Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Established in 1973, Joseph Phelps Vineyards is one of California's premier Napa estate wineries.  With winemaker Walter Schug at the helm, Phelps released California's first signature red (Bordeaux) blend, Insignia, in 1974.  Twelve years later in 1986 the Meritage (Bordeaux blend) category would be created by the industry and then in 2005 that same Insignia red blend would be named the Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year".

Insignia currently sells for upwards of three hundred dollars a bottle.  Their regular Napa Cabernet is a hundred dollar bottle.  So when our vendor offered us Phelps' Innisfree Napa Cabernet at a very affordable price we went ahead and picked up a case.  We checked the reviews and they were good, so...what the heck.

Then we read up on Phelps and we learned Joseph Phelps Vineyards was sold in June of 2022.  Uh oh.  Our Innisfree is a 2019 vintage, which is, at the very least, concerning.  Whenever a winery is for sale you have to wonder what the level of care is going into the product.  After all, if you're checking out of the business and you have product in the works, how much care are you going to put into it.  If it isn't up to standards, it's going to be someone else's problem.  We've seen this movie before.

Now we have learned the new ownership of Joseph Phelps is Moet Hennessy, a division of LVMH, Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.  So at the very least it's an industry player and not a Wall Street insurance company wanting to bleed a prominent label.  Then we read what was included in the purchase: the winery itself, the brand name, inventory and 500 acres of vineyards in Napa and Sonoma.  So they really did buy the estate and not just the brand name.

Joseph Phelps Vineyards is now a part of the LVMH portfolio which includes Moet & Chandon (Dom Perignon), Krug, Veuve Cliquot and Dom Ruinart Champagnes, Chateau d'Yquem and Cheval Blanc Bordeaux, Bodega Numanthia in Rioja, Clos des Lamprays in Burgundy, Napa's Domaine Chandon and New Zealand's Cloudy Bay.  Nice company to hang with.

The vineyards included in the purchase are in St. Helena, Oakville, Rutherford, the Stag's Leap District and South Napa.  Once again, nice neighborhood to play in.  From where we sit we think the Phelps future looks pretty good.