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  • Country ranking ?

    80
  • Producer ranking ?

    17
  • Decanting time

    1h30min
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Rib Eye Steaks with Demi-Glace and White Bean Purée

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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100 points Vinous

 The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb is utterly magnificent. Powerful yet light on its feet, the 1997 exudes class. Intensely floral, lifted aromatics meld into a core of dark fruit. Shades of graphite, smoke, black cherry and licorice add nuance throughout. At nearly twenty years of age, the 1997 has aged impeccably and should continue to drink well for at least another decade. This is an eye-opening Cabernet Sauvignon from Ann Colgin. (AG) 

99 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The nearly perfect 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb Vineyard was bottled in May, 1999, and appears to have recovered beautifully from bottle shock. Saturated black/purple-colored with a knock-out nose of blackberries, blueberries, lavender, licorice, and toast, this is a profound, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. It displays a seamless, velvety texture, layers of concentrated fruit, and a 45+ second finish. Am I being too conservative in not giving it a 3-digit score? Anticipated maturity: 2002-2025.

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The Story

Ann Colgin’s wines stand out as one of the most refined styles of wines produced in Napa Valley. They show distinctive purity of the ripe black fruits, refined tannin structure and extremely elegant flavor profiles. This wine makes no exception. The hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon from the Herb Lamb Vineyard, has been the hallmark wine of Colgin Cellars from its debut in 1992.

In early 1990s, Ann made a long-term contract with the vineyard owners, Jennifer and Herb Lamb, that she had an exclusive access
to the top vine rows of this small, 7.4 acre, vineyard lying on an elevation of 600 to 800 feet on well-drained rocky soils of St Helena.

In hands of the legendary Napa Valley winemaker Helen Turley, who was winemaker for Colgin Cellars 1992-1999,these terroir-driven grapes were transformed into a wine that
caught the eye of the powerful critics and Colgin’s fame as one of the top-rated producers was written.

Our winemaking philosophy has always been to express the true character of each unique vineyard site”, Ann Colgin explains.
The grapes are harvested during the night and go through three sortings,starting in the vineyards. The final sort takes place in the
winery, where 15 people will do the final grape by grape sorting before crushing the grapes. Moving the grapes, juice or wine is
done by gravity. The barrels, tanks and vinification equipment,along with the basket presses, are of the highest quality. Only the
finest neo-classical winemaking methods are used in concert with small yields, gentle handling, attentive sorting and meticulous
blending to capture the distinctive terroir characteristics of each Colgin wine.


We blend talent with terroir, tradition with technology and passion with precision to create wines with distinctive personalities
and a profound sense of place
.” Ann Colgin sums up.

While the Herb Lamb Cabernet Sauvignon was for a long time thebenchmark wine of Colgin, the saga came to an end in 2007,which was the final vintage Colgin made this hailed wine. The declining health of the twenty-year-old vineyard made it difficult to continue to maintain the high quality level displayed in all of the other Colgin wines.

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Wine Information

Dense and rich nose, with roasted coffee, plum jam and cherry compote. Hugely extracted mouthfeel with a "mammoth of a finish," says Paul. Drink now through 2025. Service: Serve straight from the bottle, with care to avoid stirring up the precipitates.

 

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Tasting note

color

Medium, Ruby red and Healthy

ending

Long, Round and Lingering

flavors

Nutty, Chocolate, Spice, Blackcurrant, Raspberry and Pepper

nose

Rich, Closed, Fresh and Intense

taste

High in Acidity, Warming, Concentrated, Good texture, Well-structured, Developing, Full-bodied, Rich, Ripe and Elegant

Verdict

Well-rounded and Sophisticated

Written Notes

Good looking normal size bottle and is in a perfect condition. Colour is and looking healthy and medium. On the nose it is intense, fresh, opulent and tempting. The taste is fragrant, refined, warming, and high in acidity, with well-structured, good texture and concentrated structure. On the palate it is layered and has pepper, herbs, earthy, raspberry and blackcurrant flavours. The finish is long, lingering and round. This wine is wonderful, sophisticated and fine. Perfectly stored bottles are still very worthy and will last well for another 20-30 years and decant at least 2t before tasting.
  • 96p

Dense and rich aromas of roasted coffee, plum jam, and cherry compote show in this blockbuster vintage. A mammoth of a wine, still, with a broad palate and lengthy finish.

Ruby-blue color. Sappy cassis, black cherry, iodine and oak char aromas, plus a faint gamey nuance. Fat, sweet and broad, with superb depth of flavor; showing more texture today than the '96, and the tannins seem more thorougly buffered. Very strong back-end fruit. 93-95

  • 95p

The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb is utterly magnificent. Powerful yet light on its feet, the 1997 exudes class. Intensely floral, lifted aromatics meld into a core of dark fruit. Shades of graphite, smoke, black cherry and licorice add nuance throughout. At nearly twenty years of age, the 1997 has aged impeccably and should continue to drink well for at least another decade. This is an eye-opening Cabernet Sauvignon from Ann Colgin.

  • 100p

Deep, ruby red colour.  Expressive, ripe black fruits, cassis, toasty oak, cedary, herbaceous, roasted coffee. Full-bodied, pronounced palate with supple tannins, velvety texture, and ripe black fruit. Charming toasty, spiciness with cedar notes. Long, harmonious finish with touch of minty tones. – JL 94p (8/2011)

  • 94p
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Information

Origin

St. Helena, Napa Valley

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Average

Fake factory

None
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