Which Phelps Insignia will age better: 1999 or 2001?

Brandon_R · February 22, 2016, 9:22pm

Thanks a bunch, Drew. I posted the question here specifically because I’d bet that this group, collectively, has far more wine experience than most I’d get if I called Phelps myself.

NED_VALOIS · February 22, 2016, 9:22pm

'01 is a better wine , now by far .

johngonzales · February 22, 2016, 9:31pm

My wife’s sold Phelps since before the 99 released. She’d tell you to cellar the 2001 and drink the 99. That said, if you get beyond the front desk at Phelps, the educators there are VERY savvy.

Dennis_Kanagie · February 22, 2016, 9:54pm

johngonzales:

ATaylor:

We drank a 99 Beringer Private Reserve on Saturday night. While a very nice bottle, I would say that it is either at its peak or slightly declining from. The wine was great on the nose with cedar, cassis and leather but certainly did not evolve in the course of the evening.

This one of the 99s that I referred to. I’ve been disappointed with 99 Dominus as well. The 99 Beringer PR is just not a good vintage for them, and they knew it from the release. I have had a bunch and while it is drinking ok, it has not aged well and there is no reason to keep them. 99 is odd in that the growing season, unless I’m mistaken, had pretty good weather. It definitely wasn’t a super ripe vintage but it wasn’t cold. Upon release the wines were touted as having the tannin and acid to age well.

Of the usual suspects from my cellar over the last 5 years, I can’t recall any 1999 Cabs I wanted to backfill. Caymus SS, Arrowood RS, Silver Oak, and Shafer were all lesser wines than their cousins from 1995 and 2001.

rick_m · February 22, 2016, 10:18pm

had both '99 and '01…i will go with '01

Brandon_R · February 22, 2016, 10:37pm

Great advice, All, thank you. I plan to age a mag of 2002 Montelena Estate for the same reasons (not the ideal vintage, but found a great price several years back). The 2001 it is!

Ken_Kailin · February 23, 2016, 3:24am

Had the '99 from Mag for Super Bowl, drink up. Good, but lean and dry, more acid driven then fruit driven. Good, but not great.

David_Rudd · February 28, 2016, 11:47pm

I had the 199 Phelps Insignia from a 750 last night and it was lovely. Upon opening, there was a little funkiness that blew off in a matter of minutes. And for maybe 15 minutes the nose and the taste were somewhat muted, but after that it really blossomed.It was fresh and balanced with a dark berry flavor. Over the course of the two hours we had with it, it would get a little spicier, then a little more floral, but the blackberry/blueberry flavor was front and center the entire time.

This is not a wine to age. It is ready right now, maybe just past its peak, and it will last a few more years, but it really should be drunk up now. 93 points

Steve_Matthesen · February 28, 2016, 11:59pm

2001 is likely to be the one you want. But even better, find a 1994. They are available at auction. A really nice wine. Why wait to age the wine when someone else has already done it for you?

K_John_Joseph · November 4, 2016, 3:50pm

I had the 1999 Phelps Insignia last night. It was a really lovely bottle of wine. I did not find the wine lean and dry at all. I was actually surprised at how well it was drinking. It was medium bodied but loaded with fresh black cherry and was drinking quite young. I felt the wine’s focus was the black cherry notes, with hints of savory, sage, and fading french oak notes that rounded out the wine. The tannic structure is faded, but the wine is still well balanced. I found it very enjoyable and generous, and in the 93 point range.

P_Soals · November 4, 2016, 5:26pm

Near and dear to my heart, the 99 Insignia was my “Ah ha” moment in wine on my Honeymoon, at Phelps, in 02. That being said, I think the wine probably peaked 3 or 4 years ago. Drank my last one (a Magnum) about 18 months ago, and we felt like it had peaked. Over the course of a long meal the wine evolved, but never put on weight, just began to show signs of becoming an older Cali cab…some people love that. The 2001’s seems to have just shed their baby fat, and have a very long life ahead of them (Wish I had more than the 3 I do), and the 2002’s are also going to age well for years to come.

Blake_R_Maso · November 4, 2016, 11:01pm

Buy two more, drink those two. Store the originals.

While you can’t ever be sure, the expected value of the 01 being the correct choice greatly exceeds the 99

NED_VALOIS · November 4, 2016, 11:23pm

01

Mark_Golodetz · November 7, 2016, 1:49pm

johngonzales:

Howard Cooper:

Older Insignia aged fabulously. But, I don’t think more modern vintages will. Certainly sone Insignias I had from the mid 1990s seem to be lasting more than developing. You won’t get a wine that goes over the hill, but you also won’t learn what a mature California cab will taste like. IMHO, sell the Insignia and buy some aged Monte Bello or Montelena. These will not be popular views with the many Insignia lovers on this board, but it is my view, backed by the fact that I sold my 1994, 1996 and 1997 about a year ago. Does not make me right, but I am telling you my view.

I certainly respect the opinion and, knowing a bit of your drinking preferences, it’s understandable.
That said, this might be one of those cases where each person’s preferences qualify the applicability of their opinion. Though indeed, all opinions and data points are worth hearing. Assuming that the o.p. enjoys Insignia released within the past 20 years, following your path might do him wrong. I think the 94, 96, and 97 Insignias aged very well. I haven’t had the 94 in a few years but have had the 96 and 97 within 18 months. The 96 was excellent and the 97 was fantastic. I have actually been a bit disappoint in some other 97s at the 15+ year-mark, but not the Insignia. I happen to also like aged Montebello and Montelena. If the question would be which wine would be better at the 25+ year mark, I might agree that Montebello, Montelena (or Dunn) would be better choices. Personally, liking the profile of Insignia, I think excellent vintages do fine and develop some complexity. They are always going to be more primary than something like Montebello or Bordeaux but for a Cal Cab lover make for excellent drinking.

So the 99 showed well the other night, but not great. It was in some pretty tough company of mostly French wine. Interestingly, the 07 Clos de Papes, blew it out of the water in the battle of ripeness. I’ve come to the conclusion that 99 just wasn’t a vintage I prefer in many of my favorite cabs. The wine wasn’t over the hill at all and still has plenty of fruit and depth. We didn’t decant it, and maybe we should have. It just wasn’t better than an average vintage Insignia. In this wine, I would agree that perhaps there isn’t enough acid to make it strong at the 20+ year mark. The 2001 has the fruit and the backbone. I think IT is a wine that will be excellent at age 20 and maybe 25.

I am in total agreement with Howard here, I have had several Insignias from 1994 and after, and was struck by the fact that they had softened with time, the tannins were easier the fruit softer, but the wines seemed remarkably simple for an aged Cabernet. The two bottle flight of 1994/1995 I had a month ago was disappointing, and I saw little point in giving either much more time.

That being said, there are plenty of people who will like the mature versions of these wines, but these are not the old style Cabs mentioned by the OP. If you are wanting to get that kind of wine, there are some good suggestions here. I would add Togni, which seems to age nicely.

Victor_Hong · November 7, 2016, 6:16pm

A UK political journalist and I went to Cafe China last night, and I opened a 1999
St. Supery Rutherford Limited Edition. It was spectacular.

I tend to agree with Howard Cooper. The reserve bottlings of many California
wineries are overpriced versus what non-reserve bottlings can deliver for
MUCH less money. In this exception, the reserve bottling was not overpriced.