(Bloomberg) - Colorado construction magnate Joseph Phelps arrived in the Napa Valley in the late 1960s to build someone else’s winery. In 1973 he ended up founding his own. Last month, for Joseph Phelps Vineyards’ 40th anniversary, company president Bill Phelps uncorked a dozen vintages of the winery’s flagship cabernet blend, Insignia, at New York’s NoMad hotel.

When the first vintage, 1974, debuted at $12 (then considered a whopping sum) it was one of California’s first Bordeaux-style blends with a proprietary name. The glasses in front of me held the wine’s liquid history from 1976 to 2009, a track record of aging going much further back than the cult cabs that get more buzz. The 1976, which originally sold for $20 a bottle, was still going strong -- deep, rich and flavorful, with a core of intense fruit and spice. The dark 1985 has minty aromas and chocolate-y, tobacco-y notes.