Colgin Jubilation Red Blend Napa Valley 2019

While slightly cliché, winemaking truly is an art form. Nature provides the “medium” and takes some creative freedoms when it comes to the weather of a vintage. Yet, the vineyard manager and winemaker choose all styles to transform the grape into vastly different wines. Decisions from irrigation practices in the vineyard to the barrel program in the cellar all have a lasting effect on the final work of art.  And in our opinion, Colgin’s debut vintage of the Jubilation Red Blend is the acclaimed estate’s newest masterpiece.

When it comes to recognizing fine art, Ann Colgin ranks among the world’s most equipped and knowledgeable. Her CV backs up her impressive career in the art world with an M.A. from NYU, a certificate from Sotheby’s Decorative Arts course, her previous role as the Director of Sotheby’s West Coast Wine Department, and her current seat on the Board of Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  1988 was a fateful year for Ann.  It was the first time she attended Napa Valley’s Wine Auction, and she instantly fell in love with the valley. Ann hunted for a property to establish her wine estate from that trip on, using her keen eye to select a premier hillside vineyard site in 1996 where Colgin Cellars now calls home. Robert Parker would later describe this ethereal parcel by saying, “The IX Estate is as close to a viticultural nirvana as I have ever seen.”

Since 1992, Colgin has acquired and re-established three hillside vineyards, including the IX Estate, Tychson Hill, and Cariad. They make a single vineyard designated wine for each that, in the last 30 years, has each garnered high esteem from around the world. For Colgin, their artistry is about creating wines with a distinct sense of place and doing so with passion, dedication, and love. Alison Tauziet has helped to craft these exceptional works of art since 2005 when she joined the team and has since grown with the team into her current role as Director of Winemaking. Even though the new vines from these re-plantings are not mature enough for single-vineyard designates, Ann & Alison found the fruit intriguing. Indeed, the young grapes were a “medium” worth exploring.

The 2019 vintage was about abundance, with plenty of rainfall in late winter and early spring and a long, evenly tempered hang time. 2019 Jubilation is a blend of all three Colgin vineyards with a little over 50% of Cabernet Sauvignon and a small percentage of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. Fresh, lively fruit notes are intensely perfumed on the nose with well-integrated tannins and a surprisingly uplifted acidity from the last weeks of cold nights during that October harvest. Despite the wine’s powerful aromatics, it’s not all about the fruit as the distinct hillside minerality shines through on the palate with crushed rock, savory herbs, and tobacco. Due to the vineyards’ varying soil types, elevations, and sun exposures, the debut 2019 Jubilation is an uber-drinkable, classic expression of Napa Valley red wine.