Joseph Phelps Vineyards house spotlight
Official Joseph Phelps Vineyards film of the St. Helena estate. The same house bottled this 2019 Napa Valley Cabernet in magnum.
1.5L MAGNUM 2019 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Ashley Hepworth's 2019 Napa Valley Cabernet in magnum, El Venadito's first vintage in the blend, a 94-point bottle you can actually open at one hundred thirty-five dollars.
The 2019 is 94 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec from St. Helena, south Napa, Oak Knoll, Stags Leap, and Rutherford: black cherry, blackberry, tobacco, and vanilla bean, now a $135 magnum.
Napa Cabernet that already has the magnum clock on its side
This is the Joseph Phelps Napa Valley Cabernet, not Insignia. Ashley Hepworth aged the 2019 eighteen months in 48 percent new oak, French and American. Wine Enthusiast 94, Cellar Selection. James Suckling 94. Decanter 94. Jeb Dunnuck 93. The first vintage to include El Venadito in Oak Knoll. In 1.5L the same wine opens slower and lasts longer at the table.
The house
Joseph Phelps founded the St. Helena winery in 1973. Insignia made the name. This Napa Valley Cabernet is the house bottle from estate and grower fruit across the valley.
The wine
94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, 1% Malbec. Eighteen months, 48% new oak. 14.5% ABV. This bottle is 1.5L.
The scores
Wine Enthusiast 94, Cellar Selection. James Suckling 94. Decanter 94. Jeb Dunnuck 93. Wine Advocate 92.
The drinker
Black cherry and tobacco first. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Magnums open slower. Serve 60 to 64 F. Rack of lamb or a hard-seared steak.
Black fruit, tobacco, then a supple Napa close
Phelps opens on violet, dark fruit, tobacco, baking spice, and earthy dried herb. The palate is black cherry, blackberry, dark plum, spice box, and sweet vanilla bean, with youthful energy against supple tannin. Wine Enthusiast found juicy red fruit, dried herb, allspice, black currant, cherry, and toasted oak.
A wet winter delayed bud break. May rain slowed bloom. July stayed cool, then August and September pushed ripening. Harvest stayed dry. Fruit quality was excellent. 2019 is the first vintage to include El Venadito in Oak Knoll, south of Yountville Vineyard.
Violet, black cherry, blackberry, dark plum, tobacco, baking spice, dried herb, vanilla bean.
Medium to full, 14.5% ABV, supple tannin, 18 months 48% new French and American oak.
Spice box, toasted oak, a savory close. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Valley fruit, then eighteen months of mixed oak
On the Phelps sheet, the 2019 is 94 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 3 percent Cabernet Franc, 2 percent Merlot, and 1 percent Malbec from St. Helena, south Napa Valley, Oak Knoll, Stags Leap District, and Rutherford. Eighteen months in 48 percent new oak, 58 percent French and 42 percent American among the new barrels, then older French and American. Cabernet sets cassis and black cherry. The oak is why tobacco, cedar, and vanilla sit on the fruit instead of burying it.
Ashley Hepworth made this vintage. El Venadito in Oak Knoll enters the blend for the first time, beside the older valley sources.
This listing is the 1.5L magnum. Same wine, a slower clock. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
A St. Helena house built on Napa Cabernet
Joseph Phelps put a winery on Spring Valley Road in 1973 and spent the next decades arguing that Napa Cabernet could be both complete and drinkable.
Insignia became the flagship. The Napa Valley Cabernet remained the wider valley bottle: estate and grower fruit, a classic Cabernet frame, enough oak to season rather than costume.
Ashley Hepworth held the cellar through this 2019. The sites run from St. Helena through Oak Knoll, Stags Leap, and Rutherford.
The magnum is how you put that house on a table without rushing a 750. Black fruit, tobacco, a 94-point 2019 that already has years in glass.
Lamb on the fire, or a hard-seared steak
Napa Cabernet this supple wants browned fat and herb. A grilled rack of lamb is the classic landing. A skillet steak is the weeknight one.
Two plates. One grilled rack of lamb. One butter-basted ribeye. Magnum food.
Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Magnums open slower than 750s. Serve 60 to 64 F. Use large stems.
Grilled Rack of Lamb with Demi-Glace Butter
Lamb, herb, and a rich butter sauce. Phelps Cabernet's classic landing in magnum.
Why it works: Lamb fat softens supple tannin. Char and demi-glace pull black cherry, tobacco, and vanilla through the oak.
View Recipe for grilled rack of lamb with demi-glace butter (opens in a new tab)
Butter-Basted Rib Eye Steaks
A skillet ribeye, coarse salt, and a hard crust when the magnum is the whole table wine.
Why it works: Beef fat meets Cabernet structure. Char pulls cassis, cedar, and spice box forward.
View Recipe for butter-basted rib eye steaks (opens in a new tab)Put this Phelps magnum in the cart
Ashley Hepworth's 2019 Napa Cabernet, three 94s, in 1.5L. One hundred thirty-five dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the Joseph Phelps bottle for a table that wants valley Cabernet in magnum, not an Insignia substitute.
