2002 Joseph Phelps Insignia Proprietary Red Wine

Proprietary Blend - 750ML
Reg: $395.00
$339.00
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REVIEWS

WA 100 CG 96 WS 96 JL 95 NM 95 DC 94 JR 93 W&S 93 WE 92
WA 100

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, November 2013

The 2002 boasts an inky/purple color along with notes of graphite, violets, blackberries, creme de cassis and hints of charcoal and barbecue in addition to a full-bodied, multilayered mouthfeel that builds incrementally...
CG 96

Connoisseur's Guide, December 2005

...Once again showing the extraordinary combination of polish fruity depth and wonderfully rich oak that is particular to the very best of the Insignia lineup this concentrated intensely aromatic wine comes up long on...
WS 96

Wine Spectator, May 2012

Rich flavors fan out, the way you hope for, coating the palate with layers of currant, fresh earth, mineral, cedar, tobacco, mocha, black licorice and espresso. The tannins are firm and the structure built for a longer...
JL 95

TheWineCellarInsider.com, March 2012

Still young, but showing nicely, this Left Bank, Bordeaux styled blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec offers vanilla, coffee bean, cocoa, cassis, blackberry and jammy scents. Rich...
NM 95

Neal Martin's Wine Journal, November 2009

Tasted blind at St. John restaurant. A stunning Insignia with a show-stopping nose, dark and rich with black plum, cassis, liquorices and even honeyed tones developing in the glass. Full-bodied and toasty on the entry...
DC 94

Decanter, June 2021

Insignia is typically blended around a backbone of Stags Leap District AVA fruit (40% in this vintage), with Southern Napa, Rutherford, Oak Knoll and St Helena making up the balance. It spends 24 months in 100% French...
JR 93

Jancis Robinson's Purple Pages, March 2013

(18/20) Glowing blackish purple. Silky smooth texture with a little putty notes on the nose. Hint of something roasted but very much more integrated and silky than the 2001. Already broachable. Lip smacking. Pure. Not...
W&S 93

Wine & Spirits, February 2006

A luscious vintage of Insignia, this '02 has the sleek feel of fine Napa Valley cabernet. There's fragrant red berry and forest-floor character at the center of the wine, then blacker currant flavors and tannin softened...
WE 92

Wine Enthusiast, December 2005

This celebrated wine is not mind-blowing right now. It's dry, oaky, tannic and soft. There's a wealth of cassis and moo shu pork flavors, and huge new oak. Yet it holds itself back, teasing but withdrawing into its tannic...

WINE DETAILS

Color & Type Red
Varietal Proprietary Blend
Country USA
Region California
Sub-region North Coast
Appellation Napa
Vintage 2002
Size 750ML
Percent alcohol 14.4%
Closure Cork

In the late 1960’s, Joseph Phelps, a successful construction company owner from Colorado, came to the Napa Valley to build a winery for Souverain (now Rutherford Hill). Like many others, he fell in love with the region and the industry and in 1974, he completed construction on his own eponymously named Joseph Phelps Winery, just in time to harvest the first vintages of Syrah and Insignia. Four decades later, Phelps Insignia is recognized as one of the world’s great and most highly-rated wines.

Over the years, the goal of becoming 100% estate grown resulted in carefully planned acquisitions of prime vineyards in the Napa Valley. Since 2004, all Phelps wines are made from estate-grown fruit, including Phelps Insignia, the estate labeled Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier, the Oakville single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Backus’, Eisrebe, a dessert wine made from the Scheurebe grape, and Syrah from the Larry Hyde & Sons Vineyard.

Joe Phelps also had a life-long love affair with the wines of Burgundy and a desire to craft wines in that style. He found the ideal spot for the perfect combination of climate, soil and location in Freestone, in the Sonoma Coast AVA. In 1999, he began developing 100 acres of vineyards just outside of Freestone and in 2005, construction began on a new winery. Today, 80 acres of Pinot Noir and 20 acres of Chardonnay produce remarkable estate-grown wines bearing the Joseph Phelps name under the Freestone label.

First produced from the iconic 1974 vintage, Phelps Insignia is the first proprietary Bordeaux-style blend produced in California. Primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, each vintage is comprised of the best grapes from Joseph Phelps Vineyards, initially from both grower and estate fruit, and beginning with the 2004 vintage, from entirely estate-grown fruit sources. Grapes from six of the Joseph Phelps estate vineyards go into Insignia: Spring Valley Home Ranch Vineyard in St. Helena, Banca Dorada Vineyard on the Rutherford Bench, Las Rocas and Barboza Vineyards in the Stags Leap District, Yountville Vineyard in the Oak Knoll District and Suscol Vineyard in South Napa Valley.