300
3btls of Napa's 'Premiere Cru'
$862
FMV $1500
1993 Joseph Phelps Insignia, 1993 Dominus, and 1993 Opus One
With late frosts, cool summers and rainy Septembers, in some years, grapes in Bordeaux didn't ripen well. Napa provided consistent weather; grapes always ripened. By the 1970s, wineries in Napa Valley had produced excellent red wines. Joseph Phelps, Christian Moueix (founder of Dominus), and the Opus One partners, Robert Mondavi and Baron Phillipe de Rothschild, all decided to create Bordeaux-style blends comparable to the Premier Cru wines of Bordeaux. For each of the wineries, this required attention to every detail, from the choice of clones, the planting, extensive pruning to concentrate flavor in a few clusters, hand harvesting, and then careful attention in each step in the wine-making process. Thirty years after harvest, these are all huge, luscious wines, full of fruit. At their prime for at least another decade. All rated 95 or higher.