Joseph Phelps Vineyards
Insignia sits on top of the list, but the Syrah off Larry Hyde & Sons is the glass to ask for. Everything is by appointment on Taplin Road.
Why go
Phelps names its fruit, which not every house at this price does: Cabernet Sauvignon from Backus Vineyard, Syrah from Larry Hyde & Sons, and single-vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Pastorale and Quarter Moon.1 Insignia is the flagship and the 2022 is the current release.1 The Collector's Tasting runs daily, private, and reaches into the library alongside the Napa and Sonoma Coast bottles.1 The winery says it is moving to agroecology and points at its own journal for the detail.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Syrah from Larry Hyde & Sons. It is the wine nobody expects on this list.1
- Order: the Collector's Tasting, which is the format that pours Insignia and older bottles.1
- Avoid: arriving without a reservation. All three experiences are booked through Tock.1
Good to know
- Booking: through Tock, three formats: Founder's Tasting, Taste of Place with food, and the private Collector's Tasting.1
- Price: the winery lists none on its front page. Each experience page carries its own.
- Hygiene: not established. No inspection instrument for this county is on file here.
Verdict
should-visit — The list names its fruit, which is the part that makes this worth a booking: Cabernet off Backus, Syrah off Larry Hyde & Sons, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay off Pastorale and Quarter Moon, and Insignia sitting on top of all of it. Syrah from Hyde in a Napa flagship house is not what anyone expects and is the glass to ask for. The Collector's Tasting runs daily, pours Insignia and reaches into the library, which is the version to book. The house says it is moving to agroecology and points at its own blog for the detail, so take that as intent. No critic was read on any of it, which is why this stops short of a must.