2014 Colgin, Cariad, Napa Valley

The 2014 Proprietary Red Cariad, which is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon but also contains important percentages of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, is made from purchased fruit from David Abreu’s vineyard holdings on Howell Mountain and in St. Helena. This wine offers loads of unsmoked cigar tobacco, melted licorice, charcoal embers, blackberry and mulberry fruit, a full-bodied mouthfeel, stunning intensity, impressive equilibrium, and well-integrated acidity and tannin. It is another beauty, obviously coming from first-growth terroirs. This should drink beautifully for 20-25 years.

The 2014 Cariad is intensely aromatic in its first impression. Dried herbs, menthol, licorice, spice, tobacco and incense all grace this vibrant, expressive edition of Cariad. The softer, more open-knit style of the year is very much on display. Cariad is a blend of fruit from several David Abreu ranches, with Madrona Ranch as the central component. It has always been the most immediate of the Colgin 2014s.