2018 joseph phelps, insignia, napa valley (3L)
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Why We're Buying
Investing in 2018 Joseph Phelps Insignia means investing in history. First released in 1978, Insignia was California’s first blend of traditional Bordeaux grapes released under a proprietary name. (Up until this point, most California wines were a mix of low-quality mission grapes and field blends.) Phelps’ meticulous craftsmanship and uncompromising standards were met with widespread acclaim. In 2005, Insignia even won Wine Spectator’s “Wine of the Year.” The 2018 vintage continues the tradition of excellence in classical style. Cassis, black currants, graphite, tobacco, and cocoa unfurl from the nose with the full body and regal structure evoking first growth Bordeaux. Add in balance that rivals that of Simone Biles, and it’s easy to see why wine critic James Suckling praised the vintage as “one of the best Insignias ever.” The Final Sip: Own a piece of history that holds its own against modern heavyweights.
Critics Scores
Jeb Dunnuck
Very much in the style of the vintage with its pure, concentrated, yet also elegant and focused style, the 2018 Insignia offers up a vivid purple hue to go with lots of red and blue fruits, menthol, tobacco, graphite, and distinct minerality. With an almost Bordeaux-like style, medium to full-bodied richness, present tannins, and a great finish, it's a beautiful, classic Cabernet Sauvignon blend from this team that's going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for two decades or more.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Insignia is a blend of 87 Cabernet Sauvignon, 8 Petit Verdot, 3 Malbec and 2 Cabernet Franc. The vineyard sources this year include: 30 Las Rocas (Stags Leap District),18 Yountville (Oak Knoll District), 13 Banca Dorada (Rutherford), 18 Suscol (South Napa Valley), 14 Home Ranch (St. Helena), 12 Las Rocas (Stags Leap District), 7 Barboza (Stags Leap District). It was aged for 24 months in 100 new French oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes storming out of the glass with powerful notes of blackcurrant cordial, stewed black plums and boysenberries, plus hints of cedar chest, graphite, menthol and wet slate with a fragrant waft of clove oil. The medium to full-bodied palate already demonstrates remarkable balance at this youthful stage, featuring a firm backbone of fine-grained tannins and bold freshness to support the tightly wound, crunchy black fruits, finishing long and spicy. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown
James Suckling
Blackberry and black chocolate with mint, conifer and clove. Sweet tobacco, violets and flowers, too. Some graphite. Cool and complex. Full-bodied with ultra fine, dusty tannins and a wonderful, extremely long finish. Savory and refined. A classic-styled 2018. This needs time, but is so approachable and gorgeous. One of the best Insignias ever. Alive and changing all the time. 40 Stags Leap AVA. 87 cabernet sauvignon, 8 petit verdot, 3 malbec and 2 cabernet franc. Leave this for five or six years, but so wonderful now.
Wine Spectator
This is richly layered, with cassis, crushed plum and blackberry puree flavors moving through slowly but steadily, while warm earth, ganache and black licorice notes follow along. Picks up a tarry edge on the finish as the fruit takes an encore. For fans of the muscular, fruit-driven style. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2036. — J.M.
Region Summary
Napa Valley’s meteoric rise began in 1976 when it upset Bordeaux and Burgundy in a blind tasting. The victory vaulted Napa into superstardom, cementing it among the most prestigious wine regions in the world. Today, Napa’s cabernet sauvignons and chardonnays - with their mountain of 100-point ratings and limited production - represent the new frontier for fine wine.
Why We're Investing
With all due respect to other New World wine regions, none are more investment-worthy than Napa Valley. Part of that is Napa’s idyllic climate that winemakers consider a Goldilocks zone for viticulture. Part is the cutting-edge winemaking culture devoid of centuries-old rules and regulations. Most of all, though, Napa Valley proved that great wine can come from anywhere, not just Europe. That epiphany occurred on May 24, 1976. Two wine merchants had set up a blind tasting that pitted top California red blends against blue-chip Bordeaux and California chardonnays against white Burgundies. Up until this point, no one thought that Old World wines had an equal in the New World. But when the scores were tallied, Napa Valley proved victorious. This watershed moment shifted the fine wine world on its axis. It thrust Napa Valley into the global spotlight and set the stage for the future broadening of the market. As wine historian Oz Clarke put it: “California was the catalyst and then the locomotive for change that finally pried open the ancient European wine land's rigid grip on the hierarchy of quality wine and led the way in proving that there are hundreds if not thousands of places around the world where good to great wine can be made.” Napa Valley parlayed that success into a cult wine revolution. Pioneers like Joseph Phelps, Dominus, and Harlan Estate began producing small-batch wines (fewer than 600 cases per year) with feverous demand. Add in 99 and 100-point scores from top critics and word-of-mouth hype, and prices for these cult cabs reached stratospheric heights. No winery better exemplifies this trend than Screaming Eagle. The unassuming Oakville estate was largely unknown outside Napa Valley until 1995. That year, wine critic Robert Parker awarded the debut vintage a 99-point score, transforming it into an instant cult icon. A few years later, Screaming Eagle’s inaugural vintage sold for a then-world record $500,000 at auction.
What's the Latest
Watch out. Napa Valley is on a roll. The region has strung together multiple exceptional vintages, most notably in 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2018. The fine wine markets have reacted accordingly. Over the last five years, Napa Valley ranks as the third-best-performing wine region, narrowly edging Italy (47.2 to 45.9). That upward trajectory is still going. The Liv-ex California 50, an index that tracks top regional wines, reached new all-time highs in 2021 and 2022. Napa Valley has enjoyed rising prices thanks to its expanding distribution network. In 2004, Opus One became the first Napa Valley wine to distribute exclusively via La Place de Bordeaux - a renowned system of merchants that sells the most in-demand wines worldwide. Since Opus One’s debut, others like Inglenook and Joseph Phelps have joined the fold, helping Napa reach a global audience while boosting sales for La Place merchants. Meanwhile, California has seen its share of the secondary market grow from 0.1 to 7.1 over the last decade. That’s the highest percentage of market share of any region outside of France or Italy.
Looking Forward
The secret to Napa Valley’s future may lie in its past. A number of wineries are taking inspiration from the Old World with classic, terroir-driven wines as opposed to hedonistic behemoths meant to appease select critics. Some Napa Valley estates like Dominus, Opus One, and Pym Rae even have French owners, allowing consumers to truly enjoy the best of both worlds. Napa Valley’s secret weapon is the terroir itself. The region has 16 American Viticultural Areas that contain half of the world’s soils, making it more diverse than any other investment-grade wine region. This viticultural playground stretches from windswept flatlands to gentle rolling hills to rugged mountains, giving producers boundless creative freedom to make the next great American wine.