2011 Insignia

Wine Details
Place of Origin

United States

Napa

Color

Red

Grape/Blend

82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec, 2% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc

Reviews & Tasting Notes

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Drinking Window

2021 - 2031

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2020 - 2032

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2017 - 2031

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This is a very strong set of new and upcoming releases from Joseph Phelps and winemaker Ashley Hepworth. The 2011s are strong, the 2012s capture the personality of the year, while the 2013s are shaping up to be superb.

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Two thousand eleven was the first time that the team here had to sort their Freestone chardonnay, owing to the cold, damp late-season weather, said director of winemaking Damian Parker. "And it's a good thing 2012 brought good conditions because we had full, tight clusters and rain would have been brutal." Parker rates 2009 and 2012 as the best recent vintages for pinot at Freestone and considers 2013 outstanding for chardonnay. The top 2011 cabernet-based wines here are not particularly fleshy by Napa Valley standards but offer noteworthy energy. Winemaker Ashley Hepworth compared the 2011 Insignia to the 2005 at the same stage, but noted that the 2005 was riper.

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2017 - 2031

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Winemaker Ashley Hepworth has done a fabulous job with these new and upcoming releases, especially the 2011s, which are superb. In 2011, Hepworth shortened macerations by about five days relative to the 2012s, all of which saw longer periods of skin contact. Since 2009 Phelps has moved to only estate-grown fruit, which is a huge commitment to quality for a winery operating on this scale. For more on Phelps, readers might want to take a look at this short video shot with Hepworth during the 2013 harvest.

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Director of winemaker Damian Parker described 2011 and 2010 as "two small, tough vintages" for the winery's Napa Valley reds, "2010 with more fruit and 2011 more elegant but closed today." The team here also finds similarities between 2010 and 2009, although Parker says the former vintage is more sappy, while the '09s are more serious. As for the Phelps family's Freestone venture in the Sonoma Coast appellation, which was brought under the official Joseph Phelps umbrella as of the release of vintage 2009, Parker says 2011 was better than 2010: "We had less botrytis in 2011, and at least during the early part of the harvest the fruit was very healthy. The 2010 chardonnays are very fruit-forward, while the 2011s are more citrussy and minerally."

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2016 - 2026

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Winemaker Ashley Hepworth has done a fabulous job with these new releases. While most of the attention at Phelps centers around the flagships Insignia and Backus, over the last few years I have been equally impressed with the straight Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that delivers tremendous bang for the buck. In addition to these wines, I also tasted a few Syrahs from the 1970s. Today, Phelps is known for their Cabernet Sauvignons, but it is also worth remembering Joe Phelps was the first grower to introduce Syrah to the Napa Valley several decades ago.