Colgin, Cariad, Napa Valley

Time to Taste 2000 Bordeaux III (R&D’s) : In a word- impressive. Dark color. Aromas of black fruit, herbs, tobacco and blueberry. Full-bodied with fine, sweet tannins and flavors of currants, plum, chocolate and tobacco. Balanced; wonderful silky mouthfeel with a lengthy finish. 94-95 pts. (J&S)

2011 vintage

Double decanted for 2 hours, deep ruby, black cherries on the nose & palate, med. tannins, long finish; outstanding, but likely not yet at peak, drink or hold, no rush

2009 vintage

Perfect fill. Slow Ox for 4 hours. Merlot elements of mocha coming through on nose right away, but then came waves of casis, plum, red fruits, and vanilla. Nose was at 95+ points. Palate did not live up to the nose. On the palate the wine was more subtle and not as seamlessly layered as it was on the nose. The dark fruits were thinner, probably owing the nature of the vintage. Still a wonderfuly wine in many respects, but …

2011 vintage

Some Wine Tasted Watching the Chicago Air & Water Show (Lake Shore Drive - Chicago IL) : Small glass. While I've never had this wine from this vintage before, we found it somewhat flat and underwhelming, thinking it possibly somehow an incorrect bottle.

2011 vintage

Decanted and aired for 3 hrs. Heavy sediment. Nose: Great 10/10. Graphite, pencil shavings. Palate: 9/10. Wow. Complex. Well balanced tannin and acidity. Smooth. Cassis, minerals, barnyard (in the good way). Finish: 9/10. Price: 8/10 ($265 2024). Enjoyment: 10/10. Would buy again: Yes. It's drinking nicely now.

2011 vintage

Slow ox one hour. Black currant, cedar and lead pencil. Full bodied, layered, high alcohol is noticeable. This wasn't quite coming together. Give it some more time and perhaps it will improve further.

2009 vintage

2 hr double decant. What struck me most about this is how earthy it was, in a general sense: dominated by pencil lead, sandalwood, with a wild whiff of violets thrown in at random. The fruit - while there - was almost background noise to the pyrotechnic minerality and spice elements. It doesn’t taste remotely like typical Napa cab to me (nor should it I guess as a blend). The cab franc shows up in spades as a distinct impression …

2011 vintage

Slow ox for one hour. Big wine, high alcohol. Really well made though. Black fruits, interesting herbaciousness, long finish. It’s a serious wine with a long life but lacks elegance.

2009 vintage

One of the most interesting wines I've ever tasted! You can tell by the first sip this is something special. At this stage, and after 3 hours decanting, it's open for business. Loads of crush currants, hints of pencil lead and pepper on the backend. Quite succulent, jammy and grippy! The finish is intense, dazzling the pallet. Quite full bodied, rich and dense. Its truly a treat to simply drink this. I will pair with dry aged prime ribeye. Should …

2011 vintage

Powerful yet balanced

2011 vintage

Decanted for about an hour. This starts all guns blazing. Big, bold, concentrated, pure with some tannic grip. After an hour in the glass it improves, the tannins integrate and it becomes more elegant. Overall this is still very young and need at least five more years to be at its best.

2009 vintage

This needs a 3-hour decant. Always a pleasure to drink wines such as these. The 2011 is a bargain relative to other vintages.

2011 vintage

Cooked. Down the drain unfortunately... :( Hope my other bottles are ok 🤞

2011 vintage

Fantastic wine. Had with a ribeye and roasted cauliflower. Black cherry and currant on the nose and bright red fruit on the palette followed with crushed rock and a beautiful finish. Decanted two hours.

2011 vintage

59% Cabernet Sauvignon 22% Merlot 10% Cabernet Franc 9% Petit Verdot Strong thick, and chewy belies the blend.

2009 vintage

Decanted two hours. This showed beautifully with fine tannins, bright saucy acid, blackcurrant, thyme, anise, cayenne. These wines are so well made. The Cariad is the more sensual, sexy blend that reminds me of Mouton Rothschild while the IX is more stately and full bodied. These stand out from the herd of the great California cult wines because of their balance although flavors are still intense and beautiful. Have I said I'm a fan? Second of two bottles bought at …

2011 vintage

A good wine. That said, the price tag of $240 was inadequate. I’ve had many Cali cabs that blow this away...thinking some Schraders, Bonds, and Auraujo’s I’ve had. It’s a good wine with plenty of power but there’s something not working here. I’d pass in the future. First experience with Colgin and frankly disappointed.

2009 vintage

Decanted two hours. Silky and pure blackcurrant and kiwi fruit on the palate, clearly the product of a cool vintage but so well made. Supple tannins indicate it's time to drink up.

2011 vintage

Blueberry, smoke and pencil shavings on the nose. Palate is all blackberry and stewed cherries. Precise and balanced with a very long finish. Tannins are well integrated and fine grained. Approachable now.

2011 vintage

Boom! In great shape today - very together, great length and fabulous aroma. Clearly will go on for another decade or more but totally worth trying now if you have several.

2009 vintage

Similar to the 09 IX estate that I had the other night in terms of profile of nose and palate; both dominated by cassis and dark cherry. However, not as weighty or persistent. It is drinking well now, like the IX.

2009 vintage

Taste of berries, excellent balance Love it

2011 vintage

Velvety smooth, lasting finish, floral bouquet. A bit early to consume, but if you can be patient, give it 3 -5 more years and try again.

2011 vintage

Drank this over two days. Was very impressed. I haven’t enjoyed drinking Napa wines for quite a while, just too much for the palate. But this 2011 Colgin Cariad turned out to show a lot more red fruits and good balance structure than I thought. On the nose, black cherries, red berries, shaved pencil, crushed rocks, and smoke. On the palate, cinnamon, peppery spices, purple flowers and red/purple fruits, with good minerality and structure. The second day, the wines was …

2011 vintage

HOLD "Sleeper" Napa Cabernets from 2011 Critically maligned, the 2011 vintage nevertheless yielded stars across the price spectrum: Louis Martini, Antica, J.Davies, Grgich Hills and Dominos, among others. Forbes, April 30, 2018

2011 vintage

Decanted, though it was done more because I could see a lot of sediment than any other reason as this was pretty accessible from the start. Similar to previous bottle in 2016, only this has opened up a good bit and seems to be in the drinking window for my tastes. Really good and much better than the 2011 IX Estate I had a few weeks ago.

2011 vintage

Wait... Dense purple black. Intense currant cedary aromas Ripe dense rich tannic low p Lots of stuff going on, but at this time, this is more impressive than delicious. Hopefully ready in 10 years? YFS

2009 vintage

A bit richer and fatter than the other two wines with flavors of dark berries and black licorice. Broad across the palate with good intensity and somewhat rustic tannins (at least compared to the Tychson). Seems closed but poised for further aging. 93+

2011 vintage

Anyone who says 2011 was an off year for Napa cabs, this elixir bucks the trend. Decanted for two hours and got better as the night went on...by the end of the evening (5 hours after the initial decant) the wine was perfection. Dark berries, stone fruit, charred earth, the best christmas fruit cake....can't wait to see this one evolve. Highly recommended.

2011 vintage

Very approachable. First Cariad, so not sure if that's a product of the vintage or the blend (or both). Lots of cherry, and very smooth. Great 2011 with some upside potential. 94+

2011 vintage

With josh and Kaitlin during inventory

2011 vintage

This was our first Colgin Cariad 2009 and in my mind it was no where near ready to drink. Bought this in Napa Valley. This wine was massive, towering, epic and the heat was too much to drink. This wine was all over the place even after a 5 hour decant. Heat from the alcohol was massively over powering. It consumed the flavors. We could not even finish the bottle or our glasses. I imagine this wine will be unreal …

2009 vintage

Vintage Portfolio Tasting (Drake Hotel Chicago) : Expansive. Really royal and balanced.

2009 vintage

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Colgin, Cariad, Napa Valley

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