2013 Syrah IX Estate

Who knew that an isolated spot in the eastern hills above St. Helena, in an area best known for Cabernet Sauvignon, would produce one of America’s most consistently spectacular Syrah bottlings? Apparently, Ann Colgin did.

Ann Colgin established Colgin Cellars in 1992 and then in 1998 purchased a 125-acre high-altitude estate on volcanic soil in the Pritchard Hill area overlooking Lake Hennessey. She and her husband Joe Wender named their property IX Estate because it was parcel #9 when previously owned by the Long Family and because Ann married Joe on September 9 (9/9). In 2000, they planted 20 acres of vines on IX Estate and in 2002 they completed their winery there and vinified their first harvest—not just the IX Red Wine (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) but a 100% Syrah that was stunningly rich and complex from the get-go. Subsequent vintages have only proven the site’s greatness for Syrah.

Ann Colgin's 2013s are just as beautiful from bottle as they were when I first tasted them from barrel in the spring of 2014. The 2013s are dense, powerful and savory. Winemaker Alison Tauziet adds that she did some of the shortest fermentations ever, as the wines extracted very easily, something I heard in many cellars throughout Napa Valley. I also tasted a number of single barrels of the 2014s, as the blends had not been assembled at the time of my visit. Those wines continue to show the promise they did when I first tasted them earlier this year. As a reminder Colgin bottles four wines; the IX Estate and Syrah are both made from estate vineyards above Lake Hennessey, the Tychson Hill emerges from historic estate parcels on the northern edge of St. Helena, while the Cariad is a blend built on a core of fruit from David Abreu's Madrona Ranch plus dollops of fruit from other Abreu vineyards. Once again, the team headed by Ann Colgin, her husband Joe Wender, winemaker Alison Tauziet and consulting winemaker Alain Raynaud has done a fabulous job with these wines.

Colgin fans can look forward to two exceptional vintages in these 2012s and 2013s. In 2012 the harvest was quite long and stretched an entire month, from September 20 to October 20. The 2012s bring together expressive aromatics and gorgeous, radiant fruit. As good as the 2012s are, the 2013s take things to another level with their pure, unbridled energy and pulsating fruit. As always, these wines are made in tiny quantities, but readers can at least look forward to a little more Tychson Hill Cabernet as Ann Colgin and her husband Joe Wender develop a plot adjacent to that site over the coming years. Long-time winemaker Allison Tauziet shares her thoughts on the 2013 vintage in this short video.