Byron Hewett

9.4

This is a wine that a buddy of mine and I had made at Crushpad. This is the To-Kalon Vineyard. Absolutely gorgeous. — 6 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Last night, a buddy of mine who’s a Disabled Veteran and Registered Architect, announced that he was assuming control of a SDVOSB Architecture firm. He had spent the better part of a year of trying to reach a purchase agreement. So it was an evening of celebration. He’s been a Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars fan for some time and he planned to pull the cork on a few bottles. We had a couple of rando bottles too but all were California Cabernet Sauvignon. I brought this bottle. It was part of my most recent delivery from Seavey and I was curious to try it out. Well...it was clearly infanticide. This was reductive at first and most of that blew off after about fifteen minutes. This was just so wound up. Delicious, fresh and almost crunchy fruit with a lot of structure. This was very bright compared to the Heart of Fay that preceded and just fell a touch short due to it being somewhat reticent. That being said, cellar time will be very kind to these and I would imagine this will show better down the road or with a lot of air, which this didn’t get. — 7 years ago

Rhett Reeves

9.2

Love love love. Big body. Eating Indian food at Kirma in Houston with a great buddy Nick Garcia. It’s a perfect blend atmosphere and personality, which suits this wine perfectly. — 7 years ago

Michael Herzog

9.3

Young but SPECIAL. I appreciate every bottle I have with my buddy Lim. Congrats on getting the Best of Award of Excellence at my favorite restaurant. — 8 years ago

with Kuan

Tanja Yokum

9.0

Always trying "Loup wines" to honor my buddy @CathyLoup. This "Vent d'Ange" Chablis is divine, lush minerality defined. — 9 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.3

Old school...talk about label wear!

"1989...the number, another summer...get down...
Sound of the funky drummer!"

Still in the driver seat, this is gorgeous and yes it's old but the wine blossomed after 30 minutes and now at 2 hours open its singing and going strong.

1989 Joseph Phelps "Insignia", Napa Valley

Ruby-garnet edges, a deep core of red color.

The nose started out super funky, but blew off to a nose of mature cedar, forest floor, dried red cherry and cassis. The palate is old, but like the nose gained strength with air, it gained depth and concentration. Mulled spices, red fruits, plum, cedar and red fruit skin.
#josephphelps #insignia #napavalley — 9 years ago

Jason Chang

Proprietor NINE SUNS Winery, HOUYI Vineyard

9.5

Catching up with my good buddy. Old BV never disappoints. — 10 years ago

with Mike

TwiLea Fletcher

9.2

EO talk has no place when Cherry Pie is involved. — 6 years ago

with Neal

"Odedi"

9.2

Dark ruby in color with a wide brick rim.

Strong nose of black plums, cherries, cloves, light vegetables, oak, light tar, dark chocolates, coffee, earth, leather, light vanilla, light vegetables, wood and black pepper.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity and nice legs.

Dry on the palate with blueberries, cherries, sweet raspberries, tobacco, spices, peppercorn, chocolates, tobacco, herbs, vegetables, wood, light cloves and tar.

Medium on the finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This Italian Brunello is drinking very nicely now.

Well balanced with a great mouthfeel and nice complexity. This 12 year old is peaking now.

Needs 3 hours to open up properly and show the complexity. Do take your time with it, as it is well worth it.

A very nice wine to sip on, and share with friends and talk about. Good with food as well. I paired it with a charcuterie board of meats and cheeses, and light appetizers.

Robert Parker 91 points. Wine Enthusiasts 92 points.

100% Sangiovese grapes, were aged for 24 months in Oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$85. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.6

I was fortunate enough to attend the grand tasting at TexSom this year. Talk about a Who’s Who of the wine world! Incredible environment with beautiful wines.

My first time tasting RunRig...I get what the hype is about. Plush. Dark chocolate dusted dates, bay leaf, peppercorn, licorice and a velvet mouthfeel. Wonderful. — 8 years ago

with Weston

Bret Barker

9.4

Too young I know I know but my buddy was paying. Who am I to say no? Very good wine but so tannic with deep fruit and some mineral tones but needs more time. Have to invite my friend out in 8 years and buy another bottle! — 8 years ago

Jarrod Mclendon

9.6

Bloody buddy — 9 years ago

Shay A

9.5

Had to wrangle in my focus (and give my shocked tastebuds a pep talk) after the ridiculous amount of great wine last night to enjoy some awesome champagne today at a tasting. Vintage champagne...DP on the label, hard to beat! Consistently good. Tough pairing this against a Krug though... — 9 years ago

Jim Levantino

9.2

This Pinot Noir (the t in Pinot is silent) is delectable. A true shining star. The aromatic treat starts with strong notes of red, and screams 'drink the entire bottle buddy'. Succumbing to the temptation you will discover a blissful elegance as this masterpiece flows through your body. Invigorating your inner youth, enchanting your inner sommelier, and appeasing your inner drunkard with the 16.0% alcohol by volume. This reasonably priced bottle of happiness would truly be a delight on any occasion. Additionally the surgeon general declares consumption of such a magnificent beverage could be detrimental to the growth of a child, pregnant women be warned. — 10 years ago

with Vin

Jay Kline

9.5

Last night, a buddy of mine who’s a Disabled Veteran and Registered Architect, announced that he was assuming control of a SDVOSB Architecture firm. He had spent the better part of a year of trying to reach a purchase agreement. So it was an evening of celebration. He’s been a Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars fan for some time and he planned to pull the cork on a few bottles. We had a couple of rando bottles too but all were California Cabernet Sauvignon. To my palate, this was clearly the WOTN. It was positively bursting with character. It reminded me of the Heart of Fay that we began the evening with but it was dialed up a couple notches and just had a richness and sophistication about it that indicated its pedigree. I’m still not positive that it’s worth the tariff but it is undeniably really freaking good wine. FWIW, this saw a 30-min decant. — 7 years ago

Muralee Murugesu

9.6

For a 20 year old St Estephe this Cos d’Estournel is sublime. Perfectly aged but shows a lot of youth throughout the hour opening with red fruit mixed in with leather and chalk. A good 35 sec finish. A classic Bordeaux that rocks! Kept from my Phd days ( Rodolphe this is the last one buddy) is surprisingly vibrant. happy birthday 🥳 Philippa. — 7 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.2

Girl computer Cru Bourgeois. You guys. Get into the Cru Bourgeois it doesn’t mean you are bougie (which Merriam-Webster just decided to include in their dictionary so if you don’t know what I mean...look it up), it just means you have high standards and a way with bargains. Consummate old world. It’s all like hi I’m all dark berries and black currant and violets and we’ve been having a party with our buddy tar but hidden in a pencil box because we are supes into graphite. Fuck this ink nonsense we like stones and lead. This wine is badass but it really would like some food too methinks. Earth and cassis. I’d very much like a mushroom pizza on the side. — 8 years ago

Randmaster Flash

8.9

Very delightful — 8 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Today, I get to celebrate 29yrs of being alive. Figured a while back that I'd like to have a birth year wine at some point, and with Napa not being a great vintage for 1988, I searched for Bordeauxs. Many thanks to @Mark Flesher
for helping me hunt this down!

I was astounded at how this bottle seemed to have been stored. The bottle looked pristine...unbelievable. Once poured in to the decanter, there was hardly any brown color to this wine. Still displayed a beautiful purple with slight ruby hues. At first whiff, it was still sleeping quite a bit. First taste affirmed that, though I could already tell I had nothing to worry about in terms of how it would end up tasting due to how it was stored. Earthy and fig notes up front. After about 15mins, some cranberry notes came around and the finish started improving. At about the 30min mark, this hit stride and brought some black tea and very faint hints of blackberry to the palate, with a beautiful lingering finish. This wine changed about 3 times over 30mins and showed it still has some years to it. Amazing to me how wine can sleep for 29yrs, and within 30mins, show you it's still got it. What an absolute treat!

And happy birthday to my birthday buddy @Shawn R ! — 9 years ago

with Mark

Rob Moose

8.9

Can we talk about this label? Who is this for? Anyway, this wine is a stark contrast to the 2012 Tribut. Not particularly noticing the step up in pedigree, which is maybe 2013's fault. Very tropical and soft, quite expressive but I miss some minerality. Not bummed to be drinking it though. Bus hang in Gateshead — 10 years ago

with Alex and Gabriel