My aunt’s birthday called for a celebratory wine; I was lucky enough to enjoy the 2003 30th Anniversary Joseph Phelps Insignia while out to dinner at Farm in Carneros.  First produced in 1974, Insignia was the first proprietary Bordeaux-style blend produced in California.  A blend of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Malbec, this wine was smooth and rich, a beautiful dark ruby color, I’m afraid I dove right in and forgot to take a picture but it really was so pretty!

The mouth was everything I love in a Napa Cab; fruit forward, luscious mouth-feel, long smooth finish, and while there are still some tannins, they were not over-powering.  That being said, I think there’s still many good years ahead for this wine.  While this wine may be a bit above my everyday budget, it truly was a treat and rounded out our celebration dinner nicely!