My friends Christian Navarro & Maurice and Paul Marciano hosted an incredible 25th Anniversary dinner for Colgin Wine.
Ann Colgin and her husband Joe Wender are amongst the most talented wine makers I know. I have known these two wonderful and brilliant people for almost 15 years now, and have had some of the most memorable times of my life with them. For my 55th birthday they hosted a lunch for myself and many of my friends from LA and NY at their gorgeous winery (IMHO the most beautiful estate in Napa), during which we tasted many of their key wines and vintages. This is my favorite Napa Valley wine, hands down. I wish them another great 25 years. The food and service, by Wallys Restaurant was fabulous — props to Chef David Feau and head Somm Matt Turner for another flawless wine event by Wallys. Below are some notes, the menu, and photos of all the wines, plus photos of Christian Navarro (who did a great job hosting this event), Ann Colgin, and Colgin Winemaker Allison Tauziet. Allison sat at our table, which was a real treat, because we all got to hear her take on each wine, and each particular vintage.
One more thing: my favorite bottles of the night were the 2003 Tychson Hill (loved), 2012 Tychson Hill (young but fantastic), the 2013 IX Estate (going to be a great one), and the 2007 IX Estate (loved). The Tychson Hill is still my personal favorite of all the Colgin wines because of its balance and elegance — in blind tastings at my house this is the wine that is repeatedly, based on both nose, palate and finish, mistaken for a great bordeaux; however, having said that, the 2007 IX Estate was quite spectacular last night.
Ann Colgin founded Colgin Cellars in 1992; at the time, she purchased grapes from the Lamb vineyard and produced wine at a vintner’s co-op in Napa; the vintages from 1992-97 were produced in this way.[2]
In 1997, she purchased the Tychson estate; remodeling the house, and replanting the vineyard to wine grapes for the first time since Prohibition. She expanded further in 1998, purchasing the IX estate, where the winery’s production facility now is.
(Below are some photos of the Colgin wine estate, as a well as a photo from my 50th Birthday Lunch tasting there).
