Fairly pale straw-yellow.  Attractive lift to the aromas of mandarin orange and peach syrup; smells a bit like a particularly sweet Moscato d'Asti. A silky fruit bomb on the palate, sweet but not thick, with good grapefruity acidity giving shape to the fruit salad flavors. Finishes with very good perfumed length. Use this in place of the sorbet course.

The 2011 Joseph Phelps Eisrébe is made from 100% Scheurebe from the Spring Valley Ranch Vineyard in St. Helena. It offers succulent aromas of ripe pineapple, sweet nectar, ginseng tea and honeysuckle. Richly textured with lots of viscosity.

The savory aromatics resemble those of the Pastorale, while the richness of the fruit has more similarities with the Freestone. It all adds up to another expressive, layered Pinot.

Silky in texture, the wine has a bouquet laced with notes of attar of rose, dried cherry, and espresso. The bright acids enliven its complex flavors of fresh cherry, pomegranate, cardamom, cinnamon, and anise.

A beautifully delineated, mid-weight Pinot, the Pastorale impresses for its fabulous balance and pure personality. The 2010 is bright and focused from start to finish. Savory herbs and floral notes reappear on the finish, adding lift and finesse. It is a lovely showing from Phelps. 

This shows the power and purity of the winery's coastal Pastorale and Quarter Moon vineyards, in this cool vintage that allowed for long hang time. Although some coastal Pinots were plagued by rot, this one was not, resulting in a wine with delicious raspberry and cherry notes, accented by new French oak. It's very fine, complex and enjoyable now.

Pungent aromas of raspberry, smoke and spices. Supple, sweet and rich, with plenty of early sex appeal to the red berry, spice and loam flavors. Real California sweetness of fruit leavened by saline soil tones. Tasty already.

Bright and juicy with tangy cherry fruit and smooth texture; juicy and lively with fresh, balanced flavors; long and charming.

There is a lovely sense of energy to the attractively detailed and refreshing middle weight flavors that possess reasonably good depth on the persistent and utterly delicious finish that is sufficiently structured to reward several years of bottle age.

"... there is a brilliant balance here with all the red cherry fruit one could ask for in the wine's latter palate and incredibly long finish."

The 2010 Joseph Phelps 100% estate grown Pinot Noir sourced from 51% Quarter Moon Vineyard and 49% Pastorale Vineyard is bright and energetic. Fresh raspberries, wild berries, spices, smoke and dried floral are some of the aromas that leap from the glass. Balanced with wonderful acidity driving the fruit into the juicy finish. This is a gorgeous pinot noir that I would love to see again in a few years. 

The 2010 Pinot Noir Estate Freestone Vineyard is more fruit-driven than the Pastorale. Immediate and juicy, the 2010 jumps from the glass with layers of radiant red fruit. I would prefer to drink the 2010 while the fruit remains front and center. This supple, resonant Pinot is another gorgeous wine from Phelps. The 2010 is a blend of roughly equal parts Pastorale and Quarter Moon Vineyards.

Apricot and peach notes float on the palate in a wine defined by its insistent minerality and gorgeous focus. ... it is a beautiful, beautiful wine. Wet stone and gun flint nuances inform the finish. 

Pure, clean and focused on snappy green apple, floral, honeysuckle and mineral flavors. The sheer vibrancy gives this a unique personality, ending with a long, mineral-laced finish. Drink now through 2020.

Bone dry, minerally and brisk in mouthwatering acidity, this has subtle yet rich flavors of tropical fruit, citrus, green apple and honey. It shows real elegance and complexity; drink now - 2016.

Medium-light golden yellow color; very attractive, assertive, toasty, apple and stone fruit aromas with hints of tangerine, wet stone, and honeysuckle; medium-full body, rich in the mouth with firmly structured pear, citrus and green apple flavors and a slightly creamy mouthfeel; crisp finish; lingering aftertaste. Very highly recommended.

Silky and elegant with lovely structure and sweet vanilla oak; structured, long and ripe with finesse and style.

A bit more layered than the Pastorale, the 2010 Chardonnay Estate Freestone Vineyard caresses the palate from beginning to end. Lemon, pastry, white flowers, crushed rocks and a whisper of French oak all emerge from the glass in the seamless, totally polished Chardonnay. The aromas and flavors remain bright, focused and beautifully articulated from start to finish. This is another fabulous wine from Joseph Phelps.

The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon is beautiful. Scents of pain grille, mocha, black currants, spices and plums emerge from the deep, resonant wine. The 2010 possesses stunning textural depth and richness, not to mention phenomenal overall balance. This is a dazzling wine, especially within its price range. 

A cab with great concentration. Aromas and flavors of blueberry, plum, tobacco and vanilla. Layered flavors. Striking.

The 2010 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon shows amazing concentration and depth with layers of gorgeous ripe black cherries and dark currant which are immediately followed by spices, herbs, anise, mocha, caramel and dusty minerals. Full and rich with a wonderful plush texture and a finish that is long and supple leaving behind a coating of ripe dark fruit. A remarkable Cabernet that is already delicious and showing excellent, but will be even better after some short-term cellaring. 

This wine shows the glamour you expect from a Phelps Cabernet. It's softly tannic and rich in blackberries, currants, licorice and cedar, with a lovely structure. Nice to drink now, right out of the bottle. 

Aromas of cassis, mocha and Cuban cigar tobacco. Sweet and pliant in the mouth, with currant and black cherry fruit flavors complicated by tobacco, herbs and spicy oak. Quite suave in the middle. Finishes with firm but sweet tannins and excellent length. A very successful vintage for this bottling. 

This wine, which is from the Napa side of the sprawling Carneros appellation, is superb. It's soft, rich and chocolaty, with a rich vein of ripe blackberries, but it also has a tannic structure and dry finish that make it balanced and complex. Drink now - 2015.

This deep and expressive Syrah sourced from one of Napa’s premier growers is a broad, intensely varietal working that offers up layers of blackberries, pepper and smoked-meat complexities. It is uncannily polished for the very deeply stuffed wine that it is, and its continuous flavors keep on coming even as sizeable tannins come into play. Time is a must here, but a very sophisticated Syrah awaits those with the patience to hold it for a half-dozen years. 

Well-structured, intense and minerally, tightly wound, with dried berry, sage, roasted herb and cedar; a classy effort that is best cellared or given a long decant, as it is just beginning to ease into approachability. Drink now through 2022.

One of the most pleasurable Syrahs now on the market. Really hits the spot, with soft, lush tannins framing ripe flavors of black cherries, milk chocolate, pepper, cloves and sandlewood. 

"Enormously ripe in cherries, raspberries, cranberries and dates, almost sweet, except that it's totally dry, and the acidity is fresh and bright. A big, big wine that dazzles for sheer power..."

The 2009 Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards bursts from the glass with an exciting array of sweet black cherries, herbs, dried flowers, licorice and tar, all supported by lively minerality. This focused, beautifully delineated Pinot is first-class all the way.

Intense purity of fruit with blackberries and dried lemon skin. Dark chocolate and coffee. Full body, with a juicy, chewy and ripe palate with green pepper and jalapeño. Lovely fruit too. This with pulled pork would be mind blowing. 

A gorgeous, totally voluptuous wine, the 2009 Insignia bursts from the glass with exuberant blue and black fruit, grilled herbs, cloves and cassis. In 2009, the Insignia is silky and polished, yet there is considerable underlying tannin that needs time to soften. Layers of fruit flow effortlessly striking today, but also clearly has the stuffing to age for many, many years. 

Good deep ruby. Rich but youthfully stunted aromas of plum, currant, chocolate, licorice and mint. Then plush, fine-grained and sweet on the palate, with excellent fat and a loamy complexity to the flavors of black currant, dark chocolate and graphite. In a distinctly generous style but structured for a long life in bottle.

This wine continues a long-standing tradition, showing a mastery of the art of blending. Right out of the bottle, it's a soft, smoothly tannic wine that's rich in blackberry jam, black currant, blueberry, raspberry, dark chocolate and spice flavors. The wine, which contains small amounts of Petit Verdot and Malbec, is so powerful, it easily carries the 100% new French oak. Just gorgeous now, and it should develop bottle complexity for at least the next 10 years.

It is quite clear by now that 2009 is proving to be a standout year for Cabernet, but within the crowd of outstanding wines, this one holds its head just a bit higher. It is, as Insignia always is, a wine of exceptional crafting and polish, and yet in this outing, it seems to have an extra measure of richness and fruity strength, not to mention plenty of grippy structural tannins. There is an almost brooding aspect about it that suggests that it is not yet even close to showing all that it has, and it looks very likely to be among the more age-worthy and longest lived Insignias of recent years. Bravo!

The 2009 Joseph Phelps Insignia has an impressive dark and menacing appearance, offering intoxicating aromas of dark currants, ripe black cherries, anise, herbs, graphite and hints of crushed violets evolve after extended contact with air. Powerful, rich and densely concentrated with wonderful plush layers of intense flavors. The supple finish is long and mouth coating, leaving gorgeous dark fruits, spice and subtle chocolate flavors lingering on and on. A fascinating wine that is approachable now, but there is no reason to rush, it will certainly only get better with time. 

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard sweeps across the palate with deep, expressive layers of dark red fruit, flowers, mint and crushed rocks. It comes across as supple, perfumed and relatively accessible for this wine. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2029. I tasted a number of fabulous wines from Joseph Phelps this year. The 2009 and 2010 Backus and Insignia are still in barrel, but they are shaping up beautifully.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is a big, rich wine bursting with dark fruit. This is a fairly immediate style, some serious tannins notwithstanding. Smoke, tobacco and licorice develop in the glass, adding complexity and nuance. The powerful, fruit-driven finish is totally rewarding, but this will be even better in a few years' time.

I really like the mint and floral notes on the nose that opens up to dark fruits. Full-bodied and rich, with plums, berries, and currants. This starts off slow, then takes off with a bang. A stylish wine with wonderful potential. This will be bottled in January 2011.

The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Insignia is a towering, statuesque wine bursting with blackberry jam, tar, spices, leather and licorice. It shows fabulous depth and richness backed up by serious, imposing tannins that suggest it has a long life.

Dense and chewy... the glimpses of fruit offer tight mineral, crushed rock, graphite, dried currant, cedar and anise. Full-bodied... this needs time, but should provide years of rewarding drinking. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot. Best from 2014 through 2026.