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Wine Description
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.
Wine Information
"Our celebratory tenth vintage of Colgin "Herb Lamb Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon provides outstanding complexity for a single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Like all of our 2001 wines the color saturation is nearly black on center. With a youthful red edge, these color descriptors indicate a ripe and complex vintage. Characterized by enticing aromas of red cherries set in a floral bouquet of intermingling jammy essences of berry fruits, the wine is reminiscent of a hedonistic, ripe California vintage. There is no shortage of ripe, sweet tannins intermixed with glycerin top notes. The wine was aged in 100% new Taransaud barrels for nearly nineteen months until we achieved the "elevage" indicative of the signature richness of the Colgin wines. Bottled carefully without fining or filtration, we feel that this wine will drink beautifully in three to five years and age gracefully for up to twenty years."
Production levels from this vineyard are small. A selective replanting process instigated by vineyard owner Herb Lamb coupled with meticulous sorting of the fruit yielded a limited production.
