Tom Garland

9.3

2 hour decant(lots of chunky sediment). A gorgeous dark purplish garnet color. On the nose: Intoxicating notes of ripe dark fruit, forest floor, pencil shavings, herbaceous, smokey oak, minty chocolate. Taste: silky, rich, dense wine with dark cherry/plum, dark chocolate espresso, licorice, and a very spiced graphite/sour cherry never ending finish. YUM! Drinks nicely with the decant and many years to go. — 9 days ago

with Brenda

Bill Mowry

9.0

Coconut, chocolate, dill, cherries, and a hint of pepper. Milder tannins and medium bodied with a big mid palate and earthy finish. — 5 months ago

with Lou

ChefLRA Riaño

9.2

Medium bodied, berries & chocolate, low acid. Delicious — 7 months ago

Ming L

9.0

Dismissed by many as too jammy or too ripe, I’ve always thought this is the fun bottling. This ‘21 is no exception. Beneath the slightly over extracted ripe dark fruits lies quite complex aromas and flavors of figs, sweet spices, dark chocolate, smoke meat, and hint of balsamic. Rich palate but not overbearing. In a good vintage like ‘21, this can benefit for 5-8 years of bottle age.
My guilty pleasure. — 2 years ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.3

Another outstanding vintage! Dark ruby color. Aromas of black currant, black cherry tobacco and dark chocolate. Bold blackberry and cherry flavors with vanilla, dried spices and oak. Long and smoky finish. Full bodied, lush, powerful and rich. Bright acidity and firm tannins. Beautifully complex. Revisited again in July 2023. My Boss loved it! — 3 years ago

Steven Richardson

9.2

Very Soft apple cider. Maple wood, the “milk” in milk chocolate, not the “lavender” in lavender, but the “milk” of lavender? Whatever it is, there is like a floral or herbal substance or spirit animating the flavour that’s carried by the “milk chocolate”. Some kind of cucumberism?

Lots of complexities to this despite being a red blend. I guess, maybe that explains the encompassing or hard-to-nail flavours. It’s an archetype or an ensemble rather than something singular. That said it’s got plenty of personality. — 4 years ago

Ericsson

9.4

Happy Father’s Day. Pop and pour Tig full of rustic elegance. Deep garnet color with notes of wet forest, tobacco, blackberry, plum, leather, and wet earth. Additional chocolate and oak notes on the pallet. Smooth as velvet, on the bolder side (definitely full bodied); dry with medium acidity, medium alcohol and smoothed out tannings. Cheers. — 5 years ago

Tom Garland

9.4

+1 hour decant(modest sediment). A striking still dark purplish crimson color with bricking. On the nose: Seductive notes of dark fruit, sandalwood, cigar wrapper, herbaceous, stewed meat, pencil lead, worn leather. Taste: silky, layered, vibrant wine with dried plum/cherry, cigar leaf, graphite, that Cos spice, crushed gravel, hint of chocolate, and a hauntingly long dry finish. YUM! Terrific old school Bordeaux. — a day ago

with Brenda

Scott E. Becker

9.1

[Tasted on March 19, 2026 at Home]

Blackberry and black cherry fruit, with vanilla, chocolate and licorice notes. Plush wine which has aged well. — 5 months ago

Louis Martin

9.1

Light fruity aroma, dark red, medium body, dry and succulent, dark fruit flavor, paired nicely with venison. — 7 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Fruit is brighter, more brilliant than many other 21’s I’ve had. Texturally & fruit-wise senses more like the 23’s I’ve had. It’s gorgeous. Again, needs a decade or more in the cellar.

Round, lush, creamy blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, both plums, poached strawberries, dry, crushed rocks, limestone powder, nice balling spices, caramel, mocha, dry herbs, dry tobacco, lead pencil, dry river stone, leather, melted, dark chocolate, dark spice, fresh & withering dark flowers, red roses, nice round acidity, well balanced, bigger tension & structure, excellent round, excellent finish that last minutes and lands on spice, wet clay and Christmas cake. — 8 months ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

Dark tawny center with amber color and clear rims. Barely translucent. Massive nose of tobacco and Cuban cigar with notes of sweet black fruit, moist dark soil, unsweetened chocolate, pencil lead, old cedar desk wood and a little barnyard. Great mouth feel and texture. Very much alive. Opened and slow-ox’d for a few hours, then put in a decanter an hour before. This powered up all night. Last sip was the best. I’ve probably had more LB than any other Bordeaux (young and old, mostly old), and this was head and shoulders better than any previous bottle. Great juice! — 4 years ago

Bruce Leboff

9.3

Elegant and polished. Drinking well. Hint of chocolate and black fruit. Lovely. — 5 years ago

with David

Tom Garland

9.1

2 hour decant ( little, if any, cloudy sediment). A majestic dark purple garnet color. On the nose: very aromatic with blackberry, plum, floral, chocolate coffee, wet earth. Taste: smooth, rich medium body wine with blueberry, blackberry, cassis, oak, spice and a pencil lead/plum medium plus long dry finish. Still young, with slightly bitter tannins that want some more time in the bottle for a higher score. — 6 years ago

with Brenda

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

I recently had a conversation with a few Joseph Phelps Ambassador’s at Pebble Beach Food & Wine in April. I said, I had every vintage of Insignia back to 2006 in storage. They said, “you should really drink up the 2006.” So, I coravined an 06 last weekend, a taste. I agreed then. But tonight not the case, it shows it still has a fair amount of life. Another 5-8 yrs and perhaps plus.

My Ribcap, a definition of Medium Rare Plus.

The nose reveals floral; blackberries, black raspberries, both plums, poached strawberries, dark cherries and blue fruit notes. Melted dark chocolate, mocha, caramel, softly layered baking spices, very underrated graphite, steeped tea, mid berry cola, red licorice, limestone powder, dry top soil, dry twig, red, dark candied to slightly withering florals w/ liquid violet cola.

The palate shows well resolved, rounded, velvety M+ tannins. Nicely ripe fruits that are floral; blackberries, black raspberries, both plums, poached strawberries, dark cherries and blue fruit notes. Melted dark chocolate, mocha, caramel river, softly layered baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick & vanillin, warm caramel, dark Asian spices with palate burrowing heat, dry tobacco/ leather, cedar, grilled meats, very underrated graphite, sweet tarriness, black licorice, steeped tea, mid berry cola, red licorice, limestone powder, dry top soil, dry twig, red, dark candied to slightly withering florals w/ liquid violet cola, candied to withering; dark, red, blue florals wrapped in liquid violets, epic rainfall acidity, well balanced-structured-toned, elegant finish that lasts minutes and falls on earth & heated spice.

95-96 peaking. — a month ago

Tom Garland

9.4

1 hour decant(decent chunky sediment). A striking medium purplish garnet color with bricking. On the nose: Inviting notes of dried red fruit, currants, pencil shavings, floral, stewed meat, milk chocolate. Taste: fully mature, savory, silky wine with dried plum, ground coffee, earth, minerals, tobacco, and a sour cherry/green bell pepper/graphite long finish. YUM!! Drink em if you got em. — 6 months ago

with Brenda

Alexandre Czesnat

8.9

BlackBerry, Oak, Tobbaco aromas, chocolate, a bold Cabernet Sauvignon with really good quality — 2 years ago

Salome Arango

9.4

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with aromas of black cherry, cassis, and distant notes of vanilla. Is more of a velvety feel on the palate, with flavors of dark chocolate and espresso — 2 years ago

Roman Ochocki

9.5

My third vintage of Palermo. Acidity is higher, but there's a dark chocolate, an oak, bitter dark fruit. Excellent wine, but it's obvious. I long for another vintage already. — 4 years ago

Nick Brandon

9.1

Deep, but undiscernable fruity characteristics on the nose.
Plummy, jammy notes and very drinkable. Full-bodied and spicy. Some dark chocolate notes, too.

Paired with wild grains, sauteéd greens, and baked salmon filets. — 5 years ago