Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1991
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Vineyard-designating a wine implies the presence of aroma and flavor components distinctive to the site where the fruit is grown. Because of it unique combination of soil composition and site exposure, the Backus Vineyard is among that select group of California vineyards worthy of special designation. Over the years, this ruggedly unique parcel has turned out a series of remarkable wines, distinctive for their exotic flavors of berry, mint and chocolate. The 1991 release is packed with fully-developed fruit flavors and extract.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Joseph Phelps' 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon releases all have been immensely impressive. The Backus Vineyard offering exhibits an opaque purple color, and a huge nose of cassis, mint, licorice, and toasty oak. Full-bodied, with great flavor extraction, this wine possesses an inner-core of fruit, lovely suppleness from the sweetness of the tannin, and a long, rich, authoritative finish. It can be drunk now as well as over the next 10-15 years.
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Wine Spectator
A bare-knuckled, hard-edged, dark and inky wine. Packed with chewy, tannic plum and cherry flavors. This is big and powerful, probably needing a decade to mature and soften. And even then it will be on the brutish side.
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Joseph Phelps Vineyards is a family-owned winery committed to crafting world class, estate-grown wines. Founded in 1973 when Joe Phelps purchased a former cattle ranch near St. Helena in the Napa Valley, the winery now controls and farms nearly 375 acres of vines on eight estate vineyards in St. Helena, the Stags Leap District, Oakville, Rutherford, Oak Knoll District, Carneros and South Napa Valley. In 1999, the Phelps family added 100 acres of vineyard property near the town of Freestone on the Sonoma Coast, where Phelps now grows Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Phelps is best known for its flagship Napa Valley blend of red Bordeaux varietals, Insignia, first produced in 1974. Awarded Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year" in 2005, Insignia is widely regarded as a qualitative benchmark for California winemaking.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Home to some of the most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignon in America, Napa Valley’s Oakville district stretches across the center of Napa's valley floor and foothills between the Vaca and Mayacamas Mountains. This AVA is home to the legendary To Kalon Vineyard and Martha's Vineyard, as well as many powerhouse wineries including Screaming Eagle, Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Groth.
The climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle tug of war between warmer inland air and the cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.
Cabernet here is often bottled varietally but is also popular in Bordeaux Blends. Oakville wines are known for their silky, sensual textures, structured tannins, dark and brooding fruit and lovely aromatics. These age-worthy and prestigious wines are favored by collectors throughout the world.