Composed of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc coming from six vineyards and reared for 24 months in 100% new French oak, the 2014 Insignia Proprietary Red Wine has a deep garnet-purple color and nose of crushed blackberries and fresh blackcurrants with touches of cigar box, sandalwood, dried lavender, beef drippings and mocha plus a waft of wild thyme. Medium to full-bodied and incredibly elegant and fine in the mouth, the lively fruit is well structured by grainy tannins and seamless acid, finishing long and earthy. 14,500 cases were made.

Roughly 10 years after the vintage, the 2014 Insignia continues to drink well. Cedary cigar box aromas join ripe cherries on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is plush, open-knit, soft and accessible, with ample length on the finish. Ready to drink now and for the next decade, the blend this vintage is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec.

The 2014 Insignia is shaping up to another magnificent wine from Joseph Phelps. Vibrant and savory, the 2014 pulses with energy, tension and pure power. Black cherry, crème de cassis, smoke, graphite and cloves are layered into the super-expressive, chiseled finish. In 2014, there is no Merlot, which gives the wine a slightly more savory and tannic edge than is the norm.

The flagship wine of the estate in reds is their Insignia, which has been one of the great Bordeaux blends made in California since the debut vintage in 1974. It usually has 30+ years aging potential, even in lighter vintages, of which the 2012, 2013 and 2014 are decidedly not. The fruit-forward, luscious, sexy and seductive 2014 Proprietary Red Insignia, a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot and the rest Malbec and Cabernet Franc, displays loads of blue and black fruits, licorice, graphite and vanilla. The wine is fruit-forward, low in acidity, with a voluptuous texture, super-purity and length. It should drink well for 25-30 years.

87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec. Fruit sourced from six of their many Napa Valley vineyards with 20% from Suscol in the far south and 19% each of Bianca Dorada in Rutherford and La Rocas in Stags Leap – 36% in total from Stags Leap AVA. Aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Extraordinarily deep colour for an 11-year-old wine: almost black! A really lovely mature nose with all the, indubitably Napa, ripe elements nicely knit together. But on the end there's a slightly charred note and a little bit of heat. But a treat overall. (JR)