I'm a big fan of Phelps Insignia.
In my opinion, it helps to know why one is buying a particular wine, how it is valued in the marketplace and perhaps most importantly, why.
There is a breed of collector called a "trophy hunter."
These guys, almost 100% guys, don't just want a great wine, they also want one that is scarce, impossible to find and outside of the usual budget.
These guys are the target market for the Screaming Eagles of the world.
They only become interested in wine such as these because they are extremely highly rated by Parker, which ensures they will be highly coveted and priced accordingly.
So, they only get excited about wines that are produced in miniscule quantities, which ensures that they will be extremely scarce and that they will stand a very good chance of being one of the few who owns a bottle or two. These guys don't just want to drink great wine, they also want their wine to kick your wine's ass when they are lined up to see whose is longest.
They lose interest in a wine that is produced in quantities over 1,000 cases per year and more than 2,000 is a royal snooze to them.
The funny thing is that many of these trophy or "cult" wines are very new and have little track record for aging.
Some of them are truly great wines.
However, there are other wines, California Cabs and blends like Phelps Insignia, Chateau Montelena, Beringer Private Reserve, Peter Michael Les Pavots, Pahlmeyer Proprietary Blend, Robert Mondavi Reserve, Anderson's Conn Valley Eloge and Cabernet Reserve, Beaulieu Private Reserve, Phillip Togni, Caymus Special Selection -----
These are great wines when they get it right -- and they often do in the best vintages.
They are also highly rated by critics, but also by wine enthusiasts.
They have established a track record for producing wine that ages positively over somewhat lengthy periods 20+ years.
The catch?
These wines are made in greater quantities.
Most of the ones mentioned above are made in quantities of 7,000+ cases per year.
Even Caymus Special Selection, which makes around 2,000 cases per year is too many for the trophy guys.
So, this is a huge turn off to the trophy collectors, but a boon to someone who wants to drink great wine and can either cellar it for awhile or buy back vintages on the secondary market after someone else has aged it in their cellar.
Here's the review for 1997 Phelps Insignia -- rated 96 points by Parker
Joseph Phelps' flagship wine is their fabulous Insignia, a wine with a tremendous track record back to the debut vintage of 1974. It is produced in significant quantities (18,000-20,000 cases) for a wine of such quality.
The prodigious 1997 Insignia (83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 3% Petit-Verdot) lives up to its pre-bottling promise. Tasted on three separate occasions, every bottle has hit the bull's eye. The color is a saturated thick-looking blue/purple. The nose offers up explosive aromas of jammy black fruits, licorice, Asian spices, vanillin, and cedar. Full-bodied as well as exceptionally pure and impressively endowed, this blockbuster yet surprisingly elegant wine cuts a brilliant swath across the palate. A seamless effort with beautifully integrated acidity, sweet tannin, and alcohol, it is still an infant, but can be drunk with considerable pleasure. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2025.
Here are some amateur reviews ---
http://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?Table=Notes&szSearch=1997+insignia
You can get this wine for around $150 per bottle.
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/joseph+phelps+insignia/1997
It is ready to drink today, but I would let it sit in a cool place for a week or two after shipping.
Also, when reading Cellar Tracker, you do have to read some of these reviews with a critical eye.
For example, not to pick on Zinlady, but look at this one....
"Had blind with a roasted vegetable meal. The wine was fantastic from the first sip, dark , balanced, great body, and very long finish." 94 points
94 points is a respectable score, but -- come on -- Cabernet Sauvignon "had blind" with a "roasted vegetable meal"?
This sounds more like a nightmare to me. First, the roasted vegetables are a horrible pairing that can only serve to blunt and fight with the best qualities of the wine and why are you serving the wine blind? Are you trying to have an elegant meal with complementary flavors or are you setting up a test? A competition? What?
Take the blindfold off, save your competing wines for another day and another meal where you can feature them properly on their own, giving yourself and your guests a shot at actually enjoying them. Enjoy the fact that you're drinking an aged Phelps Insignia. The mind also wants to be tantalized. Don't make two similar wines compete. How is that going to bring out the best qualities in each?
You go to the trouble of sourcing a great bottle of Cabernet blend like a 1997 Phelps Insignia, you don't serve it with soup, salad, or roasted vegetables.
You start with a nice crisp white with those courses.
You serve the Insignia with a simply prepared, but beautiful cut of red meat and when you get to that course, you serve the 1997 Insignia that has been breathing while you were enjoying your first courses and your crisp white wine, which will set your palate up perfectly to enjoy the steak and red wine.
My two cents.
