- CRITICAL REVIEWS
- WINEMAKER NOTES
Jeb Dunnuck
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Vinous
2013 Colgin Cellars IX Estate Red, Napa Valley, USA
Our “IX Estate” is a powerful blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.
“IX Estate” is a wine of great power with towering aromatics of dark fruits, savory herbs, and spice. First produced in 2002, “IX Estate” can be enjoyed in youth and ages gracefully for years to come.
TASTING NOTES
The 2013 "IX Estate" captivates you with a concentration of flavors, but underneath the surface the wine is replete with nuance. The wine envelops the senses with a nose of sweet floral blossoms and bouquet garni. Vibrant notes of licorice, dark fruit, and botanicals meld together with flavors of pure wet mineral and iron. Opulence on the nose carries through to the palate, where it displays smooth layers of tannin. The juicy and savory texture builds to a long, rich finish. Though the 2013 vintage is compelling in youth, the power, breadth, and depth will most certainly age for a generation.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
With the ideal blend of cool and warm weather at the right time, the 2013 growing season gave us perfectly ripened fruit, with purely preserved flavors, and inky grape skins. What was somewhat atypical about 2013 was the rainfall pattern, as we were in our second year of a drought. All of our winter rain fell in late 2012 and a small amount in January. Beyond January, we had no rain, yet the weather, as it relates to temperature and fog patterns, was absolutely magical. With a classically timed budbreak to start the season, then gorgeous warm weather during bloom, the vines set a homogenous and fruitful crop—an ideal setup to harvest. In a sense, the 2013 season was “made to order.” By mid-September, we reached a holding pattern of sunny and mild weather. By that point, the berries had attained an unbelievable intensity of flavor, color, and delicious tannin. The 2013 vintage was one that tested our courage to pick early rather than our patience to ripen the fruit longer. That same fortitude and self-restraint carried into the winemaking. With fruit so rich in flavor and texture, we found the wines extracted very effortlessly, and thus the balance between power and elegance in the 2013 vintage was achieved with shorter macerations in the cellar.