Phelps Insignia - 2002 (750ml)

The 2002 Insignia (a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec) is performing even better than it did post-bottling. A cross Napa County blend of some of their finest vineyard sources, it offers a super-sweet nose of creme de cassis, charcoal, incense, cedar and forest floor, full body and silky tannins. It is one of the few Napa Cabernet Sauvignon blends that is world-class, capable of 30+ years of cellaring, and made in abundant quantities (between 8,000-15,000 cases). I remember tasting the 1974 Insignia in the late 1970's and stating that it would need to be drunk in its first 5-6 years of life. Wrong. That wine, which is now 38 years of age, is still a beauty!
Robert Parker - 98 points