Insignia, is recognized as one of the world’s great wines. Thirty-one of thirty-seven vintages have been rated 90 or more points by various wine publications, including three perfect 100 point scores for the 1991, 1997 and 2002 vintages from Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate in Mr. Parker’s Historical Tasting of Insignia report, published in November 2013. The 2002 vintage of Insignia was also awarded “Wine of the Year” by Wine Spectatormagazine in 2005.
Enamored with the beautiful Napa Valley, Joseph Phelps left the construction business in 1973, bought a 600-acre cattle ranch in Spring Valley, and began planting vineyards. In 1974 the winery was completed, and the first Insignia was produced. Nearly four decades later, the Joseph Phelps flagship wine, Insignia, is recognized as one of the world’s great wines.