- CRITICAL REVIEWS
- WINEMAKER NOTES
Jeb Dunnuck
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Vinous
2016 Colgin Cellars Tychson Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA
TASTING NOTES
The pure expression of fruit and mineral in the 2016 “Tychson Hill” shows the energy of the vintage. The ideal growing season of 2016 imparts into the wine an innate delicacy and opulence. Brimming with black cherry, plum, and black currant, the 2016 vintage exudes the classic flavors of Cabernet Sauvignon. Compelling notes of cobblestones and graphite meld with a graceful lift of talc and floral. A harmonious texture of seamless tannins builds in breadth and layers as the wine glides across the palate.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
The winter of 2016 began with steady rainfall, bringing small doses over the entire winter and ending with a very rainy beginning of March. Following a sequence of drought vintages beginning in 2012, the wet winter brought a final reprieve from dry conditions. Budbreak arrived shortly thereafter as vines began a season that restored balance to vine and soil health. Steady shoot growth followed in April, and warm weather took hold in May during the blooming period. This healthy start to the season was a blessing, but the incredible weather that followed in the summer and fall would become the story of the vintage. We began harvest under foggy conditions in the middle of September. The mild nature of the remainder of the season would serve to retain flavor nuances and accumulate heightened amounts of color in the grape skins. Fruit condition over the entirety of harvest was impeccable. Supple skinned berries bursting with flavor and color extracted to form wines of freshness and vibrancy with an intensely harmonious palate. The wines of the 2016 vintage are thrilling and multifaceted- every nuance of delectable fruit is matched by vivid notes of each distinctive terroir.