Beth Petros

8.9

Very good, tasty and easy to drink. 2019 — 8 months ago

Nathan Renfro

9.5

My first bottle of the ‘16. This is drinking really well right now, and I can’t wait to see it in 10 years. Fruit is ripe, tannins are tight but approachable. Black and red fruit. Acidity still strong but also approachable. Overall well structured and integrated. Just gonna get better with time, but like I said, it can be pnp, but with patience it’ll be fantastic. I agree with WS 95 rating. — 9 months ago

Lina Freitas

9.0

Fruity, deep and complex. Light enough to drink on its own, but strong enough to go with a lamb dinner — 4 years ago

Michael Chelus

9.0

Blackberry, cassis, mocha, vanilla, licorice and oak. Great structure and moderate tannins. — 5 years ago

Makoto Someya

9.0

Elegant and fruity with vintage taste. Still have a bit strong acid. @4500, Evax-XGanbei, 170821 — 7 years ago

Stuart Sutton

9.6

This tastes more like a Bordeaux to me than a Cab from Napa, but it is so excellent that I'll let it slide. This is a full bodied wine with strong oak, leather, smoke, and honestly a hint of tree bark (in a wonderful way!) This is close to a perfect wine. Buy all you can. — 7 years ago

John W

9.0

2007. Deep purple coloration. On the nose cherry, plum, oak and vanilla. On the palate tobacco, oak, cherry, high tannins after 8 years. Can age much longer. Short finish strong tannins overpowering. — 8 years ago

Ocie Sharp

8.9

Ocie had this 9 years ago

Scott Sigel

9.1

Strong, black cherry flavor in there, nice strawberry smell. 2010 vintage — 9 years ago

with Julia

Andrew Bros

9.7

Extremely smooth. Strong cherry and blackberry with some oak flavor. — 11 years ago

Heather Robinson

8.9

HWT - delicious full flavor, went well with spicy red sauce. Steep at $78 though — 9 months ago

Sony

9.2

Wow what a generous gift which retails for more than $250. Definitely less nose than expected but super complex! Regarded as one of the finest bottles available on the market today, we were nervous to drink it. That said, the 13 years in the bottle give it a strong alcohol start but finishes smooth and complex. — 9 months ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

From a great old looking bottle with a mid shoulder fill. Cork is fully saturated and the crud under the capsule had formed a strong seal. Slow-ox’d for a few hours, then decanted for an hour or two before taken to L’Escargot in Carmel. Amber tawny rims with a reddish tawny core. Crazy nose right from the start. Notes of sweet black cherries, tobacco leaf, plums, black pepper, ash and crusty wood, pencil shavings, some just unwrapped cigar and some menthol. Silky in the mouth with firm structure and soft but present acidity. Long and memorable finish. Outstanding performance over several hours. — 4 years ago

Bobby Carrillo

8.9

2011- 1 hour decent. Strong nose with a taste of coffee and wood. Waited another hour and drank perfectly fine. Not the greatest year but still good and will buy again. — 6 years ago

Jon Hanlon

9.0

Very nice. Fresh and crisp. Had it with shrimp scampi — 7 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 — 7 years ago

RJ McArthur

8.9

To fruity to be a 9.0, but close. Spicy finish is very nice but passes quickly. Strong and pleasant on the nose. Definitely worth a try. 2013 vintage. — 9 years ago

Matthew Grimm

8.9

Strong cherry taste, very nice. — 9 years ago

Rob Gardner

9.5

Strong vanilla tones. — 11 years ago

Patrick Dolan

9.3

Slight vanilla and crisp smell. Some pear too. Taste has some bitter and sour notes but malactic makes it a little smoother. Minerally. Better with food. Had butter garlic clams. — 11 years ago

Jess

9.0

Pale straw color.
Aromas of herbal, citrus.
Dry. Flavors of lemon, green snap peas, honeysuckle.

Intensity: 4/5
Complexity: 1/5
Balance: 5/5
Finish: 4/5 — 9 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Opened about two hours prior to service and allowed to breath. Two bottles were opened tonight from the same cellar and both corks showed some saturation but only through the first 1/3. No formal notes. A blend of Gaja’s 14 single-vineyards, 1997 “Barbaresco” pours a fairly youthful looking deep garnet color with moderate signs of sediment. The nose was initially shy but opened with air and revealed beautiful aromas of red and black fruits, tar, red and pink flowers, leather, dried earth and minerals. The structure is still going strong at 26 years young and I would still place the the tannins in the medium+ category. The finish is long and full of savory minerals. While I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the cork at this stage, these will be a joy to drink through 2037. This was a sublime paring with agnolotti stuffed with sweet corn, porcini and taleggio and a lot more of a classic representation of Barbaresco than I was expecting. Bravo! — 10 months ago

Paul Robson

9.1

Slight scent from the chin, nice deep hearted aroma when brought to the nose. Not super dry but not sweet either. A bit in the middle. Pretty tanny but not so much to leave the mouth super dry. All around a solid choice. — 5 years ago

John Butcher

9.0

Wonderful wine, great fruit in the beginning with a subtle sweetness on the finish. — 5 years ago

Oscar Aparicio

9.3

Very fruity on the nose. Strong notes of cherry, blackberry, and blueberry. Very bold and juicy but has a very smooth and elegant finish. — 7 years ago

with Emily

Charles (Chad) Bucklin

Owner and founder of C. T. Bucklin Wine Advising

9.5

Just a special experience. The nose was powerful and dynamic evolving beautifully over 30 minutes. A smokey phase, a pine phase, and a strong floral phase. The palate was balanced and smooth. The fruit was dead but resembled fruit leather. Two bottles opened, one had grip left, the other didn't. #moutonrothschild #grandcruclassé #2ndgrowth #bordeaux #pauillac #1928 #ctbucklinwine — 7 years ago

Marci Veronie

9.2

Delicious!
— 9 years ago

Gerry Schwartz

9.2

Still has strong fruit but wonderfully balanced — 9 years ago

Nick Boulas

9.8

Very fruit forward. Nice black cherry and tobacco notes. Hints of olive — 10 years ago

Patrick Dolan

9.7

Smell of cherry oak and vanilla. Very smooth taste and finish. Touch of acidity and well balanced with nice longer finish. — 11 years ago