Candied plum and cassis, big, sweet, almost liqueur-like. There's some additional floral and coffee complexity but the style of the fruit is difficult to enjoy. ~84
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Very pure, big structured wine, with rich intense blackberry fruit. Still very young. This wines literally tingles the mouth all round. Despite it's obvious youth this can be enjoyed now, particularly the finish which is long, warm and multi layered. There are notes of cinamon and sandalwood. Suggest waiting another 10 years.
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Really nice but not extraordinary. Didn’t take me to some new place where flavor and nuance make passionate sweet love. More like a Bevan that’s a tasty two-trick pony, which is lovely but just a questionable value proposition and unsure how to think of this as straddling the divide between pleasurable Napa berry bombs (albeit with age and wisdom here) vs some great aged Bordeaux.
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Brought to restaurant to celebrate 44th wedding Anniversary. Cork crumbled in half for waiter, then bits fell into bottle. Was soft but not infiltrated. But tasted and fruit and wine okay. Very smooth and still fruit present, but compared to the first bottle I had 6 years ago, receding a bit, but not in full retreat. Back then I wrote wine needed a day, but was totally ready today. Heavy sediment, as server poured into decanter, and as I has my Vinfolio, then filtered. Really good profile, felt similar to a Dominus cabernet at this tasting. Ruby in glass. Went well with the spiced tomato and olive of the branzino I had. Tannins well integrated and they never intruded. This wine is totally ready and I would drink sooner than later. If you have them stored in ideal conditions, and feel cork still holding, I might go 5 more years. Recommended
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A treasure to bordeaux lovers, but unfortunately this is not a good choice to open together with Tusk 13 and Materium 16. A week later I was unable to remember the detail of this wine other than too bordeaux.
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Perfection in the glass, now fully mature. Dark garnet-purple, completely opaque, just the slightest hint of amber edge. Very pronounced aromas of cassis, black cherries, blueberries, some sweetness on the nose, hints of lightly toasted oak. Full and rich on the palate, lots of cassis and blackberry fruit, keeps building for at least 30 seconds. The tannins are there but soft, on the late palate and very long aftertaste. Just the right heat from alcohol. A joy to drink, but isn't going downhill any time soon. Ric
Once again delicious and in a great place. Showy rich red fruits with classic Colgin oak treatment gives off wild scents of sandalwood, salted carmel, and violets. The texture is rich and creamy with a wonderful frame of sweet tannins and lifting acid. Simply fantastic. Breed shows through.
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Miyazaki A5 Wagyu night (Andrew's): Monstrous, almost candied fruit. Tasted hedonistic relative to the other Bordeaux and Napa wines served beside it. Although not my in favorite style, the Colgin delivered a great tasting experience and was my #4 WOTN in a lineup of 12 that included 8 100-pointers.
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Was very happy to share this wine on a night of incredible wine and food. Vibrant in every way, plenty of red fruit and plum with touches of olive and cigar box. Not heavy in any way, this exudes grace and glass throughout.
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big, bold and yes... nice flavors... but just too in your face for my taste... 15.X % alcohol says it all... still the robust flavors allowed me to score at 92... others who like a sharp slap in the face may rate this 94 or 95 I suspect...
Vintage Club - Colgin Cellars Tasting (Praelum Wine Bistro): Medium garnet, viscous and some visible stain. Fairly intense nose, with ripe cranberry and cassis aromas, some fresh cut grass, black pepper and cinnamon, and a savoury meaty feel, and cocoa. Full bodied and intense, with mouthwatering acids and some bite of tannins, with ripe cassis flavours, black pepper, thyme, sage, grass, cinnamon, caramel, and a slight leathery meaty feel. Really long, and very complex finish. Fabulous wine!
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Decanted two hours but it took 3.5 hours to get to peak; before that delicious but dense and chewy (96). With air, just a spectacular palate of light-yet-intense flavors arranged in a musical chord that played from start to finish. Dark berries and plum, licorice, earth, spices, all singing pure notes for maybe a minute per sip. Once well-aired, it showed an ethereal lightness magically supporting the pure, deep fruit. A wonderful wine.
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I am torn. Clearly missing the power of the young Colgin‘s. Some oxidative notes and aromas. Less intense in terms of colour. Dark berries, oak, jam, herbal notes. I wonder whether it is at its peak. My gut tells me yes. I would say drink within 2 years.
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Tasted as an unknown. I correctly identified it as a 15-20 year old Napa cabernet, possibly Colgin! Dark and opaque but with the slightest bit of brown at the edges. Typical cabernet aromas, some cherry sweetness but mostly dark fruits. Rich, full-bodied flavors, not at all tannic, cassis, plums, light oak overtones. Very long finish. Definitely at its peak but should last at this level for many more years. Ric
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Occasional dinner group: Great whites and Cult Napa (@ Merlet): This is a fantastic wine with beautiful dark and red berries, elegance, sweet spices and great acidity and tannin. Really extremely beautiful wine which is ready now and probably has a future of another decade.
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Spicy, suave, silky and intense, the fruit is perfectly ripe, sweet, fresh and pure. The wine offers that unique combination of density paired with refinement, lift, complexity and length. And this is still young, so pop a cork now to check it out, if you have a few bottles, or age it for another decade to see what happens.
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Blind, Riedel sommelier grand cru bordeaux A great cali cab. Powerful, mighty but in his way elegant. A lot of red and black berries. Concentrated but not jammy or overextracted. The alcohol of 15,6% is perfectly integrated. Still in his primary stage. For the next 20 years. 98+
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07 Cariad, 07 IX, 06 IX, and 05 Cariad all tasted blind together. Compared to all the others, my pour of this was GONE before the other three. And it wasn't even close. This is a stellar Napa Cabernet that went exceptionally well with a ribeye steak. BlackBerry, hint of truffle, chocolate, herbs, wildflowers, a little bit delicate but still full throttle and full-bodied from start to finish. Some people were guessing the entire lineup was Shiraz, and with this one and the 05 Cariad I could definitely understand that guess. In my opinion, best wine on the table, even versus the 1963 Berry Brothers & Rudd Grahams!
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Kleur: Diep ondoordringbaar donkerrood met een subtiele verkleuring aan de rand. Aroma / bouquet: Wow, dit is een extreme snuffelwijn. Complex en gelaagd bouquet. De eerste indruk wordt bepaald door een mix van donker fruit en stalgeur. Verse groene kruiden. Bittere chocola. Prachtig verweven hout. Het blijft maar doorgaan met elk kwartier een ander accent. Smaak / Afdronk: Dik-sappig. Zacht frise zuurgraad. Krachtige, briljant gerijpte tannines met een droppige structuur. Veel van alles waardoor ook het alcoholpercentage van 15,6% perfect binnen de balans blijft. Het meest bijzondere aan deze wijn is de afdronk. Lang en in een volmaakte balans. Algemeen / potentieel: Dit is een wijn waarop werkelijk iets af te dingen valt. Beter gaat het niet worden. Na dertien jaar nog onvoorstelbaar jong, krachtig en vitaal. Dit is een wijn om lang te laten liggen! 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 15 + Smaak / Afdronk: 20 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 100/100
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Color: Deeply impenetrable dark red with a subtle discoloration on the edge. Aroma / bouquet: Wow, this is an extreme sniff-wine. Complex and layered bouquet. The first impression is determined by a mix of dark fruit and stable odor. Fresh green herbs. Bitter chocolate. Beautifully intertwined wood. It keeps on going with a different accent every fifteen minutes. Taste / Aftertaste: Thick and juicy. Soft, fresh acidity. Powerful, brilliantly aged tannins with a drop-like structure. A lot of everything, so that the alcohol percentage of 15.6% stays perfectly within the balance. The most special thing about this wine is the aftertaste. Long and in a perfect balance. General / potential: The perfect wine... It's not going to get any better. After thirteen years still incredibly young, powerful and vital. This is a wine that will last! 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 15 + Taste / Finish: 20 + General / potential: 10 = 100/100
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Shame on me for not decanting. The currants and clean minerality only emerged after 2 hours, and more air would have helped. So primary for a 12-year old Napa Cab. If I find another bottle, I promise I will learn from my mistakes!
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Wonderful balanced bordeaux blend with blackberry, black currant, and floral notes on the nose and layered palate with delicious soft tannins on the finish. Paired beautifully with rib roast.
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opaque ruby red with brown hue, clean nose, cherry, blackberry, currant, cinnamon, jalapeño, eucalyptus, palate confirms nose with rhubarb, raspberry, red apple, clove... great balance and intensity that starts off slow than builds through the finish. This is in a good spot now but will age well for another 5 years. Amazing wine, wish I had more of this! This will not stand up well to young massive cabs from Napa, it has a lot of nuances that are brilliant, but won't show up against other massive wines.
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Decanted and served with secret tasting menu at mkt., allowing it to breathe briefly over "Italian Cowboy" barrel-aged Manhattans. The IX is so different from the Cariad, being an unashamedly new-world style versus the Cariad's echo of Mouton. The first sips were like licking a hard candy of beautiful juice. Soon it relaxed and the smoothness of the attack filled out in the mid-palate, echoing in the long, lingering finish. But it was all crisp mountain fruit, not sideshows. The two wines are wonderful contrasts. A 100-point Parker wine, he gives this another 20 years so I'll age my two remaining bottles to see what is in store.
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This was quite nice. A decade plus in and this is finally beginning to shed some of the wood and immense fruit and has gained some nice complexity and secondary nuance. The wine is still massive in stature but has mellowed into a wine with character and nuance. Big red fruit, black fruit, cedar, spices, anise and charcoal. More flavors are now discernible as the oak has receded and given way to a really nice wine. Still evolving so will be fun to follow this wine.
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A clear step up from the wonderful 2006 Tychon Hill. Manages to be both delicate and powerful. Stunningly pure but not in the blockbuster style of many great Napa Cabs.
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Colgin Master Class (Grand Hotel Dolder, Zurich): Medium-dark purple. Nose of red and dark fruit, intermixed with licorice and sous bois. Fresh and medium-full bodied palate with good tannins. A superb Napa wine that works also for more classic Bordeaux palates like mine. The Number 9 vineyard impresses with lots of freshness as it is up in the hill and east facing. Having tasted pretty much all high-end Napa reds in the past 3 months, for me Colgin makes the best Napa red as they keep their wines fresh and enough perfumey.
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Colgin is a lot like Opus, people either love it or think it is overrated. I am the latter. I will say that this vintage was much better than other vintages I've had, but for the price point I can think of wines that are much more enjoyable. I understand that it is meant to be an understated style, and it does perform well as such. With that being said, I would opt for a good vintage of second growth Margaux or St Julien if I was spending this much on this style.
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Preferred the 2005 Cariad today... floral and slightly greener aromatics, perhaps due to presence of sage. Felt a bit hotter, simpler, darker, prunier. With Joe, Ann and Paul.
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Napa Valley Master Class with Robert Parker; 11/10/2016-11/20/2016 (Napa Valley): During a tasting lunch at Colgin. This wine was a winner and a clear step up from the 2005 Tychson hill. Complex nose of dark fruit with cassis, earthy notes. The mouthfeel is great here, the right amount structure and acidity to carry the fruit. Very Napa in a good way. A very complete CabSav structurally and aromatically. Colgin has really impressed me during this Napa visit for making wines that are full bodied Napa yet are also aromatically interesting and do have the right amount of structure, not too sweet/flabby and also not to extracted/drying.
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Splash decant Dark Ruby, slight clear layer ring. Dried violet, anise, blueberry, powder sugar, Apple skin, dried meat all nose. Lots going on. Flavors, blueberry, black currant, overripe cherry, star anise. Great mouth feel, and about 30 second finish. Wow 30 mins in transition new cherry chocolate liqueur comes out in nose very nice, at the end felt a little tired. Mint and a grassy flavor came out. 80% great wine, 20% tired. Not sure if this wine has much more in the tank. 5 years maybe. Could have just been my wine, but worth a note. Still an amazing wine though.
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The whole package. Wow wine. Awesome wine showing rich ripe black and red berries, dense core of sexy creamy fruit and all kinds of wild spices. So finely balance with perfect lift and a total joy to drink. A hedonists dream wine. Succulent and complete. Rarely gets any better than this. My score may be too conservative.
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Was able to taste this alongside Bevan Tin Box and 100 Acre during recent 100 pt wine night -- this is a 100 pt wine - absolutely fantastic. Hard to rank these great Napa blends but this is right up there.....
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Just an incredible wine with layer upon layer of flavor and depth. One of the best wines I've had this year and one of the best Colgin's I've ever tasted. Bravo!!
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Not bad for tasting note 999. This is great wine on an upward curve. Dark purple showing no age with very young blackberry and blueberry dark fruits. Some tasted oak - it's maturing at a glacial pace. It's better than the last bottle I've had and it has tremendous character and form. Everything harmonious and balanced. It's consistently moving in the right direction and has 20 or more years ahead of it.
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Special wine that keeps getting better with age. Classic cassis, some blackberry, charcoal and a touch of licorice on the nose. Well defined in the mouth, loads of fruit to buttress the ample structure. This will keep getting better for at least 3-5 years. Very special wine. Fortunate that my buddy shared all three of his only bottles with me.
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WINE OF THE TRIP. Johnny's Bachelor Weekend. Dinner at Press. Greg's contribution. Wow. Oh my gosh. Incredibly elegant. Soy, hoisen, leather and impeccable balance. Incredibly long finish. Can't say enough. Limited notes.
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Drank alongside the '10 Giodo Brunello and '10 Leoville-Barton for our 100 point dinner. John tasted PnP and said tannins made it almost undrinkable. 4 hours later was a different story - fruitiest of the three with blackberry and huckleberry prevalent and black plum coming through a few seconds later. A touch of vanilla and cedar rounded out the imposingly huge palate. If a wine could be massive and balanced at the same time, this is it - just about overpowered the steak. However, it is deep, hedonistic and wonderful once given time to open and it certainly needs time. Very pleasurable, but a LONG decant or 5 more years is almost a requirement for it to come into its own. California was powerfully represented at the table here, but we agreed that the other wines were more complex and layered than this one. Would gladly revisit in the fairly distant future!
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Cork pull decent, no infiltration and held up well. Cork really long too, a plus for me. First sip I could tell this wine was shut down hard, but had a lot of material just waiting to emerge. Fruit was muted. during the evening it began slowly to emerge and intensify. But the second day was absolutely marvelous. Incredible heady bouquet. the most incredible balance in a wine I have ever had. Crystalline pure in the flavors and not silky like say a Stags Leap wine is. Tannins really well behaved and held in check. The best cabernet based wine I have ever had. Have had Shafer HSS, Altamura, Dominus, Merus, Paul Hobbs and others and this one has topped them. Profound wine. As it took a full day to emerge, I think aging can continue for a good 10 years in prime storage conditions. Highly recommended. I like to bring good wines to a BYOW restaurant but I would think twice for this one so only because of the long time it took to fully develop and emerge.
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BYO US Extravaganza (Kong Hans): Cool but still very dense blackberry / black currant fruit but also a very impressive complexity. The fruit is packed with sunshine but the wine still feels refreshing. Insanely balanced and very long aftertaste. Very impressive wine that I just adored.
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This stunner is ready to go. Showing even better than the last time I tasted it, it's packed and stacked with all the right stuff. Layers of sweet, ripe, juicy, fresh fruit, polished, silky tannins and a hedonistic personality have created a true wine of refined, pleasure and purity. Just months away from its 10th birthday, if you own a bottle, you should pop a cork and this is really in the sweet spot. The wine was made from a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot.
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Hard to not give this a hundred. Who am I to disagree with RP? This is big, fruit forward, powerful but not tannic. In a perfect drinking window. It is silky smooth, eurphoric, ethereal and simply easy to guzzle. It has dark fruits, spice box, and a finish on the palate the lasts for minutes not seconds. Expensive, Yes, but what price for a hedonistic out of body experience? YOLO!
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First of this vintage for me, drank over two nights. First night pretty euphoric. Big, round, grapey, long, etc. Maybe young and not full of secondary flavors (complexity), but fun to drink. Second night seemed a little more acidic. Not sure if it was something I ate before, but I was less thrilled, hence the mid-level score.
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Tasted this in good company. It certainly is flawless, but it is also without any character. Typical overripe fruit, alcohol level where it no longer is invited back to the dinner table. I do not expect it to age very well in the sense of improving. The lack of complexity was appalling next to a nice bottle of Cos and a lesser vintage, but beautifully drinking bottle of Vosne-Romanee
The strongest nose of Cherry Cola with dark Chocolate I have ever experienced. Tremendous right out of the bottle. Smooth, big, full throttle, silky, and a long smooth finish. No heat, just very well together and showing flawlessly. Flavors of cola, chocolate covered cherries, cinnamon, earth, cedar & spices. The entire table picked that in a blind taste over 6 different wines. Tasted this at The Naples Winter Wine Festival.
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Has mellowed some from my last note on this wine. Really good stuff, still a massive wine with many great years ahead and likely some improvement. Classic cab notes with cassis, dark fruits and a wonderful floral component. Some serious structure still, but taking more of a seat behind the fruit from the last time I had it. Long finish. Really good, I'd love to try it in another 7-10 years.
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You know you drank well that evening when Colgin wasn't even the best bottle on the table. This is a massive wine. I opened it and let it breath for 15 minutes then it went back in the bottle and opened it about about 3 hours later. Very perfumed with dark berry fruit up front - extremely youthful and playful. Secondary notes are not even there yet. Layers and layers of flavor and texture. Tannins had relaxed a bit - the only sign it was not bottled last year. Finish went on and on and on. This wine will be good 20 years from now but is drinking beautifully.
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Decanted for 10 min., then rebottled for ride to restaurant. Popped & poured 45 min after decant. Beautiful, rich, smooth wine. Everyone loved it's balanced taste, nice weight & elegance.
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Drank for Father's Day while watching the NBA finals. The nose reminded me of what I like about Bordeaux, with notes of coffee and tobacco. The wine is silky smooth on the palate with beautiful tannins, a very slight hint of vanilla, plenty of dark fruit, and a long extended finish. This wine is very well balanced for as big as it is. A great wine.
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Tasted at the winery. Serious black fruit and black pepper on the nose. Powerful black and red fruit on the palate. A bit of tannic that will certainly integrate with the massive fruit in time. Long finish with excellent grip.
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Going against the grain with this one. A very disappointing experience, especially for the price. B thought it might be off, but C and I didn't think so. I think he was just trying to find something to justify it. Decanted a couple hours, drank over another 2-3. Not much on the nose beyond the alcohol. Started out decent, some pretty big fruit (with a fair amount of oak), but a very disappointing, slightly bitter finish. Not the experience we hoped for. I think we would have been disappointed at a fraction of the price.
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Wow. With respect to Bordeaux, this puts to shame the 2000 Cheval Blanc (itself a superlative wine) that I had last night.
Again, consumed from Riedel Bordeaux Sommelier edition. Decanted for 30 minutes. Dark, barely penetrable ruby. There's a smidge of heat on the nose which is why I'm giving this 99 points rather than 100. This is a thick, unctuous, oily red blend with a lush, full mouthfeel and none of the heat that one would expect given the nose. Good structure to balance the opulence. Velvety tannins without an angle in them. Long, long finish. Manages to be rich without being overbearing. A phenomenal wine.
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A Privileged Colgin Tasting (One Market, San Francisco): An impressive powerhouse, more balanced than the 2010 (unsurprisingly), and starting to settle into a primary drinking zone. Dark berries and a soft vanilla underneath. Shows a bit of heat, and will benefit from several more years.
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This effort from star producer Ann Colgin flirts with perfection. The nose is perfectly open and accessible. The primary fruit is a bit muted and acidity is marching forward, but the integration and balance is superb. In my written notes I notice that I put down "My G-d this is good!!!" and it truly is. The palate is wonderful and is actually very close to perfection. The fruit is striking as is the acidity and the whole experience is just luxurious, rich, but at the same time refined and elegant. A profound wine! (Tasted in a flight with 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010 Colgin IX Estate.)
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2006 Colgin IX Proprietary Red Estate Colgin A Proprietary Blend Dry Red Table wine from Napa, North Coast, California, USA Source Reviewer Rating Maturity Current (Release) Cost Wine Advocate #180 Dec 2008 Robert Parker 100 Drink: N/A $425-$823 (250) From the Pritchard Hill Vineyard, the 2006 IX Proprietary Red Estate is a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. The good news is that there are 1,500 cases of this cuvee. It, too, reveals the noble sweetness of tannin, the extraordinary rich, intense mouthfeel, and sumptuous aromas of flowers, burning embers, blackberries, blueberries, spice box, and cedar. With extraordinary intensity, beautiful purity, a texture and flavors that build incrementally on the palate, and a significantly long finish, this is a perfect wine.
Colgin is one of the reference points for just what heights mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux varietals, and more recently, Syrah, can achieve in Napa Valley. This beautiful estate and winery overlooking Lake Hennessey is owned by Joe Wender and his wife, Ann Colgin (equally renowned for her auctioneering skills), who are assisted by David Abreu, the well-known Bordeaux wine consultant, Dr. Alain Raynaud, and Allison Tauziet, who has skillfully replaced the brilliant Mark Aubert. As the scores and tasting notes suggest, this was an exceptional tasting. Colgin’s 2006s are among the finest wines produced in the vintage.
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Tasted blind I would have confused it with an Abreu, which shouldn't be a huge surprise as he is Ann Colgin's neighbor and vineyard consultant. I expected a blush with perfection, more femininity and grace but instead was faced with a giant that did little in terms of refinement and sophistication to hide the 15.6% alcohol.
Having leveled this criticism, I must admit that I liked it very much admired the dark inky color and amazing concentration.
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Decanted 3 1/2 hours. Nose and palette of dark fruit (berries). I liked this wine but at each step, nose, palette and the finish there was alcohol present. Just enough to detract from an otherwise outstanding experience. I intend to wait a few years before opening another bottle. An obviously very well put together wine with just a bit of alcohol burn at this point to my palette.
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Spice box, sandalwood, graphite, espresso bean, dark berries and vanilla. In the mouth the wine is intense, fleshy and fresh, ending in a blast of black cherry, licorice and spice. This stellar wine is massive, (in all the right ways) with the structure to age and develop for at least another 10-15 or more years.
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slow ox'd for 3 hours and decanted an additional 3 hours. not a 100 pt experience. a terrific wine no doubt, but a bit alcoholic. smoke and burning embers made it too reminiscent of a syrah.
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A bit disappointing but perhaps it is way too young or I didn't let its open up. Well balanced but lacked the intrige of prior offerings, especially the 05.
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Wednesday Night Club - December 2011 (Peter Pratt's Inn): Blind - decanted - This poured black in color, the nose was a bit tight and unyielding but opened nicely over the course of the meal. I found the '05 more accessible and inviting, but this was a special wine. Dark blueberry, blackberry, cassis and creme de cocoa notes, very, very nice.
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elzer cancer society dinner. in a colgin flight of three wines. i've not had many 06 napa cabs; however, this strikes me as a good one. nevertheless, clearly below the eagle because it is less expansive/more one dimensional in it's structure and fruit. tannic, and i wish almost everybody would throttle back the oak, but i liked this.
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BIG VIBRANT BERRY FRUIT IN THE NOSE WITH CURRANTS, BLACKBERRIES, BLACK CHERRIES, AND LEATHER. RICH DEEP BERRY FRUIT IN THE FLAVOR. COMPLEX WINE WITH A VERY LONG FINISH.
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92;86. Dark, young looking and dense. Big, dense wine. Big structure but with the required sweetness to balance this. Rich, intense and big mouth feel. Intense, pure with dark, sweet fruit and a steely structure and lots of texture. Long dark after taste. Very young now and will probably wait another year for the next bottle to open but already looking forward to it.
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Has a lot of potential, but consume way too young (and was totally overshadowed by the '02 Tychson Hill). Rich red currant, strawberry, with a fearsome tannic structure that suggests a least a few years before this should even be considered.
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This would have benefitted from a longer decant. It was thrown into the decanter for 30 minutes and consumed of the following 2 hours. Very focused nose of dark red fruits, cassis and faint note of toasty oak and touch of tapenade. It took considerable swirling to get these notes out of the wine. In the mouth, tighly focused and precise. The smoothest '06 Napa meritage I've had so far. Very hard wine for me to judge at this point, but it has all the stuffing to be exceptional. This has no obvious flaws - just difficult to get a handle on it because of the lack of decant. Opened on a whim by my friend on his daughter's baptism celebration and I am the godfather. Nice treat!
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While the 2002 Harlan Estate was surprisingly excellent, this was shockingly simple. Flat and uninteresting. This would disappoint as a $20 wine; it's ludicrous at its actual price point. David and Lindsey's wedding.
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Blind California Cult Cabernet Tasting (Mill Creek, WA): Tasted blind. My notes had vanilla, caramel, chocolate, and spicy currant. I think this could have benefited from a bit longer decant as the nose was the least expressive of this flight. After we weren’t blind any more, another taster said that he was getting some olive notes, and then I could pick that out also . I probably underrated this wine just because it was grouped into this utterly amazing flight.
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12/3/2023 - englishman's claret wrote:
Candied plum and cassis, big, sweet, almost liqueur-like. There's some additional floral and coffee complexity but the style of the fruit is difficult to enjoy. ~84
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12/3/2023 - Philip67 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Very pure, big structured wine, with rich intense blackberry fruit. Still very young. This wines literally tingles the mouth all round. Despite it's obvious youth this can be enjoyed now, particularly the finish which is long, warm and multi layered. There are notes of cinamon and sandalwood. Suggest waiting another 10 years.
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12/2/2023 - RockinCabs wrote: 92 Points
California Wine Weekend; 12/1/2023-12/3/2023 (Mos Eisley Cantina & Waterhouse Restaurant): A showy rich red/black fruited Colgin that has everything dialed up to about 9.5 but pulls back before going too far overboard. Sweet oak, blackberry, cherry pie, baking spices, sage, sandalwood and violets
This is a wine that I think would have been better earlier in the evening, and was disadvantaged by being a higher abv wine late in the evening.
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6/25/2023 - shaferguy91 wrote: 97 Points
Maybe the best Cab I have had this year so far.
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3/10/2023 - Nontaco Likes this wine: 95 Points
Really nice but not extraordinary. Didn’t take me to some new place where flavor and nuance make passionate sweet love. More like a Bevan that’s a tasty two-trick pony, which is lovely but just a questionable value proposition and unsure how to think of this as straddling the divide between pleasurable Napa berry bombs (albeit with age and wisdom here) vs some great aged Bordeaux.
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12/31/2022 - Wine2372 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Satiny Napa bordeaux in peak form. Soft, opulent, elegant, balanced. Fabulous resolved fruit and firm structure, a treasure.
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7/30/2022 - robertek wrote: 96 Points
A star in the zone.
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4/14/2022 - pmarlo Likes this wine: 94 Points
Brought to restaurant to celebrate 44th wedding Anniversary. Cork crumbled in half for waiter, then bits fell into bottle. Was soft but not infiltrated. But tasted and fruit and wine okay. Very smooth and still fruit present, but compared to the first bottle I had 6 years ago, receding a bit, but not in full retreat. Back then I wrote wine needed a day, but was totally ready today. Heavy sediment, as server poured into decanter, and as I has my Vinfolio, then filtered. Really good profile, felt similar to a Dominus cabernet at this tasting. Ruby in glass. Went well with the spiced tomato and olive of the branzino I had. Tannins well integrated and they never intruded. This wine is totally ready and I would drink sooner than later. If you have them stored in ideal conditions, and feel cork still holding, I might go 5 more years. Recommended
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1/1/2022 - Fake Drinker Does not like this wine: 94 Points
A treasure to bordeaux lovers, but unfortunately this is not a good choice to open together with Tusk 13 and Materium 16. A week later I was unable to remember the detail of this wine other than too bordeaux.
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12/26/2021 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 100 Points
Perfection in the glass, now fully mature. Dark garnet-purple, completely opaque, just the slightest hint of amber edge. Very pronounced aromas of cassis, black cherries, blueberries, some sweetness on the nose, hints of lightly toasted oak. Full and rich on the palate, lots of cassis and blackberry fruit, keeps building for at least 30 seconds. The tannins are there but soft, on the late palate and very long aftertaste. Just the right heat from alcohol. A joy to drink, but isn't going downhill any time soon.
Ric
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12/14/2021 - KenK Likes this wine: 98 Points
Once again delicious and in a great place. Showy rich red fruits with classic Colgin oak treatment gives off wild scents of sandalwood, salted carmel, and violets. The texture is rich and creamy with a wonderful frame of sweet tannins and lifting acid. Simply fantastic. Breed shows through.
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9/27/2021 - Montesquieu Likes this wine: 96 Points
Miyazaki A5 Wagyu night (Andrew's): Monstrous, almost candied fruit. Tasted hedonistic relative to the other Bordeaux and Napa wines served beside it. Although not my in favorite style, the Colgin delivered a great tasting experience and was my #4 WOTN in a lineup of 12 that included 8 100-pointers.
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9/26/2021 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 98 Points
Was very happy to share this wine on a night of incredible wine and food. Vibrant in every way, plenty of red fruit and plum with touches of olive and cigar box. Not heavy in any way, this exudes grace and glass throughout.
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7/1/2021 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 92 Points
big, bold and yes... nice flavors... but just too in your face for my taste... 15.X % alcohol says it all... still the robust flavors allowed me to score at 92... others who like a sharp slap in the face may rate this 94 or 95 I suspect...
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4/12/2021 - vinhonotte Likes this wine: 97 Points
Vintage Club - Colgin Cellars Tasting (Praelum Wine Bistro): Medium garnet, viscous and some visible stain. Fairly intense nose, with ripe cranberry and cassis aromas, some fresh cut grass, black pepper and cinnamon, and a savoury meaty feel, and cocoa. Full bodied and intense, with mouthwatering acids and some bite of tannins, with ripe cassis flavours, black pepper, thyme, sage, grass, cinnamon, caramel, and a slight leathery meaty feel. Really long, and very complex finish. Fabulous wine!
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8/26/2020 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 98 Points
Decanted two hours but it took 3.5 hours to get to peak; before that delicious but dense and chewy (96). With air, just a spectacular palate of light-yet-intense flavors arranged in a musical chord that played from start to finish. Dark berries and plum, licorice, earth, spices, all singing pure notes for maybe a minute per sip. Once well-aired, it showed an ethereal lightness magically supporting the pure, deep fruit. A wonderful wine.
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4/30/2020 - ToppoBDX Likes this wine: 94 Points
I am torn. Clearly missing the power of the young Colgin‘s. Some oxidative notes and aromas. Less intense in terms of colour. Dark berries, oak, jam, herbal notes. I wonder whether it is at its peak. My gut tells me yes. I would say drink within 2 years.
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4/4/2020 - Ex-Ray wrote: 98 Points
Tasted as an unknown. I correctly identified it as a 15-20 year old Napa cabernet, possibly Colgin! Dark and opaque but with the slightest bit of brown at the edges. Typical cabernet aromas, some cherry sweetness but mostly dark fruits. Rich, full-bodied flavors, not at all tannic, cassis, plums, light oak overtones. Very long finish. Definitely at its peak but should last at this level for many more years.
Ric
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3/7/2020 - Zweder wrote: 98 Points
Occasional dinner group: Great whites and Cult Napa (@ Merlet): This is a fantastic wine with beautiful dark and red berries, elegance, sweet spices and great acidity and tannin. Really extremely beautiful wine which is ready now and probably has a future of another decade.
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8/27/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Spicy, suave, silky and intense, the fruit is perfectly ripe, sweet, fresh and pure. The wine offers that unique combination of density paired with refinement, lift, complexity and length. And this is still young, so pop a cork now to check it out, if you have a few bottles, or age it for another decade to see what happens.
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7/28/2019 - aquacongas wrote: 98 Points
Blind, Riedel sommelier grand cru bordeaux
A great cali cab. Powerful, mighty but in his way elegant. A lot of red and black berries. Concentrated but not jammy or overextracted. The alcohol of 15,6% is perfectly integrated. Still in his primary stage. For the next 20 years. 98+
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7/20/2019 - mflesh wrote: 96 Points
07 Cariad, 07 IX, 06 IX, and 05 Cariad all tasted blind together. Compared to all the others, my pour of this was GONE before the other three. And it wasn't even close. This is a stellar Napa Cabernet that went exceptionally well with a ribeye steak. BlackBerry, hint of truffle, chocolate, herbs, wildflowers, a little bit delicate but still full throttle and full-bodied from start to finish. Some people were guessing the entire lineup was Shiraz, and with this one and the 05 Cariad I could definitely understand that guess. In my opinion, best wine on the table, even versus the 1963 Berry Brothers & Rudd Grahams!
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6/22/2019 - WildeMeeuw Likes this wine: 100 Points
Kleur: Diep ondoordringbaar donkerrood met een subtiele verkleuring aan de rand. Aroma / bouquet: Wow, dit is een extreme snuffelwijn. Complex en gelaagd bouquet. De eerste indruk wordt bepaald door een mix van donker fruit en stalgeur. Verse groene kruiden. Bittere chocola. Prachtig verweven hout. Het blijft maar doorgaan met elk kwartier een ander accent. Smaak / Afdronk: Dik-sappig. Zacht frise zuurgraad. Krachtige, briljant gerijpte tannines met een droppige structuur. Veel van alles waardoor ook het alcoholpercentage van 15,6% perfect binnen de balans blijft. Het meest bijzondere aan deze wijn is de afdronk. Lang en in een volmaakte balans. Algemeen / potentieel: Dit is een wijn waarop werkelijk iets af te dingen valt. Beter gaat het niet worden. Na dertien jaar nog onvoorstelbaar jong, krachtig en vitaal. Dit is een wijn om lang te laten liggen! 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 15 + Smaak / Afdronk: 20 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 100/100
Google Translate:
Color: Deeply impenetrable dark red with a subtle discoloration on the edge. Aroma / bouquet: Wow, this is an extreme sniff-wine. Complex and layered bouquet. The first impression is determined by a mix of dark fruit and stable odor. Fresh green herbs. Bitter chocolate. Beautifully intertwined wood. It keeps on going with a different accent every fifteen minutes. Taste / Aftertaste: Thick and juicy. Soft, fresh acidity. Powerful, brilliantly aged tannins with a drop-like structure. A lot of everything, so that the alcohol percentage of 15.6% stays perfectly within the balance. The most special thing about this wine is the aftertaste. Long and in a perfect balance. General / potential: The perfect wine... It's not going to get any better. After thirteen years still incredibly young, powerful and vital. This is a wine that will last! 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 15 + Taste / Finish: 20 + General / potential: 10 = 100/100
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2/24/2019 - asteff wrote: 95 Points
Deep and balanced wine. Ready to drink.
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12/4/2018 - steinersing wrote: 94 Points
Delicious, intense
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8/24/2018 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 94 Points
Shame on me for not decanting. The currants and clean minerality only emerged after 2 hours, and more air would have helped. So primary for a 12-year old Napa Cab. If I find another bottle, I promise I will learn from my mistakes!
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6/17/2018 - Amerique wrote: 95 Points
Delicious, rich, beautiful black cherry nose, fruit still very tight, but sows depth and breath, ample finish
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12/25/2017 - pjhr Likes this wine: 97 Points
Wonderful balanced bordeaux blend with blackberry, black currant, and
floral notes on the nose and layered palate with delicious soft tannins on the finish. Paired beautifully with rib roast.
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12/22/2017 - pakabear Likes this wine: 98 Points
opaque ruby red with brown hue, clean nose, cherry, blackberry, currant, cinnamon, jalapeño, eucalyptus, palate confirms nose with rhubarb, raspberry, red apple, clove... great balance and intensity that starts off slow than builds through the finish. This is in a good spot now but will age well for another 5 years. Amazing wine, wish I had more of this! This will not stand up well to young massive cabs from Napa, it has a lot of nuances that are brilliant, but won't show up against other massive wines.
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12/12/2017 - RayOB wrote: 93 Points
Drank at 67
Meaty, smoke and Iron. Heavy palate.
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10/10/2017 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted and served with secret tasting menu at mkt., allowing it to breathe briefly over "Italian Cowboy" barrel-aged Manhattans. The IX is so different from the Cariad, being an unashamedly new-world style versus the Cariad's echo of Mouton. The first sips were like licking a hard candy of beautiful juice. Soon it relaxed and the smoothness of the attack filled out in the mid-palate, echoing in the long, lingering finish. But it was all crisp mountain fruit, not sideshows. The two wines are wonderful contrasts. A 100-point Parker wine, he gives this another 20 years so I'll age my two remaining bottles to see what is in store.
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10/1/2017 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was quite nice. A decade plus in and this is finally beginning to shed some of the wood and immense fruit and has gained some nice complexity and secondary nuance. The wine is still massive in stature but has mellowed into a wine with character and nuance. Big red fruit, black fruit, cedar, spices, anise and charcoal. More flavors are now discernible as the oak has receded and given way to a really nice wine. Still evolving so will be fun to follow this wine.
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3/25/2017 - Miceri Likes this wine: 97 Points
Soft velvety chocolate wine
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3/19/2017 - Hamersly Likes this wine: 98 Points
A clear step up from the wonderful 2006 Tychon Hill. Manages to be both delicate and powerful. Stunningly pure but not in the blockbuster style of many great Napa Cabs.
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2/6/2017 - Collector1855 wrote: 98 Points
Colgin Master Class (Grand Hotel Dolder, Zurich): Medium-dark purple. Nose of red and dark fruit, intermixed with licorice and sous bois. Fresh and medium-full bodied palate with good tannins. A superb Napa wine that works also for more classic Bordeaux palates like mine. The Number 9 vineyard impresses with lots of freshness as it is up in the hill and east facing. Having tasted pretty much all high-end Napa reds in the past 3 months, for me Colgin makes the best Napa red as they keep their wines fresh and enough perfumey.
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1/3/2017 - DrinkEverything702 wrote: 93 Points
Colgin is a lot like Opus, people either love it or think it is overrated. I am the latter. I will say that this vintage was much better than other vintages I've had, but for the price point I can think of wines that are much more enjoyable. I understand that it is meant to be an understated style, and it does perform well as such. With that being said, I would opt for a good vintage of second growth Margaux or St Julien if I was spending this much on this style.
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11/30/2016 - fcxj wrote: 94 Points
Preferred the 2005 Cariad today... floral and slightly greener aromatics, perhaps due to presence of sage. Felt a bit hotter, simpler, darker, prunier. With Joe, Ann and Paul.
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11/19/2016 - Collector1855 wrote: 97 Points
Napa Valley Master Class with Robert Parker; 11/10/2016-11/20/2016 (Napa Valley): During a tasting lunch at Colgin. This wine was a winner and a clear step up from the 2005 Tychson hill. Complex nose of dark fruit with cassis, earthy notes. The mouthfeel is great here, the right amount structure and acidity to carry the fruit. Very Napa in a good way. A very complete CabSav structurally and aromatically. Colgin has really impressed me during this Napa visit for making wines that are full bodied Napa yet are also aromatically interesting and do have the right amount of structure, not too sweet/flabby and also not to extracted/drying.
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11/6/2016 - RickyT12 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Splash decant
Dark Ruby, slight clear layer ring.
Dried violet, anise, blueberry, powder sugar, Apple skin, dried meat all nose. Lots going on. Flavors, blueberry, black currant, overripe cherry, star anise. Great mouth feel, and about 30 second finish. Wow 30 mins in transition new cherry chocolate liqueur comes out in nose very nice, at the end felt a little tired. Mint and a grassy flavor came out. 80% great wine, 20% tired. Not sure if this wine has much more in the tank. 5 years maybe. Could have just been my wine, but worth a note. Still an amazing wine though.
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9/24/2016 - KenK Likes this wine: 98 Points
The whole package. Wow wine. Awesome wine showing rich ripe black and red berries, dense core of sexy creamy fruit and all kinds of wild spices. So finely balance with perfect lift and a total joy to drink. A hedonists dream wine. Succulent and complete. Rarely gets any better than this. My score may be too conservative.
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8/13/2016 - Wine Buergler wrote: 100 Points
Was able to taste this alongside Bevan Tin Box and 100 Acre during recent 100 pt wine night -- this is a 100 pt wine - absolutely fantastic. Hard to rank these great Napa blends but this is right up there.....
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7/15/2016 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 97 Points
Just an incredible wine with layer upon layer of flavor and depth. One of the best wines I've had this year and one of the best Colgin's I've ever tasted. Bravo!!
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6/25/2016 - Thirsty1 Likes this wine:
Not bad for tasting note 999. This is great wine on an upward curve. Dark purple showing no age with very young blackberry and blueberry dark fruits. Some tasted oak - it's maturing at a glacial pace. It's better than the last bottle I've had and it has tremendous character and form. Everything harmonious and balanced. It's consistently moving in the right direction and has 20 or more years ahead of it.
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6/25/2016 - bubbachumps wrote: 96 Points
Special wine that keeps getting better with age. Classic cassis, some blackberry, charcoal and a touch of licorice on the nose. Well defined in the mouth, loads of fruit to buttress the ample structure. This will keep getting better for at least 3-5 years. Very special wine. Fortunate that my buddy shared all three of his only bottles with me.
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6/5/2016 - beezer6 wrote: 97 Points
WINE OF THE TRIP.
Johnny's Bachelor Weekend.
Dinner at Press. Greg's contribution.
Wow. Oh my gosh. Incredibly elegant. Soy, hoisen, leather and impeccable balance.
Incredibly long finish. Can't say enough. Limited notes.
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4/25/2016 - Amerique wrote: flawed
90 points - lacks depth and finish, soft, superficial, and very subtle black cherry fruit flavors
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3/27/2016 - bulldurham Likes this wine: 96 Points
Very drinkable; elegant; perfect consistency for beef
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2/9/2016 - jaylew1 wrote: 99 Points
All one could ask for. This vintage will end up ruling the post 2002 roost in CA. Structured but softening. Right on schedule.
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1/8/2016 - Bozekt wrote: 97 Points
Drank alongside the '10 Giodo Brunello and '10 Leoville-Barton for our 100 point dinner. John tasted PnP and said tannins made it almost undrinkable. 4 hours later was a different story - fruitiest of the three with blackberry and huckleberry prevalent and black plum coming through a few seconds later. A touch of vanilla and cedar rounded out the imposingly huge palate. If a wine could be massive and balanced at the same time, this is it - just about overpowered the steak. However, it is deep, hedonistic and wonderful once given time to open and it certainly needs time. Very pleasurable, but a LONG decant or 5 more years is almost a requirement for it to come into its own. California was powerfully represented at the table here, but we agreed that the other wines were more complex and layered than this one. Would gladly revisit in the fairly distant future!
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1/1/2016 - pmarlo Likes this wine: 97 Points
Cork pull decent, no infiltration and held up well. Cork really long too, a plus for me. First sip I could tell this wine was shut down hard, but had a lot of material just waiting to emerge. Fruit was muted. during the evening it began slowly to emerge and intensify. But the second day was absolutely marvelous. Incredible heady bouquet. the most incredible balance in a wine I have ever had. Crystalline pure in the flavors and not silky like say a Stags Leap wine is. Tannins really well behaved and held in check. The best cabernet based wine I have ever had. Have had Shafer HSS, Altamura, Dominus, Merus, Paul Hobbs and others and this one has topped them. Profound wine. As it took a full day to emerge, I think aging can continue for a good 10 years in prime storage conditions. Highly recommended. I like to bring good wines to a BYOW restaurant but I would think twice for this one so only because of the long time it took to fully develop and emerge.
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11/20/2015 - fcxj wrote: 96 Points
Very fine.
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11/7/2015 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
2015 Villa d’Este Wine Symposium - Kelly and Kevin's excellent adventure; 11/3/2015-11/9/2015 (Villa D’este, Lake Como): Served slightly cooler showing a bit more cab/vegetal and oak, cassis, ink, blueberry jam, dark spices and mineral. Excellent concentration, intense inky black fruits, bright acidity and mineral and very long finish.
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11/5/2015 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
2015 Villa d’Este Wine Symposium - Kelly and Kevin's excellent adventure; 11/3/2015-11/9/2015 (Villa D’este, Lake Como): Opulent big inky black fruit driven nose with a hint of Colgin coconut/vanilla and luxurious caramel. Incredible concentration, very Colvin and very cult.
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10/17/2015 - canan wrote: 99 Points
BYO US Extravaganza (Kong Hans): Cool but still very dense blackberry / black currant fruit but also a very impressive complexity.
The fruit is packed with sunshine but the wine still feels refreshing. Insanely balanced and very long aftertaste.
Very impressive wine that I just adored.
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9/23/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
This stunner is ready to go. Showing even better than the last time I tasted it, it's packed and stacked with all the right stuff. Layers of sweet, ripe, juicy, fresh fruit, polished, silky tannins and a hedonistic personality have created a true wine of refined, pleasure and purity. Just months away from its 10th birthday, if you own a bottle, you should pop a cork and this is really in the sweet spot. The wine was made from a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot.
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9/2/2015 - WojoWineCave Likes this wine: 100 Points
Hard to not give this a hundred. Who am I to disagree with RP? This is big, fruit forward, powerful but not tannic. In a perfect drinking window. It is silky smooth, eurphoric, ethereal and simply easy to guzzle. It has dark fruits, spice box, and a finish on the palate the lasts for minutes not seconds. Expensive, Yes, but what price for a hedonistic out of body experience? YOLO!
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6/27/2015 - levinml wrote: 94 Points
First of this vintage for me, drank over two nights. First night pretty euphoric. Big, round, grapey, long, etc. Maybe young and not full of secondary flavors (complexity), but fun to drink. Second night seemed a little more acidic. Not sure if it was something I ate before, but I was less thrilled, hence the mid-level score.
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5/1/2015 - vagrantone wrote: 85 Points
Tasted this in good company. It certainly is flawless, but it is also without any character. Typical overripe fruit, alcohol level where it no longer is invited back to the dinner table. I do not expect it to age very well in the sense of improving. The lack of complexity was appalling next to a nice bottle of Cos and a lesser vintage, but beautifully drinking bottle of Vosne-Romanee
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1/23/2015 - floridawinedrkr Likes this wine: 98 Points
The strongest nose of Cherry Cola with dark Chocolate I have ever experienced. Tremendous right out of the bottle. Smooth, big, full throttle, silky, and a long smooth finish. No heat, just very well together and showing flawlessly. Flavors of cola, chocolate covered cherries, cinnamon, earth, cedar & spices. The entire table picked that in a blind taste over 6 different wines. Tasted this at The Naples Winter Wine Festival.
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12/27/2014 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 94 Points
Big nose and dense dark structure. Incredible depth and long finish. Enjoyable now but this wine is built for the long haul.
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11/29/2014 - bubbachumps wrote: 95 Points
Has mellowed some from my last note on this wine. Really good stuff, still a massive wine with many great years ahead and likely some improvement. Classic cab notes with cassis, dark fruits and a wonderful floral component. Some serious structure still, but taking more of a seat behind the fruit from the last time I had it. Long finish. Really good, I'd love to try it in another 7-10 years.
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11/29/2014 - Thirsty1 Likes this wine:
You know you drank well that evening when Colgin wasn't even the best bottle on the table. This is a massive wine. I opened it and let it breath for 15 minutes then it went back in the bottle and opened it about about 3 hours later. Very perfumed with dark berry fruit up front - extremely youthful and playful. Secondary notes are not even there yet. Layers and layers of flavor and texture. Tannins had relaxed a bit - the only sign it was not bottled last year. Finish went on and on and on. This wine will be good 20 years from now but is drinking beautifully.
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8/16/2014 - fcxj wrote: 94 Points
Polished
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8/5/2014 - fcxj wrote: 94 Points
At Colgin, excellent
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6/28/2014 - patwjr Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted for 10 min., then rebottled for ride to restaurant. Popped & poured 45 min after decant. Beautiful, rich, smooth wine. Everyone loved it's balanced taste, nice weight & elegance.
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6/15/2014 - jclary wrote: 98 Points
Drank for Father's Day while watching the NBA finals. The nose reminded me of what I like about Bordeaux, with notes of coffee and tobacco. The wine is silky smooth on the palate with beautiful tannins, a very slight hint of vanilla, plenty of dark fruit, and a long extended finish. This wine is very well balanced for as big as it is. A great wine.
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4/6/2014 - shiel wrote: 99 Points
profound
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3/17/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
Tasted at the winery. Serious black fruit and black pepper on the nose. Powerful black and red fruit on the palate. A bit of tannic that will certainly integrate with the massive fruit in time. Long finish with excellent grip.
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12/23/2013 - domco wrote:
Going against the grain with this one. A very disappointing experience, especially for the price. B thought it might be off, but C and I didn't think so. I think he was just trying to find something to justify it. Decanted a couple hours, drank over another 2-3. Not much on the nose beyond the alcohol. Started out decent, some pretty big fruit (with a fair amount of oak), but a very disappointing, slightly bitter finish. Not the experience we hoped for. I think we would have been disappointed at a fraction of the price.
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11/29/2013 - nvandyk Likes this wine: 99 Points
Wow. With respect to Bordeaux, this puts to shame the 2000 Cheval Blanc (itself a superlative wine) that I had last night.
Again, consumed from Riedel Bordeaux Sommelier edition. Decanted for 30 minutes. Dark, barely penetrable ruby. There's a smidge of heat on the nose which is why I'm giving this 99 points rather than 100. This is a thick, unctuous, oily red blend with a lush, full mouthfeel and none of the heat that one would expect given the nose. Good structure to balance the opulence. Velvety tannins without an angle in them. Long, long finish. Manages to be rich without being overbearing. A phenomenal wine.
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11/15/2013 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 98 Points
A Privileged Colgin Tasting (One Market, San Francisco): An impressive powerhouse, more balanced than the 2010 (unsurprisingly), and starting to settle into a primary drinking zone. Dark berries and a soft vanilla underneath. Shows a bit of heat, and will benefit from several more years.
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11/14/2013 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine: 99 Points
This effort from star producer Ann Colgin flirts with perfection. The nose is perfectly open and accessible. The primary fruit is a bit muted and acidity is marching forward, but the integration and balance is superb. In my written notes I notice that I put down "My G-d this is good!!!" and it truly is. The palate is wonderful and is actually very close to perfection. The fruit is striking as is the acidity and the whole experience is just luxurious, rich, but at the same time refined and elegant. A profound wine! (Tasted in a flight with 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010 Colgin IX Estate.)
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7/20/2013 - kdrapp wrote:
2006 Colgin IX Proprietary Red Estate
Colgin
A Proprietary Blend Dry Red Table wine from
Napa, North Coast, California, USA
Source Reviewer Rating Maturity Current (Release) Cost
Wine Advocate #180
Dec 2008 Robert Parker 100 Drink: N/A $425-$823 (250)
From the Pritchard Hill Vineyard, the 2006 IX Proprietary Red Estate is a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. The good news is that there are 1,500 cases of this cuvee. It, too, reveals the noble sweetness of tannin, the extraordinary rich, intense mouthfeel, and sumptuous aromas of flowers, burning embers, blackberries, blueberries, spice box, and cedar. With extraordinary intensity, beautiful purity, a texture and flavors that build incrementally on the palate, and a significantly long finish, this is a perfect wine.
Colgin is one of the reference points for just what heights mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux varietals, and more recently, Syrah, can achieve in Napa Valley. This beautiful estate and winery overlooking Lake Hennessey is owned by Joe Wender and his wife, Ann Colgin (equally renowned for her auctioneering skills), who are assisted by David Abreu, the well-known Bordeaux wine consultant, Dr. Alain Raynaud, and Allison Tauziet, who has skillfully replaced the brilliant Mark Aubert. As the scores and tasting notes suggest, this was an exceptional tasting. Colgin’s 2006s are among the finest wines produced in the vintage.
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6/9/2013 - aegerter Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tasted blind I would have confused it with an Abreu, which shouldn't be a huge surprise as he is Ann Colgin's neighbor and vineyard consultant. I expected a blush with perfection, more femininity and grace but instead was faced with a giant that did little in terms of refinement and sophistication to hide the 15.6% alcohol.
Having leveled this criticism, I must admit that I liked it very much admired the dark inky color and amazing concentration.
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6/5/2013 - El Tej wrote: 99 Points
Epic. Evolved over a 2 hour decant. Laser focused with dark fruits, scorched earth but rounded off with a bit of finesse.
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3/22/2013 - KristianT wrote: 96 Points
Wow. Very dense and concentrated yet with a cool elegance. Should be cellared for 10+ years to peak.
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3/19/2013 - Vette Z06 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted 3 1/2 hours. Nose and palette of dark fruit (berries). I liked this wine but at each step, nose, palette and the finish there was alcohol present. Just enough to detract from an otherwise outstanding experience. I intend to wait a few years before opening another bottle. An obviously very well put together wine with just a bit of alcohol burn at this point to my palette.
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12/14/2012 - patwjr Likes this wine: 97 Points
Beautiful, rich, smooth wine. What a treat! Drinks well now with some air.
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12/11/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Spice box, sandalwood, graphite, espresso bean, dark berries and vanilla. In the mouth the wine is intense, fleshy and fresh, ending in a blast of black cherry, licorice and spice. This stellar wine is massive, (in all the right ways) with the structure to age and develop for at least another 10-15 or more years.
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12/9/2012 - shiel wrote: 99 Points
Fabulous wine. So dense and complex.
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11/18/2012 - shiel wrote: 97 Points
Drank at my daughter's wedding.
Top of the heat only surpassed by Shafer Hillside Select 2002.
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11/3/2012 - etherscreen wrote:
slow ox'd for 3 hours and decanted an additional 3 hours. not a 100 pt experience. a terrific wine no doubt, but a bit alcoholic. smoke and burning embers made it too reminiscent of a syrah.
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5/19/2012 - KimBot Likes this wine: 97 Points
This was not a 100 point bottle. Very balanced, very american, but lacked the nances of agreat bordeaux or barolo.
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4/29/2012 - shiel wrote: 91 Points
A bit disappointing but perhaps it is way too young or I didn't let its open up. Well balanced but lacked the intrige of prior offerings, especially the 05.
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4/28/2012 - the godfather wrote:
very nice
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12/7/2011 - Vinomarcus wrote: 94 Points
Wednesday Night Club - December 2011 (Peter Pratt's Inn): Blind - decanted - This poured black in color, the nose was a bit tight and unyielding but opened nicely over the course of the meal. I found the '05 more accessible and inviting, but this was a special wine. Dark blueberry, blackberry, cassis and creme de cocoa notes, very, very nice.
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10/2/2011 - Niagara wrote: 93 Points
A bit too much oak and a touch on the swet side.
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6/5/2011 - jeff nowak wrote: 92 Points
elzer cancer society dinner. in a colgin flight of three wines. i've not had many 06 napa cabs; however, this strikes me as a good one. nevertheless, clearly below the eagle because it is less expansive/more one dimensional in it's structure and fruit. tannic, and i wish almost everybody would throttle back the oak, but i liked this.
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3/24/2011 - buckeye76 wrote: 98 Points
BIG VIBRANT BERRY FRUIT IN THE NOSE WITH CURRANTS, BLACKBERRIES, BLACK CHERRIES, AND LEATHER. RICH DEEP BERRY FRUIT IN THE FLAVOR. COMPLEX WINE WITH A VERY LONG FINISH.
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12/16/2010 - phenricsson wrote: 98 Points
92;86. Dark, young looking and dense. Big, dense wine. Big structure but with the required sweetness to balance this. Rich, intense and big mouth feel. Intense, pure with dark, sweet fruit and a steely structure and lots of texture. Long dark after taste. Very young now and will probably wait another year for the next bottle to open but already looking forward to it.
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7/25/2010 - MarkC wrote:
Has a lot of potential, but consume way too young (and was totally overshadowed by the '02 Tychson Hill). Rich red currant, strawberry, with a fearsome tannic structure that suggests a least a few years before this should even be considered.
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7/25/2010 - bubbachumps wrote: 93 Points
This would have benefitted from a longer decant. It was thrown into the decanter for 30 minutes and consumed of the following 2 hours. Very focused nose of dark red fruits, cassis and faint note of toasty oak and touch of tapenade. It took considerable swirling to get these notes out of the wine. In the mouth, tighly focused and precise. The smoothest '06 Napa meritage I've had so far. Very hard wine for me to judge at this point, but it has all the stuffing to be exceptional. This has no obvious flaws - just difficult to get a handle on it because of the lack of decant. Opened on a whim by my friend on his daughter's baptism celebration and I am the godfather. Nice treat!
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5/7/2010 - ews3 wrote: 95 Points
Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 3rd Annual; 5/7/2010-5/8/2010 (Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC): Awesome. This wine really rocked. Tons of black fruit (currant and other), but also a richness that stood out amongst all these other outstanding wines. Long finish that made sips go a long way.
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4/24/2010 - Pknut wrote:
While the 2002 Harlan Estate was surprisingly excellent, this was shockingly simple. Flat and uninteresting. This would disappoint as a $20 wine; it's ludicrous at its actual price point. David and Lindsey's wedding.
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4/10/2010 - last chance wrote: 93 Points
Blind California Cult Cabernet Tasting (Mill Creek, WA): Tasted blind. My notes had vanilla, caramel, chocolate, and spicy currant. I think this could have benefited from a bit longer decant as the nose was the least expressive of this flight. After we weren’t blind any more, another taster said that he was getting some olive notes, and then I could pick that out also . I probably underrated this wine just because it was grouped into this utterly amazing flight.
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