Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

A blend of 50% Malbec, 22% Merlot, 22% Cab Sauv & 6% Cab Franc, aged in French oak 50/50 new & 1 year old, combining fruit from Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley. Deep Ruby with aromas of dark fruit, earthy and floral spice. On the palate flavors of blackberry and tart cherry flavors, with vanilla, licorice, citrus and herb spice. Fine tannins, well balanced long finish ending with tart fruit and a sweet earthy mineral character. Nice! A Fav! — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Been awhile since I pulled out an Insigna.

The 03 Pichon Lalande is the better wine and steak pairing. However, Napa Cabernet is the choice to finish steak and enjoy on its own after. You never want to do Napa before Bordeaux IMHO. It’s much harder to adjust from sweeter to something more earthy.

Enjoyed the 05 as my score reflects. I don’t remember it being as sweet as it was in previous tastings. Still quite good. It just tipped my sweet scale a little too much.

The body is, rich, lush & round. It’s achieved good evolution after 13 years in bottle and will continue to improve over the next 6-8 years and last another 15 years. As I mentioned, the fruit was ripe & sweet. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, plums, hints of blueberries and strawberries haunting the backend. Rich, dark earth, Rutherford dusty tannins and dry soils, purple cola, touch of fresh tobacco & graphite, light baking spices of; cinnamon, dash of clove, nutmeg and vanillin, anise to black licorice, saddle-wood, used leather, dry stems, some dry, crushed rocks/limestone with red, dark, purple and blue florals. The acidity round and nicely executed. The finish was similar wire to wire. It’s, lush, rich, elegant, touch too sweet, polished, well balanced & knitted with a soft, persistent, dark spice on the long set. Very enjoyable second bottle.

Photos of; Joseph Phelps Winery & sloping estate vines, inside lounge are with views of the back side, tasting terrace and front lobby/salon area upon entering past check in. — 6 years ago

with Christina and James

Joyce Brooks

9.5

Dependable good taste! $13 H-E-B — 7 years ago

Patricia Schnitzer

9.2

Feb 11,2017. Dinner w/ J2 and Jack D. Lovely Tuscan blend. Nicely balanced. — 10 years ago

K Zuk

9.5

Old school abv of 13% and can go another 20 years no problem — 10 years ago

Michael Storey

10

Medium body, medium dark, medium malt, light yeast, light hop - perfect balance — 10 years ago

Grace Overcast

9.4

Mm mm what a treat. Felt like drinking a fine filtered cup of marigolds and honey. A fancy sip but well worth it. — 11 years ago

Reilly Brock

10

Beautiful. — 12 years ago

Maddalena de Zambiasi

9.7

Deg. Vin14. Solo 7000 bottiglie. 9.2 acidità, 228 gr/lt zucch. 11.5 alc. Pieno, fresco, con sentori balsamici di pino e menta. Particolare. — 12 years ago

Adolf Kristjansson

9.1

Smooth, 6 years, Spanish with smooth aftertaste. — 14 years ago

Marc Melser

9.4

We had the 2013 Vintage on 5/2-3/21. This was a terrific full bodied, well balanced wine. Tastes of blackberry, plum, kirsch and vanilla on the palate. The tannins were smoothed out. A great example of the Napa floor. — 5 years ago

Elaine

9.3

Amazing- great full body and tasty — 6 years ago

Jamie Durfee

9.4

Note the bottle is the 2018 Pinot which was not found in the system here yet.
All their wines are the bomb diggity! — 6 years ago

B Williams

9.2

Excellent Malbec. Had at Linger Restaurant in Denver, CO. Would buy if I could find it in Alabama. Unfortunately cannot. — 7 years ago

Narun P

9.0

58% CS, 33% M, 6% PV, 3% CF
Slightly bricked garnet red, compact rim, more red than purple.

Pretty bouquet - red cherry, dried herbal aromas, leather, tobacco, mineral.

The palate is harmonious. Integrated tannin, med plus acidity, dry, medium bodied. Showing a lot of red fruit character, animalistic, floral. Very classic Margaux-esque character.

This wine is at the perfect drinking spot. No need at all to wait. After a solid month of full bodied, extracted Napa Cab, this is a welcome reprieve! 90. — 9 years ago

Sherry McCarty

9.0

Bought direct at winery
Full bodied
Smokey, smooth
Drying fruit, forest, black licorice dried herbs cedars oak
Lingering finish — 10 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.3

Paired with Chocolate Soufflé — 11 years ago

Jessica Garcia

10

Having lunch with Greg Lambrecht, creator or Coravin system, for a baseline tasting. Will revisit in 6 months. This wine was just for drinking though. :) — 11 years ago

Craig Warn

9.7

Gift from Amy Jo for birthday. — 12 years ago

Adam Rothschild

9.2

Lovely dessert wine — 13 years ago

October Cleveland

9.2

Bob nailed it 👌 — 6 years ago

S.R.Alexander

9.2

Deep deep wine, and a little hot for me — 6 years ago

David J. H. Ruiz

10

6/27/2020: JD Tasting — 6 years ago

Cameron Jones

8.9

Nice Smooth fruit forward little tart. — 7 years ago

Gavin Baum

9.3

Third time trying this. Tightly coiled and reminiscent of young Meursault on popping the cork, with a certain reductive flintiness to its wonderfully pure Jonagold apple fruit. After being open for a couple days the wine is altogether more expressive, with creme brulee, almond, and bread dough aromas complementing its still vibrant core of orchard fruit and minerality. Strikingly rich and sumptuous for its relatively modest alcohol and lip-smacking acid structure. Given how positively it evolved and unfurled with a few days worth of oxygen, I'd lay this down for at least a couple years. Hats off. — 8 years ago

Stanislav Lobanov

9.1

(17/20) Янтарный цвет. В аромате курага, изюм, морёное дерево, йогурт. Высокая кислотность. Долгое карамельное послевкусие. — 10 years ago

Benjamin

9.0

Full bodied, Nice honey smell that follows in mouth, sweet ripe white fruit as we could expect of that kind of dessert wine. Long lasting, full of promises and rich but will be better in a few more years. — 11 years ago

Jamey Adams

9.8

Delicious!! — 12 years ago

Richard Crone

9.1

A 2004! Excellent, medium but long finish! Sagrantino is the Sangiovese of Umbria! — 12 years ago

Ryan Reeves

8.9

Wonderful Italian blend with great friends. — 13 years ago