Peter van den Besselaar

9.4

Vintage 1995 | Vanilla, forrest wood, true to type, well balanced but also tannins - very good effort — 9 days ago

Lorna Hajdini

9.7

June 2022 - last visit at WS. This was a 1939 vintage (not 1989). Unbelievably “fresh” and good level of acidity for its age. Very special! — a month ago

Shahar Katz

9.0

Pretty good. Like! — a month ago

with Jill

Vino Joe

9.5

This should cellar longer. Maybe another 5 yrs before I try again. Decanted over 3 hrs. Tight in first hour. It needs a lot air now. Many layers and complex fruit. It lingers. Meaty after taste. Dark fruit. Earthy. I liked it very much and look forward to the next one. — 3 days ago

Alessandro Dalle Carbonare

9.8

So deep and layered nose. Just wanna dive in and stay there. What a wonderful World. Despite The palate does not fully respect the nose, it is very balanced and integrated. Don’t say 2023 isn’t a good vintage!! 98-99. Elegance. — 15 days ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

1998 not the best Napa Cabernet vintage. However, good producers still find their way through difficult vintages. Joseph Phelps is the rule rather than the exception.

This was poured out of magnum and drinking beautifully by their Hospitality Manger.

Nicely ripe, lush juicy fruits of blackberries, blackberries, both plums, some purple & blue fruits. Dash of spice & lead pencil, anise-black licorice, soft baking spices, caramel notes, some dark chocolate, fresh dark flowers, round acidity and a well balanced, softened structure & tension, elegant, nicely evolved finish that lasted a full minute. — a month ago

romo

9.3

So fckn good. 20 Bojo. Get on it. — 2 months ago

Vino Joe

9.3

I am biased for Rioja but this is a very good demonstration of why. Great balance ripe reserved fruit in harmony with some slight puckering length. Better in 10 years. Totally fine now. — 10 days ago

Shay A

9.2

Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.

Fun to open birth year wines around your birthday, especially when you can do a Bordeaux and Napa side by side. While not a great vintage, this held up well after a few hours and presented as expected. Clean and zero Brett. Great color! Deep ruby with hardly any bricking. Leather, cassis, vanilla pipe tobacco on the nose. Sporting a good bit of dusty red and black fruits (mostly tart raspberries and blackberries), there was a little savory truffle note mixed with an herbal and mocha finish. Still quite grippy. Pretty. — 18 days ago

Vino Joe

9.5

Wonderful wine. One of my favorite vineyards. This is always a high quality wine. This one is still young but getting its legs. Vibrant and fresh if not yet rounded out. There is complexity that will only build. The length is good now but I know will be significantly longer in near term. Cherry. Fig. Eucalyptus. Loved this wine. Looking forward to sampling the next few I have over ensuing decade. — a month ago