“One of the Fifty Greatest Wine Estates in the World”
This renowned Napa estate in St Helena is one of California’s best. Specialising in ultra-premium tiny production, their impeccable reputation is rooted in four wines: Tychson Hill Cabernet Sauvignon; Cariad Napa Valley red; IX Estate Napa Valley red and IX Estate Syrah. The total production of all four wines is less than 2,600 cases each year which means global demand by far outweighs the quantity of wine produced. In 2005 Robert Parker crowned Colgin Cellars as “One of the Fifty Greatest Wine Estates in the World” and this still stands today.
The ethos of Colgin is to create wines of perfume, freshness and minerality while embracing the diversity of the unique and ancient hillside soils. Each vineyard benefits from volcanic terroir and perfect elevation, as well as the cooling influence of air flow and its position just below the fog line. The estate was one the first in the region to adopt the Burgundian approach and plant vines on the mid-slope where the soils are rich in mineral deposits. This proved to be transformative, producing wines of such astounding complexity that they became some of the most desirable in the region and it is still what sets them apart from any competition today.
Colgin Cellars was founded by Ann Colgin, who fell in love with the region in the 1980s and saw the potential this incredible land had to offer. She set about carving out and re-discovering the ancient vineyards on this exquisite site. The female pioneering spirit runs deep here. Ann has replanted 3.5 of the original acres at her historic property naming it Tychson Hill, in honour of Josephine Tychson who owned and farmed the property in the 1880s. Today the winemaking is led by Allison Tauziet, who joined in 2005 and knows the vineyards intimately. Tauziet works closely with the vineyard teams and oversees the production of all Colgin wines. Her attention to detail in producing handcrafted red wines with the gentlest of touches is consistently producing world-beating results.
Colgin Cellars’ legendary status has been sealed by its inclusion as one of LVMH’s ‘Vins d’Exception’, alongside the Bordeaux and Burgundy powerhouses of Château Cheval Blanc, Château d’Yquem, and Domaine du Clos de Lambrays. The only New World producer in this renowned group, Colgin Cellars shares with them an obsessive drive to sustain flawless quality, perfect expression of terroir and nuance of character throughout their wines’ extensive lifespans.
A Recent Tasting with Paul Roberts
In a recent conversation and tasting with the hugely knowledgeable COO of Colgin Cellars, Paul Roberts, he shared some fascinating insights into the estate. Despite what is thought, Napa is a very small wine growing regions, in fact it is the same size as Burgundy. It is very diverse and boasts a tapestry of 52 unique soils. Paul explained, there are only 101 different soil types globally, proving how rich this region is and how diverse the wines can be. The aspects and geology in Napa are incredible. He also explained that the berry size of Colgin’s Cabernet grapes is 30% smaller than those from Bordeaux or Tuscany due to its special position. They also have thicker skins but achieve perfect ripeness which imparts outstanding texture and power as well as a beautifully ripe structure. Each wine recounts a sense of place, its own unique identity and a DNA rooted in the land and terroir of each individual vineyard. They are crafted by a team who live and breathe the land. Paul’s passion was truly palpable.
He went on to share his excitement for the 2018 and 2019 vintages and his thoughts for 2020 and 2021. For Paul, these two vintages easily stand in the top ten in the history of estate. He told us his top four are 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2019. While 2018 is darker and more architectural, 2019 has gorgeous, sumptuous ripe fruit and is a spellbinding vintage. Sadly, they already know there will be nothing produced in 2020. Paul told us this will be the first time in the history of the estate they had no wine at all due to climatic conditions. As for 2021, they will need to wait and see, but it looked like drought conditions at bud break.
Paul was also excited to talk about their brilliant new vineyard that they planted in 2019, looking out over the IX Estate plot. When planting is complete, it will be a total of eight hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and its maiden vintage will be in 2027. The team are tremendously excited about this new addition, and we cannot wait to see what the first results are like.
Colgin IX Estate Napa Valley
Colgin Tychson Hill
