From Colgin’s first-growth quality estate vineyard, Tychson Hill, located north of St. Helena, on the western slopes, the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Tychson Hill Vineyard is performing far better out of bottle than it did from cask. An extraordinary bouquet of flowers, cedar, tobacco leaf, black currants, blueberries, chocolate, and scorched earth scents is followed by a wine of prodigious concentration, purity, depth, and sweet tannins. An amazing effort for this vintage, it is a compelling bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.Colgin is one of the reference points for just what heights mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux varietals, and more recently, Syrah, can achieve in Napa Valley. This beautiful estate and winery overlooking Lake Hennessey is owned by Joe Wender and his wife, Ann Colgin (equally renowned for her auctioneering skills), who are assisted by David Abreu, the well-known Bordeaux wine consultant, Dr. Alain Raynaud, and Allison Tauziet, who has skillfully replaced the brilliant Mark Aubert. As the scores and tasting notes suggest, this was an exceptional tasting. Colgin’s 2006s are among the finest wines produced in the vintage.Tel. (707) 963-0999; Fax (707) 963-0996

A rich, savory style, with complex currant, wild berry, cedar, herb and spice flavors, shaded by toasty oak. Full-bodied and tightly wound, structured and persistent, ending with firm tannins and a minerally edge. Best from 2010 through 2017. 250 cases made. -JL