2013 colgin, cariad, napa valley

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Why We're Buying

Colgin Cariad takes its name from the Welsh word for love. It's a Bordeaux-style red blend with four grape varieties, culminating in a bouquet of black fruit, cinnamon, and herbs. If you have $500 or so to spare, you can invest in a wine that Lisa Perrotti-Brown and Antonio Galloni gave a perfect score in 2016.

Critics Scores

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2013 Cariad Proprietary Red Wine, a blend of 50 Cabernet Sauvignon, 28 Merlot, 13 Cabernet Franc and 9 Petit Verdot, shows great intensity, with a slightly more burning ember and scorched earthiness to it, giving it a more Graves-like character compared to the purity of the Tychson Hill. The wine is full-bodied, rich, layered and possibly slightly more tannic and backward than the Tychson Hill, but that could be because it had recently been bottled. It should evolve over the course of 30+ years.

Vinous

The 2013 Cariad is fabulous. Pliant, expressive and nuanced in the glass. Here, the tannins are suave and supple, which makes the wine unusually accessible today. There is plenty of delineation in the dark, mineral-laced flavors, but the 2013 impresses for most of its superb textural depth. Cariad is made mostly from fruit sourced from David Abreu's Madrona Ranch vineyard in St. Helena.

Wine Spectator

Exhibits a tight bundle of rich, extracted dark berry, mocha, licorice, savory herb and underbrush flavors, with accents of smoky oak. A tour de force that is best served after a long decant or some cellar time. The finish is deep and extracted. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2020 through 2032.

James Suckling

Superb aromas of black fruits, black truffle and leather. Black olives. Full body, fabulous soft and velvety tannins, and superb length. The texture to this is so luxurious and sexy. Cardamom, game, earth and intense fruit. Yet poised. A blend as always of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, and petit verdot. Hard not to drink now.