2004 Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon Tychson Hill Vineyard Napa Valley California USA Wine Tasting Note

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2004
94
Spice, black cherry liqueur and incense aromas open to a silky, jammy, powerful sweet, tannic, wine with a jammy black cherry finish. There is a touch of heat in the finish.

Spice, black cherry liqueur and incense aromas open to a silky, jammy, powerful sweet, tannic, wine with a jammy black cherry finish. There is a touch of heat in the finish.

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Everything about Colgin Cellars, Napa Valley, California Cabernet Sauvignon wine producer profile, wine tasting notes, wine and food pairing tips, best vintages, history of the property, information on their wine making techniques, terroir and soil. You can also read about the Grapes used for California wine and learn about the extensive History of Napa Valley, California Wines

Colgin Cellars History, Overview

Colgin Cellars, founded by Ann Colgin produced their first Cabernet Sauvignon from the 1992 vintage with fruit harvested from Herb Lamb vineyards. Ann Colgin, like many other well-known wine makers got into the business due to her passion for wine.

After earning degrees from Vanderbilt and New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, Ann Colgin started working in the art art world, first at Christie’s and then Sotheby’s. It was during her tenure at Sotheby's that Ann Colgin developed her interest in wine. One of the first wines that changed her life was tasting her first bottle of the legendary, 1961 Chateau Latour!

What happened next was, during a visit to Napa Valley in 1988, while married to Fred Schrader, they attended one of the famous events associated with the Napa Valley Wine Auction. A few short years later, Ann Colgin and Fred Schrader founded Colgin Cellars. Colgin and Schrader dissolved their partnership and marriage. Ann Colgin retained Colgin Cellars and Fred Schrader went on to create Schrader Cellars.

One of the first decisions Ann Colgin made was to hire Helen Turley as the winemaker for Colgin Cellars. Ann Colgin also brought in David Abreu as her vineyard manager. That was considered the A-list team at the time.

By Colgin’s second vintage, they became one of the hot wines to earn true Cult wine status. Their initial releases were sold under the name of Colgin Schrader. In 1994, with the release of their third vintage, Colgin Cellars was all of a sudden one of the hot new Cult Napa wineries to own. In fact, the 1994 Colgin became the first California wine to sell for over $1,000 per bottle at auction!

Things changed with time. Helen Turley was replaced by Mark Aubert, who left to concentrate on his own brand. Mark Aubert was replaced by the young, talented, Allison Tauziet. Alain Raynaud, the well-known Bordeaux consultant is also part of the team that works with Colgin Cellars.

Based on an extensive vertical with Ann Colgin and Allison Tauziet in 2012, the wines being made by Tauziet at Colgin are some of the finest wines the estate has ever produced! And that's really saying something. Alain Raynaud from Bordeaux is their consultant for vineyard management and wine making.

Colgin Cellars began producing wine from purchased fruit from the Herb Lamb winery. That changed in 1997 when Ann Colgin and Joe Wender added the vineyard of Tychson Hills to their holdings. Owning Tychson Hills is a tremendous source of pride for Ann Colgin because the original creator of Tychson Hills Vineyard, Josephine Tychson was the first female vintner in the Napa Valley. Tychson Vineyards had become dilapidated over the years and required a complete replanting.

The first vintage from Colgin Tychson Hill came from the 2000 vintage. Shortly after obtaining Tychson Hills, Ann Colgin and Joe Wender expanded their holdings to include their Colgin IX vineyard on Pritchard Hill in 2008. 2010 became the first vintage to include fruit from the recently planted Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot vines in the Tychson Hill Cabernet Sauvignon wine.

In 2017, Colgin Cellars announced they were selling a large portion of the estate to LVMH. Colgin sells 60% of their vineyards to LVMH

Colgin Cellars Vineyards, Wines, Winemaking

Colgin Cellars is located on a stunningly, picturesque, 125 acre parcel on Pritchard Hill. With 20 planted acres at a high elevation that ranges from 1,150 to 1,350 feet about sea level, the terroir is based on rocky, volcanic soils.

This is where the fruit for Colgin IX comes from. The cellars were completed in 2002. Colgin still works with Herb Lamb fruit, as well as fruit purchased from some of the best sites owned by David Abreu from his Madrona vineyard. However, they also own some of the best vineyard land in the valley.

Colgin Cellars produces several Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Herb Lamb, Tychson Hill, Colgin IX and Cariad. Colgin Cellars also produces one of the top Syrah wines from Napa as well. The wines of Colgin Cellars are sold through their popular mailing list.

In 2020, Colgin added a new, early drinking wine to their line-up, Jubilation. Jubilation is a Cabernet dominated blend that comes from a blend of young vines and a barrel selection from all 3 of their hillside vineyards. 2016 marks the debut vintage.

Serving and Decanting Colgin Cellars with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Colgin Cellars wines are best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. Young vintages of their red wine can be decanted for 1-3 hours, depending on the character of the vintage. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Colgin Cellar wines are best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, ribs, hamburgers, barbecue, roasted, braised, grilled dishes and stews. Colgin Cellars are also good with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, salmon, mushrooms and pasta.

www.colgincellars.com