Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Premiere Napa Auction) 2001

Professional Ratings

• 97 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  From a steep eastern hillside vineyard in Oakville, the excruciatingly youthful, intense 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard possesses an opaque purple color (that resembles a barrel sample rather than a 10-year old wine) as well as an extraordinary perfume of raspberry jam, creme de cassis, acacia flowers and crushed rocks. Full-bodied with magnificent concentration, purity and texture.

  Rating: 97+

• 97 Wine Enthusiast

  Tasted alongside a bevy of Oakville Cabs, this beauty was the star of the show. It's a huge, masculine wine, authoritative and ageable. Pours dark and drinks tannic and oaky, with a massive core of cassis, cherry and chocolate fruit encased in perfect tannins. What grace and power, what balance.

  Cellar Selection

• 93 Connoisseurs' Guide

  Where the Insignia strives for and achieves a careful balance of refinement and richness, its deep, big-bodied sibling leans more to the latter. Loaded with oak and even more generous in the curranty qualities of classic Napa Valley Cabernet, it teases with touches of olive and loam and dusty earth spice. Big in almost every dimension save for excessive ripeness and alcohol, it ends with a flourish of full and sturdy young tannins that will need ten or more years to fully resolve.