Winemaker Notes
Blend: 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I probably would have rated the 2012 IX Estate a triple-digit score if it hadn’t been followed by this otherworldly 2013 IX Estate. One of the finest wines to ever pass my lips, this insanely good effort offers a complex, layered bouquet of darker currants, white truffle, iron, tobacco, graphite, and lead pencil. Possessing more than a passing resemblance to the 2009 Château Latour, it’s full-bodied, has a deep, concentrated mouthfeel, gorgeous tannins, and a great, great finish. It doesn’t get any better, and this legendary Napa Valley red can be drunk any time over the coming three decades or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Another perfect wine from Ann Colgin and her winemaking team is the 2013 IX Proprietary Red Estate, a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot. An absolutely compelling wine, with notes of lead pencil shavings, spring flowers, blueberry, blackberry and cassis, it has the full smorgasbord of black and blue fruits, wonderfully integrated, toasty oak, acidity and tannin, a floral note that is unmistakable, and great richness, density and purity. It is an utterly exceptional wine and a tribute to not only a great vineyard, but impeccable winemaking and upbringing. It should drink well for 30+ years as well.
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James Suckling
The aromas to this are perfect with black truffle, sage, blueberry and wet earth. Changes all the time. Full body with lots of richness and fruit. The intensity is electric. Chewy tannins yet polished and silky. It lasts for minutes on the palate. A joy to taste (drink) now but it's made for long-term aging.
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Wine Spectator
A powerful expression of rich, detailed, polished Cabernet, with layer upon layer of blackberry, licorice, kirsch, graphite and savory herb flavors. Impeccably balanced and nuanced, authoritative and refined in the same sip. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2019 through 2025.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.