2005 Eisrebe St Helena
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
(for 375 ml.; made from partially frozen scheurebe; 21.5% residual sugar and 7.6% alcohol) Bright, pale gold. Slightly high-toned aromas of apricot and fruit salad; a lightly swampy note blew off with aeration. Then chewy, thick and quite sweet in the mouth, with concentrated, very ripe apricot and peach flavors complicated by a saline nuance. There's sound ripe acidity here but this is an essentially gentle sweet wine. Finishes quite long and fruit-driven, a bit drier on the back than in the middle palate.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A beerenauslese-styled offering, the 2005 Eisrébe possesses superb acidity, wonderful honeyed apricot and peach marmalade-like notes, and good underlying acidity. With 8% natural alcohol and 22% residual sugar, it is quite sweet, but it is not cloying because of the good acidity. Enjoy it over the next several years. Previously recommended: 2002 Insignia (95), 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard (96+). Tel. (707) 963-2745; Fax (707) 963-4831
(for 375 ml.; 100% scheurebe, from botrytis-affected grapes that were picked in early September and kept frozen until November) Rather pale color. Highly complex nose offers pineapple, citrus oils, orange zest, jasmine, mint and honeysuckle. Dense, juicy and bright, with superb freshness of apricot, pineapple and grapefruit flavors. A saline nuance contributes to the wine's complexity. This has 8% alcohol with 23% residual sugar. Delicious.
About the producer
California winery Joseph Phelps is best known for its flagship Insignia cuvée, one of the first and finest proprietary red wines in the Napa Valley.