Colgin Cellars Colgin Cariad 2018 750ml

The highlight in this range today, the 2016 Cariad is utterly magnificent. Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot give the wine soaring aromatic intensity and striking savoriness to play off the racy, forward fruit. Time in barrel has done wonders to meld all the elements together. Today, the Cariad is dense, explosive and super-expressive. And yet my sense is that the 2016 still has quite a bit of room to grow. Even at this early stage, the 2016 is a total stunner. The symbiosis of David Abreu fruit and Allision Tauziet’s winemaking makes for an electric, unforgettable 2016. Don’t miss it. (Antonio Galloni)

What a thrill it is to taste the 2018 Cariad again. Last year the 2018 was magnificent. It is all that this year too. Powerful and explosive, the 2018 is captivating from the very first taste. Healthy dollops of Cabernet Franc and Merlot add layers to this deep, wonderfully vibrant Napa Valley red. In a big morning tasting at Colgin spanning more than a dozen wines, the 2018 Cariad was a stand out. Superb. (Antonio Galloni)

The 2010 Proprietary Red Cariad reveals great intensity along with abundant notes of unsmoked tobacco leaf interwoven with blueberry, blackberry and cassis fruit, charcoal and coffee bean nuances as well as a Pauillac-like lead pencil shaving character. This blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 14% Cabernet Franc is one of the finest wines I tasted over the 12 days I spent tasting in Napa Valley in late August and early September. This remarkable 2010 should drink beautifully for 20 or more years. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

This is really mesmerizing to taste with plums, currants, turmeric and nutmeg on the nose and palate. Some juniper, too. Turns to mineral and stone. Pure fruit. Full-bodied, yet tight and composed with beautiful, ripe fruit that remains cool and poised. Firm, lightly chewy tannins. March 2021 release. This needs at least three or four years to come around. Try after 2024.

The 2018 Cariad isn’t far off and has a wealth of blue fruits, musky earth, spice, and floral notes as well as a deep, rich, layered style on the palate. As with all the 2018s here, the tannin quality is incredible, and it has a plush, sexy, already complex style that’s hard to resist. It’s going to evolve for 25+ years. The blend is 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot. (Jeb Dunnuck)

Incredible aromas of blackcurrants, licorice, blackberries. black mushrooms, crushed stones, cement and flowers. Full-bodied with wonderfully polished, refined tannins. So long. Great tannin integration. Goes on for minutes. Rich. Best in 2025, but already so amazing to drink now.

A close second (and who knows how they might perform at different times and with different foods) is the 2012 Cariad Proprietary Red Wine, made from grapes grown by David Abreu at his estate vineyards in Napa. This blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 9% Petit Verdot shows notes of burning embers/charcoal, blackberry fruit, licorice and floral notes, followed by a full-bodied, dense, layered wine. It has great purity, wonderfully sweet, integrated tannin, and a voluptuous mouthfeel and finish of close to 50+ seconds. This is a stunner that can be drunk now or cellared for another 25–30 years.

Blended of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Cariad Proprietary Red Wine has a deep purple-black color and slips out of the glass with the most seductive black fruit preserves notions of crème de cassis, blueberry pie and baked plums plus hints of Indian spices, lavender, mocha and licorice with a waft of cardamom. Full-bodied, rich, opulent and spicy, it delivers a wonderfully powerful expression of this vintage with firm yet plush tannins, finishing very long and hedonic.

A dark, vibrant wine, the 2012 Cariad races out of the glass with serious intensity. The Cariad has a bit more acid and tannin backbone than the Tychson Hill, which gives the flavors a bit more energy and overall brightness to balance the opulence of the fruit. Graphite, spice and menthol notes flesh out on the finish. Cariad is sourced mostly from David Abreu’s Madrona Ranch, with a dollop of fruit from Thorevilos. Historically, Cariad has aged exceptionally well, something that was driven home yet again by the 2002 I tasted on this visit. (Antonio Galloni)

Intense aromas of mushrooms, earth, dried flowers follow through to a full body with juicy, rich and ripe tannins and a beautiful austerity. Very contrasted and structured. Balanced and powerful. Needs a lot of time to soften. 53% cabernet sauvignon, 26% merlot, 12% cabernet franc and 9% petit verdot. Wait until 2021 for it to soften.

A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot, the 2017 Cariad is another sensational wine from Allison Tauziet. It offers a beautiful blue fruit character as well as plenty of violets, tobacco, dark chocolate, and gravelly earth. This beauty is full-bodied, incredibly pure and focused, brilliantly balanced, and has a great, great finish. It needs a solid 4–5 years of bottle age and, as with the Tychson Hill, I suspect will still be drinking beautifully at age 30. (Jeb Dunnuck)

What a show of ripe, pure and unadorned fruit, with an immense core of cassis, warmed kirsch and black Mission fig paste flavors that glide through as they’re given center stage, while beautifully integrated alder and warm earth notes flow underneath. There’s serious drive for the long haul, with flickers of anise and violet darting in on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2022 through 2040. 735 cases made. (James Molesworth)

Rich and very suave in style, with a gorgeous core of pure plum, blackberry and cassis notes sailing through the long finish, which is supported by a well-buried graphite edge that allows the creamy feel to gain the upper hand while keeping everything grounded. A beautiful display of restrained power. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. To be released March 2020. Best from 2021 through 2035. 750 cases made. (James Molesworth)

Composed of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Cariad displays a very deep purple-black color. It bursts from the glass with an immediately compelling first waft of blueberry compote, plum preserves, licorice and fertile loam with emerging hints of candied violets, mossy tree bark, oolong tea and cinnamon stick. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is surprisingly elegant with a firm backbone of ripe, finely pixilated tannins and bold freshness, featuring all the black fruit layers suggested on the nose arranged with beautiful composure, finishing very long on a provocative iron ore note.

Colgin’s 2017 Cariad opens with captivating aromatics and tons of sheer presence. In 2017, the Cariad has less Merlot than is typical, while the Franc is on the higher side - a combination that gives the wine much of its lift and overall feel. Racy and nuanced to the core, Cariad is endowed with a feeling of soaring intensity that is hard to fully describe. It is another positively brilliant wine in this range of 2017s from Colgin. (Antonio Galloni)

Lots of ripe fruit, chocolate and iron. Full body, with loads of velvety tannins and a round and rich palate. It is round and mouthfilling yet fresh and beautiful. Delicious already but will improve with age.

Saturated, bright ruby-red. Deeper and darker on the nose than the Tychson Hill cabernet, offering vibrant scents of blackcurrant, graphite minerality and bitter chocolate. At once round and delineated in the mouth, with dark berry and mineral flavors displaying outstanding depth without excess weight. With its very firm tannic structure, this typically Medoc-like wine will need a good eight to ten years to evolve in bottle and may ultimately merit an even higher rating. These vines in Madrona Vineyard in St. Helena were planted on an alluvial fan in the 1980s.

Shows an enticing tobacco leaf note out front, backed by a juicy, compact core of black currant, fig and blackberry fruit that should unwind in due time. Light singed alder and smoldering tobacco elements score the finish. For the cellar. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2021 through 2034. 500 cases made. (James Molesworth)

Combines power and finesse, with an initial burst of chunky, chewy, extracted dark berry, cedar, lead pencil and savory herb flavors. Finishes strong and tannic, in a pleasant way. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2028. 800 cases made. (James Laube)

Notable for its charcoal and graphite woodiness, along with its edgy entry into the core of dark berry fruit. Keeps you at arm’s length, with the flavors both concentrated and nuanced. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2024. 550 cases made. (James Laube)