph Phelps had returned to the US to helm his dad's small construction business, and over the decades, Joseph would build the business into a massive powerhouse in America. And it was precisely through said construction work that Joseph Phelps had gotten himself acquainted with wineries. In the late 1960's, whilst being commissioned to help build several wineries in California, Joseph began to fall in love with the idea of starting his own winery. At the time, the wine business in California was just taking shape and still very much in its formative years. With less than forty wineries, most of whom were run not by full-time winery operators but instead deeply passionate folks wanting to produce great wines in America - the prevailing attitude then was one of "Why aren't we producing great wines here? We should totally do it!". 

From constructor to winemaker.

How Did It Go From NASA Launchpads To Winery? Bringing To Napa Valley Winemaking Firsts

And thus in the early 1970's, the opportunity came up for Phelps to purchase a 670-acre cattle ranch near St. Helena. He did it. At the time, the ranch was completely unplanted, and thus Phelps had to start the early hardwork of planting about 100 acres of vineyards. Initially he would make an attempt at planting Riesling, Gerwurztraminer and Pinot Noir, however he would soon realise that the conditions at his vineyard was not ideal for those varietals, which led Phelps to switch over to Bordeaux red varietals - this would plant the early seeds of yet another then unique practice in his mind, where he would have to fit the varietal with the vineyard, as opposed to simply planting his desired varietal with no consideration for the terroir as many then would typically do.

In the early years, Phelps would purchase fruit from local growers such as the Steltzner Vineyard and the Stanton Vineyard, with Merlot from the famed Eisele Vineyard, which he would then vinify at neighbouring Heitz Cellars, and thereafter produce a blend of, thereby helping to popularise the now common Napa term "proprietary blend" - yet another massive contribution from Phelps to the winemaking practice in Napa, wherein winemakers would make a vintage-specific blend that would pay consideration to the characteristic of the wines produce from a particular vintage, instead of producing a fixed formulaic blend or a single varietal wine. For Phelps, a blend was in his opinion a better way to create complexity and balance in wines, with process now being termed meritage.

Bringing blending to Napa.

Birth Of Napa's First Proprietary Red

He enjoyed the first cuvee he produced so much that he kept the wine in bottle for four years, unlabelled, as he wanted time to figure out what to do with it - a proprietary blend of a particular vintage, with fruit selected from vineyards that had the best terroir for the particular varietal; Phelps needed to give his creation a name for its debut. He would famously hold a contest amongst his friends and family to help him come up with a name for his wine - with the only condition being that it couldn't have the stereotypical "reserve" in it - unfortunately the only person who could come up with something that would meet Phelps' exacting standards was to no surprise, Phelps himself - he would thus call his wine Insignia, so named after the rank worn on a uniform as a mark of distinguish. By 1974, the Joseph Phelps winery was complete and the first Insignia cuvee would be introduced, although it would be kept in barrel and only bottled in 1978.

Common Wisdom Today That Maybe Wasn't So Common Back Then

Another crucial practice that was important to Phelps, and yet was quite uncommon in California at the time, was the health of the vineyards. Phelps believed, as everyone does today, that a healthy vineyard would produce the best quality fruit. And thus as early as the 1980's, Phelps had already begun practicing sustainable farming, where you'll find olive trees, fruit trees and bird boxes catered to various species of birds all around Phelps' vineyards in a bid to protect its biodiversity. Composting is also used, along with solar panels, and of course minimal chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

The Joseph Phelps winery.

With time, Phelps' ambition grew, and he had specifically wanted to expand into new vineyards that were specifically selected to be best suited for growing particular varieties of fruit. He would acquire vineyards all along the districts of Rutherford, Oakville, Stags Leap District, Oak Knoll, South Napa and Carneros, sharing the vicinity with some very equally notable neighbours. In the pursuit of producing something of a more Burgundian quality, Phelps even purchased the Freestone vineyard on the Sonoma Coast, so that he could have the ideal climate for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Phelps vineyard selections were incredibly thoughtful and intentional, and by 2004, all of Insignia's fruit has since been 100% estate-grown.

How Is Joseph Phelps' Insignia Made?

The wide range of vineyards means that Joseph Phelps has access to an equally impressive span of terroirs and climates for producing fruit of varying styles and character. Yet as early as 1977, the winery's Insignia has mostly remained a predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon led blend, with as much as 95% of the blend being Cabernet Sauvignon, and in only a small handful of vintages, does the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon dip below 75% of the blend. Merlot, Petite Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, rounds out the remainder of the Insignia blend.

To produce Insignia, the fruit is continuously harvested whenever ripe, with hundreds of harvesting runs done throughout the window. The grapes are then fully destemmed and cold-soaked before yeast is added, and fermentation begins in steel tanks separated by source and grape variety. Once fermentation is complete, the wines are filled into 100% new French oak barrels for maturation. Once the final blend is confirmed, the finished blend then matures for a full 24 months in barrel before bottling. An interesting tidbit about how the blend is composed is that the winemakers at Joseph Phelps tend to focus more on achieving a consistent mouthfeel and flavour, preferring to allow the aromas to naturally develop from the resulting blend - by allowing the aroma to freely take shape, this introduces a more pronounced vintage character in the wines.

An incredible man with an incredible life!

Joseph Phelps Vineyards Today

Having lived a spectacular life, Joseph Phelps would pass on in 2015, with his son Bill Phelps having taken reins of the vineyard's management since. If you visit the Joseph Phelps vineyards today, you'll find an incredibly polished hospitality center that features numerous private tasting rooms where different tasting experiences can be booked and are by appointment only, as well as a state of the art kitchen, a terrace for visitors to enjoy their wines and look out to the vineyards, and even lecture rooms!

And so with all that said, today we're going to try a vertical of three vintages of Joseph Phelps' Insignia - 2014, 2018 and 2021 - after which we'll end off with the more entry level Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon 2019.

Let's go!

Wine Review: Joseph Phelps Insignia 2021 

The 2021 Napa vintage was one marked by incredibly harsh droughts, following the prior year which saw the terribly unfortunate wildfires - yet testament to the fortitude of the vines and the winemakers, this somehow miraculously worked out to produce (less yield, yet) incredibly concentrated and intense fruit that carried over to the wines of the 2021 vintage, which has since been hailed as one of the best Napa vintages in recent years.

The 2021 Insignia is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec.

Tasting Notes 

Colour: Deep Ruby

Aroma: Incredibly rich and concentrated, it opens with bountiful red and black fruits of strawberries, blackberries, and at the base is more focused on cassis and tobacco. It's topped off with a good serving of vanilla sauce, altogether giving great depth and density, with quite the energy as well. It's not jammy, and instead tends towards fruit leather. There's also a mineral backbone, along with some fragrant oaky mustiness at the back. It's focused and firm, and whilst not vibrantly perfumery yet, it does continue to emerge with clove spices, tobacco and potpourri, turning more aromatic with time.

Taste: Medium-bodied, it opens up relaxed with silky yet firm tannins. It's focused and concentrated on cassis and blackberry, along with wafts of earthy tones of tobacco. Beneath the dark fruits are some brighter strawberries. It's moderately rich, with a heftier density yet it's not particularly heavy, again really concentrated. It nevertheless still feels like it could open up more, with seemingly lots more to unpack, with more richness and depth to be had. It leans largely towards dark fruits, with fine and grainy tannins. It's energetic and has a gleam to it.

Finish: The tannins continue to firm up here, giving some black tea, as well as a more overt oakiness. The earthy tones become more prominent, with more on tobacco and cloves, along with some more spices. Lingering cassis and grape skins stay on the finish.

My Thoughts

This definitely exuded presence and a great concentration on those darker fruits in particular, it felt dense and well bounded, with a good tannin structure. It's not jammy, yet is fully stacked with fruits, garnished by earthy tones, spices, minerals and florals. I particularly enjoyed how fresh and energetic it felt, delivered full and rich. That said, this is still very much a young wine at this point, freshly released not too long ago, and so it also often feels like whilst it's ready to be enjoyed already, that it's still holding on to more that can only be unveiled with time. Perhaps give it another 5 to 10 years, and it feels like we can expect to find something completely opened up, richer and ready to take us through its depth - at the moment the body in particular still feels alittle closed off, with so much potential to be bigger and fuller. 

Wine Review: Joseph Phelps Insignia 2018

The 2018 vintage was considered by Napa vintners to be an easy one, not much hassle or trouble, the weather was calm, slow-paced and relatively cool, with a fairly wide harvesting window, yet without much threat of over-ripening.

The 2018 Insignia blend featured 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc.

Tasting Notes 

Colour: Deep Ruby

Aroma: Definitely more aromatic and open here. It's heady with earthy tones of tobacco and features lots of dark fruits of blackberries. It's got great depth, really evocative stuff here. More on mulberry leaves, eucalyptus and forest floors, furthering that earthiness with an added leafy quality. With time, more on strawberries and cassis, also some graphite too. It has a chewiness of blackcurrant pastilles and black licorice, along with a mustiness of oak barrel cellars.

Taste: Really plush, superbly silky and rich, yet also incredibly cohesive. It's medium-bodied, with blackcurrants, blackberries, strawberry fruit leather, as well as more on leather, tobacco and eucalyptus. It's impeccably rich and velvety,  fully open, sensual and concentrated, yet structured, with its body fitting snuggly its frame. It has a pillowy and plush texture, with such a great emphasis on those blackcurrants.

Finish: That eucalyptus persists, joined by mulberry leaves, cooked vine leaves, as well as mulberries. It takes a more minty and herbal quality here, almost alittle medicinal, of herbal tinctures and herbal cough syrup. More on graphite and leather too. The tannins are firm but much more fine here, leading to some well-positioned texturally contrasting dryness.

My Thoughts 

This was absolutely stellar! It was completely open here, evocative, rich and demonstrating such depth and concentration of those dark fruits, balanced alongside more earthy, herbal and leafy tones, that all came together so cohesively. It also sports an impeccably plush and pillowy texture, it is velvety, sensual and moves with such finesse. It's also got great structure, with the richer and denser body fitting snuggly into its firm yet supple frame. There's additionally this wonderfully herbal quality that emerges into the finish that gives it an added complexity that was also particularly enjoyable. What a stellar and well-executed cuvee! Such harmonious complexity, plush texture, great structure and concentration - truly impressive.  

Wine Review: Joseph Phelps Insignia 2014

Yet another vintage hailed as being top class of the past two decades. Although the region did suffer from drought and even an earthquake, it's said that the overall weather has been rather forgiving for producing abundant crop. Some even claim that the earthquake had helped to open fissures that allowed the vines to tap into even deeper aquifers, compensating the vines with plenty of water ahead of the harvest, as opposed to the drought that took place earlier on.

The Insignia 2014 blend is as follows: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Ruby

Aroma: Incredibly intense and powerful aromas - there's so much earthiness here, freshly toiled soil, umaminess of dried mushrooms, even some soy sauce. There's also more on cocoa powder and chocolates. Perhaps the only fruit to be found are some blackberries concentrating at the base. This was overall very umami and earthy.

Taste: It's rich with blackcurrants and overripened strawberries, with some of that umaminess of dried mushrooms carrying on to the palate as well. Some eucalyptus in there too. It's medium-bodied, not nearly as umami as the aromas would suggest, but there's still a fair bit of it here. It's nevertheless fresh and lively, good racy acidity yet not slicing. With time it turns richer, more on those blackcurrant and strawberry, that said not all that sweet, taking on a more chiselled and detailed structure. This is on the whole more vibrant and excitable.

Finish: The umaminess makes a reappearance - more of those dried mushrooms and soy sauce here. It continues to soften with time, taking a more herbal and medicinal quality here, with more on earthy medicinal roots and herbal cough syrup. It's smooth and rich into the finish, with the blackcurrants persisting through.

My Thoughts 

This opened up incredibly umami on the nose, with that vineyard character really coming through strongly, much in line with the overall 2014 vintage of Napa's - really not all that much fruit this time around. I do find that it can be a touch overwhelming, yet it seems that some of my fellow peers who were tasting it with me had found that umami character particularly enticing! On the palate, that umaminess fades (before making a reappearance on the finish), and instead takes a more balanced quality. What stood out most on the palate was that bright and lively acidity that gave it much brilliance and vibrance, and even as the fruits showed up, giving it some added richness, it continued to remain fairly dry, with an expressive and more grown up and more chiselled and detailed structure. The finish took an interestingly medicinal turn, with more of that umaminess returning, as well as there being more of that earthiness of medicinal roots, once again calling out to that vineyard character. An incredibly eclectic vintage to say the least!

Having Tasted A Vertical Of Joseph Phelps Insignia's...

Each of the three vintages were said to be impressive harvests for Napa in their respective years, and each definitely showcased a massively different profile from one another, which is testament to the wide ranging vineyard terroirs that the winery has access to, as well as its practice of producing a proprietary blend in respect to the character of each vintage. A very interesting and eye-opening experience it was! For me, the 2018 was my favourite, being one that was into its peak, completely open and evocative, with such great richness, complexity and expressiveness. Also it simply nailed my favourite profile of a Cabernet dominant red, very, very tasty. The 2021 was still alittle premature (not a surprise!) yet definitely showed potential, whilst the 2014 was alittle too funky and umami for me.

Wine Review: Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Finally we come to the Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon - this is the 2019 vintage. This is designed to be abit of a "baby" Insignia, also very much a proprietary blend that's made to measure for each vintage, yet at the same time this is designed to be more of a gateway, entry-level step into the Joseph Phelps range. The 2019 vintage is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, 1% Malbec.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Darker Brownish Ruby

Aroma: A moderate richness here, certainly more lean and clean, with less of that sweetness too. It opens up to strawberries and forest floors, alittle bit of cumin spices and curry leaves. Here it's fresh and bright, yet also less in the way of richness.

Taste: The body does bring more richness here, with an assortment of strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, blackcurrants, it's more brambly here, with more on berry jams and fruit leather. The acidity here is bright, with also an accompanying contrast of earthiness of soil, leather and tobacco. It again leans rather dry.

Finish: More on eucalyptus, mulberry leaves, mulberries. It's more grainy in its tannins, more on grape skins, with a tightening of the tannin grains. It recedes into raspberries, along with tobacco and clove spices.

My Thoughts 

This strikes me as being very classically Bordeaux stylistically - it's got that mix of bright and dark fruits, as well as that earthiness of soil, and that aromatic quality of tobacco. That said, I found this to be much more disciplined and controlled in how it expressed itself - it's bold and definite, with a strong character and flavour that showcases itself very precisely and with great concentration. It's much more concrete and solid in its flavours, trading off being heady and evocative, and with a very clean and well-defined structure. I do however wish it were richer, more relaxed and presented more depth. There's also that interesting bit of cumin and curry leaves on the nose that stood out as well. This was very enjoyable, and could easily go head to head with your standard Bordeaux - heck, I might just prefer this more!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot