IX Estate Napa Valley Red Wine

It was a cool year in 2011 and it even drizzled in the fall ... something that completely freaked out our friends in California because they are not used to rain in the fall. The teams at the sorting tables were increased and fruit was sorted out to bring tears to the winemakers' eyes - but before they looked into the fermentation vats, they rubbed their eyes dry, don't worry!

Colgin offered us this wine to fill the gap created by the devastating fires in the summer of 2020 - Colgin and many other winemakers also decided not to vinify their fruit, so they didn't make any wine in this vintage.

Anyone who has yet to taste a 2011 from one of these cult Napa Valley winemakers will be wondering what happened. I can tell you: Colgin, for example, made wines such as the IX Estate, which almost squares the circle. They knew how to rein in the often exuberant power of a Californian wine, but still gave the wine enough substance along the way. The result is a wonderfully balanced, surprisingly elegant, even juicy wine, which, when mature, i.e. now and in the near future, will be even more reminiscent of the greatest Bordeaux - Péssac-Léognan perhaps - from the best, greatest years, such as are produced perhaps two or three times in a century! Personally, I LOVE the 2011s from Napa Valley, not all of them, but the wines from the best really do it for me.