Colgin IX Estate Red 2023 Front Bottle Shot

Winemaker Notes

The 2023 “IX Estate” exudes magnetic, assertive energy, its aromatics audaciously vivid. The bouquet is intensely layered, revealing a full spectrum of fruit flavors—from blueberry and plum to traces of wild berry—each poised just shy of full ripeness, creating tension and intrigue. Infused with damp, vibrant herbal notes, the fruit is complemented by black olive, sage, and chamomile, while crushed rock lends a striking mineral undertone. The nose is profoundly cooling, both arresting and luminous. On the palate, the wine is polished and expansive, yet entirely fluid, with layers that reveal themselves in precise succession. The dynamic interplay of bright acidity and restrained sweetness is perfectly tailored to its form, generating energy and composure throughout. Edged with gently bitter herbs and notes of mineral, the wine culminates in a spirited finish.

Blend: 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot

Professional Ratings

100 Jeb Dunnuck
The estate vineyard on Pritchard Hill delivers a blockbuster, powerful, Latour-like expression from Napa with the 2023 IX Estate. Blackcurrants, scorched earth, crushed stone, graphite, and dried herbs, as well as subtle floral nuances, all define the aromatics. Based on 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, and 9% Petit Verdot aged 20 months in French oak, it's full-bodied and incredibly concentrated, with building tannins, a deep, layered mid-palate, and a huge finish. It deserves a decade of bottle age and will be a 50- to 60-year wine. Drink 2035-2085.
100 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Colgin's 2023 IX Estate offers up compelling aromas of wild sage, ripe blueberries and Bing cherries that seamlessly roll into a supple, velvety wave of full-bodied pleasure. Concentrated, richly textured and seemingly endless on the finish, it's a tour de force marriage of passion, terroir, farming and winemaking expertise that has yielded amazing results in this super vintage.
100 Vinous
The 2023 IX Estate is a quintessential wine from this corner of Napa Valley. Bright, dynamic and constantly changing in the glass, the 2023 is a mesmerizing, beguiling beauty. Graphite, incense, dried herbs, black cherry, espresso and lavender soar upward. A wine of stature, the IX Estate is bristling with tension, energy and class. I would not dream of touching a bottle anytime soon. Magnificent.
99 Decanter
The IX Estate, farmed organically since 2018, is rooted in weathered volcanic rock – a complex tapestry of ancient lava flows, seismic upheaval, and millennia of geological activity that has produced extraordinarily well-draining soils. The vines never enter a growing season with excessive vigour. At the same time, pockets of ancient, weathered clay retain moisture deep below the surface, encouraging roots to dig down and creating a natural rhythm of restraint and vitality. There is ample colour from the skins and abundant tannin from the seeds, so precision in handling is critical. The vineyard was first planted in 2000; prior to that, it was wild scrubland. The wine still carries that imprint – scrub brush, garrigue, and a distinctly mineral character that speaks clearly of the IX Estate. There is a rugged wildness to the mineral expression, building across the palate with ultra-mature, ripe tannins that soar with power yet retain a glossy refinement. They frame an exotically pure core of fruit. The depth and concentration are striking, perhaps enhanced by the warmer, drier night air that surrounds the site, acting as a natural maturing influence on tannins while the fruit continues to concentrate. For all its density and intensity, there is remarkable elegance and vitality. A truly compelling wine in 2023.
99 James Suckling
Blackberry, blueberry, iodine and crushed stone aromas follow through to a medium to full body. Tight and tannic at the end. Very structured and muscular with fine form. Needs time to soften.
95 Wine Spectator
A flicker of bay leaf peeks out from behind a dense core of cassis, blackberry reduction and black cherry paste flavors. Tugs of singed alder, sweet tobacco and cast iron underscore the lengthy, slightly muscular finish. A touch chunky, this relies more on tannins than acidity (which is atypical in this vintage); cellaring is needed.

Colgin

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Colgin Cellars produces exquisitely handcrafted red wines using only the finest neo-classical winemaking methods in concert with small yields, gentle handling, attentive sorting and meticulous blending.

The Colgin winery, completed in 2002, is located at the northern end of IX Estate in the Pritchard Hill area of St. Helena, California. The state-of-the-art winery provides an inspiring view of Lake Hennessey.

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Napa Valley Red Wine

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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.

CGN4130305_2023 Item# 4130305