83% cab
17% merlot
Smoky-fruit, cedar-like nose.
Ripe cherry fruit, detected a bit of licorice and spice. Another great effort by Phelps. Paired with braised short ribs, a very nice match.

PE, would you please share your opinion on when to drink this wine?

Gosh Board-O;
I am certainly not a judge of this but based on what I have experienced in the last 2 years with the '96, I will put my 5 remaing bottles aside and open one again in approximately 1 year. I know the age-worthiness of Insignia but I'm not sure the tannins and structure of this particular vinatge will go beyond 5 to 6 years without losing something.
I am marking mine to drink as follows;
3rd quarter 2003
3rd quarter 2004
2nd quarter 2005
1st quarter 2006
4th quarter 2007
Let me know if you think this is not justified or could be improved.
PE

P.E.: My $0.02, keep @ least 1 or 2 bottles beyond 2007. Generally speaking with this Vino, it is a 20+ year Wine, if stored properly. That is how they make it.

I did Not have the '96, but we had the '95 @ the Lake George Wine Tasting Dinner hosted by seek1. Wine Of The Night, & we had some beauties. But, it never fully opened even after hours of decanting in the decanter & Wine Glass. But, it kept getting better, & better, & better...

But, as usual, when you pull a bottle too early...it never reached its potential. It was all gone long before it even began to reach it.

Just my opinion...

I take all .02!
My only question is, have you (or anyone) had a 20 yeard old Insignia?
I live in fear of whoops! should have drank it 2 yrs ago!
PE

No, but OK...5 bottles in possession:

Hold @ least 2-3 for 10 years, so that is 2006. It will definitely make it to that. Drink & see the progress.

If tastes like it should be drank NOW, finish the last 2 bottles within a year. I'm sure Not problem there.

If tastes like it still has time to go in the Cellar...you are good to go for the next couple of years with the remaining 2 bottles.

And, on...
At least, that is my approach to this. But, personally, I hate to drink Wines "early/before their time". Especially, when I see the potential of the Wine. And, what you can get out of a Great bottle...1 day.

Thanks PE & LCC,
Insignia is one of my alltime favorites, and the question of aging them is always on my mind!. That said, my .02 would tend to side with LCC, insofar as I have recently tried the 1991 Insignia and it was marvelous. It was just beginning to show a complexity that mature wines show and still had a ton of fruit and a powerful character next to none. While I do not own any of this vintage, it still felt like it had a lot of years ahead of it.

P.E.--I understand where you're coming from, however. Insignia is one of those wines that is so fruit forward when young that the aging timetable seems to be short. Quite a conundrum, eh? (but not a bad one!)

Well... to confuse the matter further... Drink now! Had this bottle two and a half years ago and it was the best wine I had tasted at that time. The depth and power were remarkable. Had the '95 about a year ago and got an idea where Insignia is headed, if you consider the two back-to-back vintages comparable. Tannin was falling away rapidly and some secondary flavors had emerged. Overall, the '95 was sweeter and smoother than I remembered the '96, but the punch of the '96 shortly after release was the most distinctive and impressive aspect of the wine that set it apart from everything I had tasted previously - or since. I guess it depends on what you like about cali cab.

I have 1 bottle left of the '96 and I am seriously considering opening it this fall/winter with a good steak. On the other hand my mind says "be patient since you have only 1 bottle." The dilemma continues..........

IW

IW,

If I may be so bold...wait. Wait until at least 2006, and give the lovely child a decade.

I hate to repeat myself....but....96 Cal Red's are drinking great now. The 96 Insignia is in my opinion the best up to but not including 97. I had a 96 six months ago and it was spectacular. I have 3 96's left and expect to drink another in the near future. When I go in to the cellar....I salivate when I see the familiar capsule to the Insignia. The 96 BV Latour, 97 Isoceles, 93 Grange, Penfolds 707, 95 Caymus, Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz and others give me a similar rush....nothing like the Insignia. Try that sometime. Line up what you feel are your favorites....touch them and feel the emotions. Blood pressure ratings, adrenaline and pure excitement are a better judge of what you feel for a wine than R.Parker, WS or Tanzer. That is your rating. "The Pulse Rating" It would be interesting to have your blood pressure and heart beat observed while viewing your collection.

Very interesting thread! I have been fortunate enough to twice participate in verticals of Insignia going back to the first vintage ('73 or '74). Once in 1996 and once in 1998. Some comments:

1) The best releases of Insignia can indeed age well for 20 years. The '74 Insignia is one of the very best wines I have ever tasted. The '85 is right there with it.

2) Almost uniformly, Insignia achieves a terrific balance between tannin and fruit at around 7-11 years. I would only recommend aging longer in exceptional vintages or if you favor complexity and elegance over fruit and concentration.

3) I completely agree with pgardner. Every '96 Cal cab I've tasted this year seems to be very near its peak drinking window. It is a very soft, smooth, and chocolately vintage. I think PE's schedule for consumption of the '96 Insignia is spot on. If you wait too long on this wine, I think it will start to exhibit some earthy, minty flavors that (to me) signal that the wine is on its downturn. Many Insignia vintages of the 80's have this characteristic right now.

4) I am holding bottles of Insignia in my cellar going back to '89. I will try to keep at least one bottle of the following vintages around for 20 years: '90, '94, '97, and '99. The rest will be consumed within 15 years of vintage date. I have already waited too long on the '89.

Just my two cents...

Cheers,

Otis

This link the Phelps website is interesting with regard to Insignia ageability.<br />http://www.jpvwines.com/general_news_spring2002.html<br /><br />I have not tasted any of the 70’s or 80’s Insignia’s so I can’t comment on them. What I do know is that Insignia is made to enjoy upon release and to improve with bottle age. I have written many tasting notes on the 91,94,95,96,97,98,99 Insignia’s. I think these wines are 20-year wines assuming proper storage. <br /><br />The 96 Insignia is a wonderful wine that hasn’t got the press or high review scores of the 94-95-97. It’s one of my favorite wines from the 96 vintage.<br /><br />Most recently, the 94 is drinking the best out of all the 90’s Insignia’s. The 95,97,99 need much more time in the bottle.

[This message was edited by Lakersguy on Jul 06, 2004 at 06:25 PM.]

After waiting patiently I pulled a bottle of 1992 this summer (I think I have 4 more). While it was very good, it seemed to lack the big taste that I expected. I (wishful thinking?) thought perhaps it was into the dumb phase.

Interesting insights, I am still on the fence on this, I have a 20 year old CA cab to open up very soon @HighDesertWine's on the 6th. We will see how that goes....I think holding CA Cabs should be known as "shoulda, coulda, woulda"!

Jeb, I have 1 bottle of 92' left so I hope it is in a dumb phase. The 96' is still quite young and my notes from 4 months ago show that it is just starting to shed some tannin and the fruit is just beginning to show. With only 3 bottles left of the 96' I'll wait another couple of years before trying another.

1996 Insignia

Had this the other night. Bright cherry, Raspberry, and bitter sweet chocolate flavors, a very bright somewahat acidic wine. Nice flavorful finish with medium tannins. I felt this wine will improve a little over time but does not have the tannins of the 94,95,97,or 99. A really nice wine. I felt it was along the lines of the 95 rather than the 94, or 97. 91-92 pts imho. I Like them in this order 97, 94, 95, 99, 96, 98. 97 needs the most time then 94, 99, 95, 96. Couldn't tell you about the 98. Call me stupid but I love the 99 right now!

It used to be beer, the old lady, & TV. Now it's wine, American Express, & this stupid forum!

Thanks for the note on the '96, this is the only vintage of those you mentioned that I only have one bottle of. Probably will wait another year on it.

1996 Joseph Phelps Insignia

At first, blackcurrant and black pepper aromas and lots of slightly sweet blackcurrant flavor, seemed kind of "Big". Later noticed subtle chocolate notes.

After first glass or so I liked it much better, not big anymore, but seemed very light on the attack and finish while the mid-palate was excellent. Definitely not a basic wine, was excellent though not my favorite style (I like much more attack and wonder if I don't appreciate aged wines well).

Good with garlic, peppery steak. Had recently purchased from a temperature controlled area at a local wine store. Cabernet Sauvignon 87% & 13% Merlot

92 points

From California
Drank the bottle on 2/21/04
Paid $100

Nancy

Haven't tasted my 97's yet, but my favorite Insigias (in order) are:

96,99,94,95. The '99 was quite inviting a year ago with sufficient air time - smooth and complex. Agree with the comment above that many '96 Cali Cabs are at their peaks now. If you have any '96 David Arthur, Martin Ray Diamond Mt, Peter Michael Les Pavots, or Kenwood Artist, don't wait. If you have the '94 Montelena, Shafer Hillside Select, Dalla Valle, or even Beringer Knights Valley for that matter, you got time. I've had them all in the past year and I can't imagine the '96s getting any better, but the '94s I know I opened too early.

Let's roll...

I picked this up from a temperature-controlled section of a suburban Buffalo wine store for $80 last week. Decided to see how it is drinking, since I have several bottles in the cellar back home.

Decanted for 2 hours. Ebullient aromas of menthol, macerated raspberries, and herbs. A solid core of black currant and cocoa flavor, tinged with tobacco. Nice velvety texture. Still snugly gripped with considerable tannins, this will probably improve with another 3-5 years of cellar time. A very classy combination of power and finesse. 92+P

Cheers,

Otis

Thanks Otis,

I was thinking of bringing a magnum of this to Vino Vegas II, next month.

On an unrelated item, we opened the Veritas Pressings last night with smoked brisket (28 hours in the smoker, all on old cabernet barrel staves). It blew away a 91 Souvrain Cab for everyone. Great match for smoked foods, thanks again!

---------------
Santa Cruz Mountains Vintage Chart

Glad you enjoyed it tlily!

If that brisket was half as good as the turkey you cooked up last year, it must have been awesome.

Cheers,

Otis

this has a long life ahead of it. decanted for one hour, still a baby, not a hint of bricking. powerful nose, deep purple colour, overpowered the veal stew we had. if i had more, and i don't, i'd wait at least another 3-5 years. long finish. in the nose, strong berry, spice and currant. refused to settle down throughout the nite and remained as strong as on opening. decanted at 7P, finished at 10P.

will improve with time in my book.

I'm not very good with tasting notes, but had this saturday night with a marinated flank steak. The kitchen filled with a lovely flowery bouquet when we pulled the cork. Decanted for about an hour. It had a nice mouthfeel tasting of dark fruits and hints of chocolate. It's a fairly acidic wine and went very nicely with the flank steak.