For nearly three decades, Colgin Cellars has been dedicated to enriching and sustaining the hallowed history of Napa Valley wine production. Our goal has been to craft elegant and profound wines that inspire memories.
Since 1992, Colgin Cellars navigates the exciting future of Napa Valley wine with the same focus, passion, and reverence that guided our first thirty years.
1988: Ann Colgin attends Napa Valley Wine Auction and falls in love with the Napa Valley
1992: Fruit is sourced from the Herb Lamb vineyard to craft the first wine
1995: The first vintage of Colgin Cellars, 1992 “Herb Lamb” is released
1996: Colgin purchases a historic vineyard site originally planted in 1861, replanted in 1881, which was later removed in the early 1900s
1997: 3.5 of the original acreage at the historic property is replanted and the site is named Tychson Hill, in honor of Josephine Tychson who owned and farmed the property in the 1880s
1998: Colgin purchases a 125-acre parcel overlooking Lake Hennessey and begins planting a 20-acre vineyard in addition to building the winery facility
1999: The first vintage of “Cariad” is produced
2000: Ann Colgin marries Joe Wender on 09/09 at the newly named IX Estate
2000: The first vintage of “Tychson Hill” is produced
2000: Vines are planted at IX Estate, including 4 acres planted to Syrah
2002: The first vintage of “IX Estate” and “IX Estate” Syrah is produced
2005: Colgin is named “One of the Fifty Greatest Wine Estates in the World” by Robert M. Parker, Jr.
2007: The uppermost parcel of Josephine Tychson’s holdings are added to Tychson Hill
2014: The final piece of Josephine Tychson’s original land grant is added to the southern end of Tychson Hill
2016: Colgin Cellars celebrates its 25th vintage
2017: Colgin Cellars becomes a strategic partner with LVMH and Bernard Arnault, and a member of Vins d’Exception alongside Château Cheval Blanc, Château d’Yquem, and Domaine du Clos des Lambrays
2021: Colgin Cellars celebrates thirty years crafting wines from Napa’s distinct hillsides
2022: A new parcel of IX Estate is planted
Jubilation is our newest wine in the Colgin Cellars collection. Jubilation is our Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine created with a selection of barrels that display earlier drinking characteristics from our three hillside vineyards. As our vine age has matured and small additions have been made to our original holdings, we had the privilege of increasing our selectivity. Following the blending of our single-vineyard wines, we were fortunate to have a collection of barrels that conveyed the same elegance and complexity for which we are known, yet on a more supple, approachable frame. Jubilation is a wine ready to enjoy now, with the pedigree to age gracefully in the cellar, maintaining the Colgin Cellars’ hallmarks of perfume, freshness, and minerality. The inaugural bottling of Jubilation from the 2016 vintage was released in late 2020. Future vintages are destined for select members of the fine wine trade.
Winery Notes:
Each year, we set aside the best barrels of our Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley to produce Special Selection. Distinguished by extremely fine, velvety tannins and enjoyable upon release or with aging. A wine of structure with intense concentration of supple flavors and dark fruits. Special Selection is the only wine in the world honored twice as Wine Spectator magazine’s “Wine of the Year.”
Bernardins Muscat Beaumes Venise VDN 100% Muscat petits grains (75% Blanc, 25% Red)
Copper/rose hue and ripe soft aromas of orange, spice and flowers. The wine is full bodied with the texture of silk and flavors of orange custard, white peach, pear, apricot, toffee and orange peel.
The vineyards and their terroir are the essence of our wines. This is where everything starts and where we focus our efforts throughout the year. You can’t make great wine without great grapes.
The viticulture is essentially done by hand. Five people work full-time in the vineyards. They are supplemented by seasonal employees who work during bunch thinning and the harvest in order to bring out the very best in our vines. Working by hand and the attention each vine gets are fundamental. Pruning, de-budding, trellising, leaf removal and picking are thus carried out by hand with the utmost care.
We prepare the soil by using good old-fashioned ploughing. Organic compost is made from grape marc (the discarded stalks and skins).
As a way of protecting the plants, we only use phytosanitary products when necessary and within strict guidelines by staggering the treatments appropriately, to minimise the amount of chemicals used. We prefer to use as much as possible manual and organic techniques . Leaving natural grass cover, removing buds and leaves from the vines, preserving biodiversity around the vineyard: olive, almond and cypress trees, wild rosemary and capers.
In the spirit of respecting traditional techniques and the best elements of modern technology, cellar manager Andrew Hall and his winemaker son Romain Hall take family traditions very seriously.
When making our wines, the Muscat de Beaumes de Venise plays a central role and requires great care. After picking the grapes by hand, we press them straightaway to ferment the juice without skins. We don’t add any yeasts and keep the alcoholic fermentation in check by temperature control. Vin Doux Naturel winemaking involves stopping fermentation to preserve the grapes’ natural sweetness. During vinification, we watch the vats day and night and add the fortifying spirit just at the right moment. At this stage, the wine’s final balance is at stake. The wine is then aged in stainless steel tanks for 6 months before bottling.
Review:
"Butterscotch and apricot jam aromas. A lighter vintage of this cuvée, but very fresh and drinkable, and the best Muscat of the vintage by far. 110g/L residual sugar. In conversion to organic. - Matt WALLS"
- Decanter (November 2024), 91 pts