The standard cuvees of 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon and 1991 Merlot display more aromatics and intense flavors than any red wine offering from Joseph Phelps since the mid-eighties. The dark purple-colored 1991 Merlot reveals an attractive, black-cherry-scented nose, medium body, fine ripe fruit, some tartness, and a fresh, zesty finish. Drink it over the next 5-7 years. This winery has exhibited a mysterious track record since the mid-eighties. When I looked back at my tasting notes of California's greatest Cabernets, the name Joseph Phelps is one of the most frequent entries, particularly for such wines as the 1974 Insignia, 1975 Cabernet Sauvignon, 1975 Eisele Vineyard, 1976 Insignia, and 1978 Eisele Vineyard. All of these wines remain extraordinary examples of the monumental heights California Cabernet Sauvignon can attain. Since the mid-eighties, the wines in the Phelps' portfolio - including their flagship offerings, the Backus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, the proprietary red Insignia, and the Eisele Vineyard Cabernet (which they no longer produce as the vineyard has been sold) - have been compact, lean, and nearly devoid of bouquets. Even the 1990s, so phenomenal from cask, taste significantly less impressive from bottle.
If my instincts are correct, this short-term flirtation with risk-free winemaking may be changing. The 1991s all reveal more intense bouquets, texturally taste more natural, with less acidification, and possess flavors that have not been stripped by an over-zealous use of fining agents and filters. Let's hope the Joseph Phelps winery, a reference point until the mid-eighties, has returned to form.
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