2008 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard

The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus is a beautifully delineated wine endowed with tons of personality and sheer class. The wine comes alive in the glass, with crushed rose petals, dark raspberry jam, licorice and spices. There is an exotic element to the fruit that is highly appealing. Today the tannins are quite firm, suggesting the wine needs at least a few more years in the cellar. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2038. I tasted a number of fabulous wines from Joseph Phelps this year. The 2009 and 2010 Backus and Insignia are still in barrel, but they are shaping up beautifully. Tel. (707) 963-2745

(this wine and the 2009 version are 100% cabernet sauvignon, as Joseph Phelps is replanting some petit verdot and malbec): Bright ruby. Aromas of blueberry, crushed stone, licorice and violet. Very tight and energetic, with dark berry flavors complicated by meaty, smoky and saline nuances. Ultimately creamier than the Insignia, this saturates the entire mouth and leaves the taste buds vibrating. Finishes with major tongue-coating tannins, superb persistence and captivating minerality.

Good medium ruby. Pungent, cool aromas of blackberry, licorice, bitter chocolate and mint. Less sweet and fleshy than the 2007, with less obvious ripeness showing today. Today the tannins cut off the wine's fruit. This seems considerably less filled in than the 2007 Insignia and needs more elevage In a cooler style.