THE PRODUCER
In 1973, Joe Phelps planted 40 hectares of vineyards on the eastern side of St
Helena. Today the Phelps family owns and farms 170 hectares of vine, spread over
8 vineyard parcels, in prime Napa Valley appellations. Before long, in 1974, Joe
had the idea to make a super-premium cuvee that would represent the finest which
his vineyards could make and as such, that same year, Insignia was born.

THE WINE

In the beginning the proportion of grape varieties comprising ‘Insignia’ would
vary, from a majority of Cabernet Sauvignon in some vintages and a majority of
Merlot in others. But from 1977 onwards, Cabernet Sauvignon was never less than
50% of the Insignia blend and gradually became the dominating variety. Over the
years, Insignia has received numerous accolades, including the 2002 vintage
being awarded “Wine of the Year” by Wine Spectator magazine, and 1991, 1997,
2002, and 2007 vintages, all receiving 100 point scores by Robert Parker.



2016 Insignia Release from Joseph Phelps Vineyards

INFORMATION
Type:RedVintage:2016Country:U.S.A.
Region:California
Sub region:Napa ValleyGrape:84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec
& 3% Cabernet FrancStyle:Bold & StructuredSweetness:DryABV:14.5%Drinking window:
2022 - 2060Size:750mlFood match:Beef & Venison


CRITICS SCORES
We choose our wines based on a range of criteria(seehow we choose our wines)of
which critic scores is justone. Rather than simply highlight the best score to
promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided
by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do
not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more
weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores
like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a92/100average critic score or
better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a
high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we
offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the
market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and
representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide
to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add
individual critic scores to our website in the future.