quicksearch
Anthony Gismondi on Wine
Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignontext
92POINTS
17/20

Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Napa Valley, California, United StatesRevisiting the 2015 Phelps is a pleasure, and if anything, it’s getting better in the bottle. The blend is a 78/15/3/2/2 mix of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot, malbec and cabernet franc coming off several Phelps vineyards in South Napa, Oak Knoll District, St. Helena, Rutherford, and Stags Leap District. It’s consumed most of the 40 percent new oak (now including 35 percent American barrels), revealing a dark, inky red with intense, sweet, black fruit. You taste the small berries and loose cluster intensity, yielding sweet mulberries, plums, anise, and dense, rich, soft tannins. It’s the layers and complexity that sets this apart from the norm, and what you pay the premium for. An impressive young cabernet clearly on a winning path for collectors. If you must drink it now, the match is rare T-bone steak but I think you should wait until 2023 before thinking about opening this gem.Tasted: 13 March 2019Tasted by: Prices:
BC$125.99750mlBCLS
AB$121.95750mlprivate wine shops
MB$151.99750mlprivate wine shops
ON$125.00750mlconsignment: Lifford Wine and Spirits
QC$116.99750mlSAQ
Producer: Joseph Phelps VineyardsDistributors: Trialto Wine Group
Lifford Wine and Spirits
Grape: Cabernet SauvignonCSPC: 651596UPC: 010465208903