Colgin IX Estate Red 2002

Professional Ratings

• 100 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  Another perfect wine, which has turned out even better than I anticipated seven years ago, is the estate wine, the 2002 IX Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot from the hillsides above the winery (one of the most gorgeous vineyards I’ve ever seen in the world). Yields were a frightening one-half ton per acre. Like all of Colgin’s 2002s, as this wine sat in the glass it seemed to change and improve every 20 seconds or so. Gorgeous black/plum/purple in color, much like the Tychson Hill, it offers up a completely different set of aromatics, ranging from Asian soy to damp forest floor to hints of mountain laurel, lavender, roasted meats, a touch of pepper, and wonderfully sweet blackberry and cassis fruit. Some charcoal and subtle barbecue smoke are also present in this extraordinary statement, which has also evolved at a relatively rapid pace. It seems fully mature by most standards yet should hold at this plateau for at least a decade. What is remarkable about all of these wines is that they were aged in 100% new French oak, but the oak has gone into total hiding.
• 97 Wine Spectator
  An awesome young wine. Pure, rich and delicious, with a wealth of concentrated currant, blackberry and pomegranate flavors that are tightly wound and focused. The beam of fruit is impeccably structured, and the layers of flavor unfold gracefully. Expands on the finish, returning to core fruit flavors and adding a nice dash of mocha and cedar.