Colgin Cellars: the evolution of a cult Napa estate through 14 wines

Colgin Cellars has been one of Napa Valley‘s acclaimed cult wineries virtually since its founding in 1992. That it produced just 175 cases in its debut vintage only consolidated this status.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for 14 wines from Colgin Cellars

It certainly enjoyed prestigious parentage. Ann Colgin was a consultant at auction house Sotheby’s and, after divorcing her husband in 1997, married Joe Wender, a senior executive at investment bank Goldman Sachs.

They hired the best advice from the beginning: Helen Turley as winemaker (later replaced by Mark Aubert) and David Abreu as vineyard consultant. But there have been significant changes of late.

Luxury goods firm LVMH took a controlling share in the business in 2017, and Paul Roberts MS, whom I first met when he was wine director at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry restaurant, joined the Colgin team in 2013 and became joint CEO in 2022. The current winemaker is Allison Tauziet.

From the outset, these were massive wines. I recall a 2003 IX Estate blend that weighed in at 15.6% alcohol. But in recent years, the wines have shown a lighter touch.

Roberts explains: ‘We focus on different soil types from three locations. Napa wines have often emphasised power, but we also want perfume, freshness and minerality. We farm and harvest to retain high natural acidity and a sense of place. We pick for a balance of tannins and acidity and don’t pick by numbers.’

Three key vineyards

The Herb Lamb vineyard at the foot of Howell Mountain produced the earliest vintages, however it was replanted in 2008. Since then, Colgin has focused on three sites for its wines.

Tychson Hill is in St Helena. A historic property, it was the source for the renowned Charles Krug clarets in the 19th century, and the winery was based in the present Freemark Abbey winery in the town. Colgin bought the vineyard in 1996, replanting it. There are volcanic components in the soil which give the wine considerable finesse.

The steep Cariad vineyard is also in St Helena, behind Spottswoode and close to Spring Mountain. It’s on a gravelly former riverbed site with stony volcanic soils. In contrast to Tychson Hill, mainly planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cariad also contains other Bordeaux varieties.

The IX Estate vineyard is in Pritchard Hill below the pioneering Chappellet vineyard. The soil is reddish volcanic, and dozens of boulders had to be removed before the land could be planted at an elevation up to 425m. Here too, Colgin introduced a range of Bordeaux varieties, and 1.5ha of the 8ha are planted with Syrah, which thrives in the vineyard’s coolest spots. The clones came originally from the northern Rhône.

A trend towards nuance

Although early vintages were aged in new French oak, Colgin has since dialled back on the new wood, and the current proportion is about 65%. The winemaking is the same for all the wines.

What is clear is that there has been a refining of the style at Colgin. Vintages such as 2003 and 2006 were quite oak driven and dense. These were big wines that reflected the fashion for such styles at the time. Recent vintages have shown a lighter touch, less extraction and more fragrant floral aromas. Nonetheless, they remain unmistakably Napa in their density and concentration.

There are gradual changes in the vineyard, too, with Merlot slowly replaced with Cabernet Franc. Roberts is adamant that Napa’s climate makes it impossible to produce facsimiles of Margaux or Côte-Rôtie in California. But that doesn’t mean that the best vineyards, such as Colgin’s, cannot produce wines with finesse and subtlety.

Colgin Cellars: a vertical of 14 wines

Wines are listed in vintage order youngest to oldest

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