Colgin Cellars Colgin IX Estate Syrah 2021 750ml

Smelling this takes my breath away. Cloves, floras, metal shavings, blackberries and smoked meat. Mandarin zest, too. Full body with a perfect balance of ultra-fine tannins and great complexity. Goes on for minutes. Sets a new standard of syrah for California. Don’t wait to drink this.

The 2018 Syrah from this estate is another majestic example of the variety and actually reminds me of the 2010. Gorgeous blackberry and blue fruits, notes of bacon fat, bouquet garni, and peppered game, full-bodied richness, and flawless balance all make for a captivating Syrah that can be drunk today or cellared for 15+ years. It’s as good as anything out there. (Jeb Dunnuck)

Crushed stone, berry and lead pencil. Flintlock and iodine, too. Full-bodied, very tight and focused with incredible depth and intensity. Sculpted and intense. Incredible. Silky and tight tannins. Great finish. Reminds me of the 1978 La Chapelle. This needs three or four years to come together.

Blackberry and white pepper with black tobacco and hints of iron, terra cotta and mushrooms. Medium- to full-bodied with a solid core of tannins and earthy, spicy, meaty and chocolaty undertones. Very complex and layered with a tightly wound ball of cashmere. It’s so textural, plush and gorgeous. Drinkable but better in three or four years.

Lastly, and all destemmed aged 18 months in roughly 70% new French oak, the 2017 Syrah IX Estate needs to be tasted to be believed. It’s hard to understand how this incredible wine was produced in a vintage like 2017. Revealing a deep purple color as well as a monster bouquet of blackberries, orange blossom, smoked meat, bacon fat, and spring flower, it’s deep, full-bodied, and beautifully pure on the palate, with silky tannins and a singular, exotic character. It’s not easy to find, but unquestionably worth the effort! (Jeb Dunnuck)

Amazing aromas of graphite, blackcurrant, black pepper, and blue fruit. Slate, too. Full-bodied, yet so agile and light, in a way that makes it irresistible to taste and drink. The palate is full of flavor with extraordinary mushroom, dried-meat., chocolate and black-fruit character. So long, with a creamy texture from the intense yet fine tannins. Great finish. Hard not to drink now, but will be better in 2025.

Very deep garnet-purple, the 2015 IX Syrah Estate opens with intense crushed black cherries, black plums and mulberries with underlying black pepper, peppered salami, violets and chocolate box plus a lovely star anise and sandalwood waft. Full-bodied, rich, concentrated and wonderfully soft and sexy, it gives tons of perfumed black fruit and spice cake layers, finishing very long.

The 2015 Syrah is a total knock-out. Super-ripe red cherry, plum, rose petal and mint are some of the notes that race out of the glass, but here, too, it is the wine’s stunning textural richness that stands out most. Full-throttle and intense in every dimension, the 2015 captivates all the senses with its magnificent, towering beauty. I would prefer to cellar the 2015 for at least a few years, but even today, in its primary stage, the 2015 is phenomenal. (Antonio Galloni)

Lastly, Colgin only makes a tiny amount of Syrah, but it’s consistently one of the greatest expressions of the variety in California, as well as the world. Their 2019 Syrah delivers the goods and brings a Côte Rôtie-like opulence and elegance as well as full-bodied aromas and flavors of blueberries, violets, smoke game, bouquet garni, and spring flowers. Pure, seamless, and perfectly balanced, you can safely put this up with anything out there. Enjoy bottles over the coming 15 years. (Jeb Dunnuck)

The 2021 Syrah is another incredible Syrah here and I d put it up against any Syrah out there. Inky-hued with a La Landonne-like nose of ripe black and blue fruits, smoked game, chocolate, and graphite, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a dense, powerful, compact mouthfeel, building tannins, and a great finish. Hide bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy over the following decade or more. (Jeb Dunnuck)

All destemmed and aged in Burgundy pièces from the likes of Damy, François Frères and Ermitage, the 2021 Syrah IX Estate boasts considerable floral and herbal nuances on the nose, along with something akin to rust, corroded iron or blood and layers of black cherry and plum fruit. Full-bodied, rich and velvety in texture, it lacks the finesse and elegance of the 2018, but it pales only in comparison to that beauty, finishing long, with echoes of espresso, licorice and peppery spice.

The 2016 IX Syrah Estate is very deep purple-black colored with gorgeous blackberry preserves, preserved plums, chargrill and licorice with tar, mandarin peel, Sichuan pepper and violets plus a compelling peach blossom note and a waft of wild sage. The palate is full-bodied with fantastic finesse, so plush and light on its feet and very spicy on the long, long finish.

Very deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 IX Syrah Estate opens with the most beautiful nose of crushed black berries, boysenberries, mulberries, chocolate-covered cherries, star anise and red roses with touches of garrigue, mandarin peel and fragrant earth. Medium-bodied, the palate is very firm and elegant with approachably ripe, rounded tannins and layer upon layer of perfumed flavors. It has a long pepper and spice-laced finish. Very impressive!

Sporting a deep garnet-purple color, the 2019 IX Syrah Estate hops up and down with its showy, flamboyant scents of chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries and preserved plums, before bursting into a gorgeous perfume of bouquet garni, candied violets, tar and roses, followed by unsmoked cigars with a waft of Sichuan pepper. The generous, full-bodied palate offers beautifully rounded, pebble-like tannins with invigorating freshness and so many fragrant layers that linger with edifying persistence. An absolute diva of a wine!

The 2016 Syrah IX Estate is dense, super-powerful and concentrated. In 2016, the Syrah is first and foremost a wine of IX Estate. Dark and brooding in the glass, with tremendous fruit intensity, the 2016 is superb. Varietal aromatics carry through to the energetic, vivid finish. (Antonio Galloni)

This is so beautiful now and touches every millimeter of your palate with dark berries, nutmeg, hazelnuts, light chocolate, meat and smoke. Wonderful depth and length to this. Drink or hold.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 IX Syrah Estate comes galloping out of the glass with energetic scents of black cherries, mulberries, warm plums and boysenberries plus hints of chocolate box, garrigue, bacon and violets and just a touch of cracked black pepper. Medium-bodied, delicately styled and refreshing, it whispers rather than shouts of fragrant black fruits with soft, rounded tannins coating the long, spicy and floral-perfumed finish. This makes such a great complement to the Cabernet from IX Estate this vintage, it’s almost a shame to split them up! (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

The 2017 Syrah IX Estate is rich and ample on the palate, with tremendous aromatic and flavor intensity. Savory herb, iron, mint, licorice, blood orange and exotic spice infuse the 2017 with tons of character as well as nuance. Inky and sumptuous, with plenty of structural depth, the 2017 hits all the right notes. Like all of the 2017s here, the Syrah needs cellaring. It is such a gorgeous wine. (Antonio Galloni)

What a wonderful red with blackberry, clove, dried-meat and tea aromas. Full-bodied, really fine and polished. It caresses your palate. Chocolate, tiramisu and hints of sandalwood. Intensely flavorful. Super syrah. Drink or hold.

The 2018 Syrah IX Estate is a bold, luscious wine. Black cherry, licorice, smoke, gravel and cracked pepper are some of the notes that infuse the 2018 Syrah with tremendous character. Dense and explosive, the 2018 is a real head-turner from the very first taste. As always, the Colgin Syrah is a wine of real power, plushness and textural intensity, but there is plenty of structure as well. In 2018, the Syrah only suffers because of the stratospheric quality of the Cabernets. (Antonio Galloni)

Boldly structured, yet supple and rich, with expressive blackberry, smoky beef, licorice and fresh pepper flavors that take on speed toward polished tannins. Drink now through 2028. 320 cases made. (Tim Fish)

Potent and polished, with deeply structured blueberry, smoked meat, licorice and fruitcake spice flavors that gather richness and tension toward broad-shouldered tannins. To be released November 2022. Drink now through 2032. 400 cases made. (Tim Fish)

Potent yet polished, this broad-shouldered red offers deep blueberry, bitter chocolate, smoky meat and licorice flavors that build richness and tension toward medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2030. 350 cases made. (Tim Fish)

Handsomely structured and elegantly dynamic, with rich flavors of blackberry, fruitcake spices, mocha espresso and savory pepper that build richness and tension toward big but polished tannins. Drink now through 2033. 566 cases made.

Dynamic and multilayered, with polished blackberry and cured meat flavors, revealing mint hints in the background, building toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2027. 470 cases made. (Tim Fish)

Plush and ripe, featuring jammy blueberry and black cherry flavors, layered with chunky chocolate, toasted cinnamon and smoky meat notes. Finishes with polished tannins. Drink now through 2026. 250 cases made. (Tim Fish)