1990S INSIGNIA TASTING - (12/5/2009-12/6/2009)
This was a tasting of Joseph Phelps Insignia from vintages 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994, with one Bordeaux (1990 Pichon Baron) thrown in for comparison. The 1990-92 bottles were acquired in one lot at auction that I split with a few friends, and the '94 and the Baron have been in the collection of another of our friends since the late 90s.
Early 90s mini-vertical of Insignias
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1991 Joseph Phelps Insignia - USA, California, Napa Valley (12/5/2009)
Nose of green pepper, black olive, some soy sauce, and some lush fruit that doesn’t show initially but comes out with air. A little Pauillac-like but something about the fruit gives this away as California. On the palate, some lush sweet fruit plus savory notes.
After 1.5-2 hrs. of air, a bit of exotic curry spice comes out on the nose, fruit grows lusher. 92-3 (93 pts.)
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1992 Joseph Phelps Insignia - USA, California, Napa Valley (12/5/2009)
Initially seemed close to the 91 on the nose (olive, green pepper, hint of menthol), but the 91 gets lusher, sweeter and more complex on the nose; the 92 softens toward coffee. Palate is balanced, but not super complex. Got better as the night wore on, with the pepper and olive elements moderating and the fruit coming out, shifting this to a slightly rounder and more enjoyable balance point. 90-91 (91 pts.) -
1994 Joseph Phelps Insignia - USA, California, Napa Valley (12/6/2009)
Easily the most hedonistic of the Insignias tasted on this night, this one wore its lush, slightly more reddish fruits on its sleeve. The nose hits you right away with that fruit, framed by vanillin oak. The overall effect is pleasing, though I could see some people finding it to have a slightly plastic, chemical edge to it. Palate is what you’d expect from the nose- seductive fruit and creamy oak. The higher sweetness in the overall profile feels like a style change compared to the 90-92 bottlings. This is in a close race with the 1991, depending on whether you prefer complexity and exotic spice, or a sexy wines that bowls you over with ripe sweet fruit, if a bit simple otherwise. This continues to improve as the night wears on, and I find myself preferring this to the 1991 by a hair for pure enjoyment, even if it’s not my favorite style usually. (93 pts.)
1990 CA vs Bordeaux flight
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1990 Joseph Phelps Insignia - USA, California, Napa Valley (12/5/2009)
Similar to the 91/92, this shows a lot of olive and green pepper on nose; some tart acidity on the palate that is noticeably different from the 91/92/94. Overall this is definitely cut from the same cloth as the 91/92 but seems to lack some of their depth and vitality. (89 pts.) -
1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (12/5/2009)
Beautiful nose of coffee, caramel, graphite, green pepper, slight bit of brett that is appealing. Palate is nice, balanced - chocolate, tobacco top notes with underpinnings of black fruits, lead pencil. The body feels medium, with some tannin still showing on the moderately long finish. WOTN for me. 93-94, but while this started strong out of the gate, bolting ahead of our Insignias, this one failed to get stronger the way some of those did; after a few hours it seemed to dip in vitality here and there, though the overall impression here is a ripe, slightly roasted feeling high-quality Pauillac squarely in its wheelhouse of maturity drinking nicely now.
Day 2 update: the roasted and coffee aromas are gone, and the graphite registers more as slate, more of what I’d expect this to taste like. Decent acidity shows too - not more enjoyable on day two, but this shows it has structure needed to last for a long time still. (93 pts.)
Night capper
After the tasting was over, my friend W was kind enough to open a bottle of 2004 SHL, not intended to fit in with the other wines of the tasting really - but a nice end to the night that, for the money/age, compared well to the more mature bottle of Pichon Baron. Reminded me that I can still drink well in my “normal” price range.
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2004 Château Smith Haut Lafitte - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (12/5/2009)
Coffee, damp mossy earth, caramel on nose. Slightly tannic at first but comes around pretty fast. Traditional- but on the riper side of 04s I’ve had. Nice - not obviously a Graves to my palate, and a bit surprised at how much the coffee/toffee elements felt similar to the 90 Pichon Baron had on the same night. This didn’t have the same kind of depth on the palate but for this wine’s price range this is perfectly enjoyable, balanced, midtier classed-growth Bordeaux. 90-91 (91 pts.)
One the whole, I found the Insignias to be solid but not spectacular to my palate. I preferred a 1977 Phelps Eisele I tasted by quite a margin - that wine had lively fruit, good earthy elements, more complexity - overall more complete than any one of the Insignias we tried tonight. As a group they were very nice, balanced, recognizably California but likely pleasing to most Bordeaux lovers too. Being a taster who generally prefers Bordeaux however, the Pichon Baron was right on for my palate, and instantly my wine of the night.
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