Colgin's proprietary red wine blend the 2006 Cariad is composed of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon 25% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It exhibits notes of white chocolate bay leaf unsmoked high class cigar tobacco and tremendous intensity. The complex aromatics are followed by a full-bodied wine with stunning concentration richness and length as well as a personality not dissimilar from a top-notch Bordeaux. While the fruit is clearly Napa grown the structure suggests a French Medoc. This 2006 will benefit from several more years of bottle age and should keep for three decades or more.Colgin is one of the reference points for just what heights mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon Bordeaux varietals and more recently Syrah can achieve in Napa Valley. This beautiful estate and winery overlooking Lake Hennessey is owned by Joe Wender and his wife Ann Colgin (equally renowned for her auctioneering skills) who are assisted by David Abreu the well-known Bordeaux wine consultant Dr. Alain Raynaud and Allison Tauziet who has skillfully replaced the brilliant Mark Aubert. As the scores and tasting notes suggest this was an exceptional tasting. Colgin's 2006s are among the finest wines produced in the vintage.

A fabulous nose of iodine, stones, licorice, and dark fruits. Full bodied, with big, velvety tannins and a long, long finish. I love this. So much going on here, and the finish lasts for minutes. This is a symphony. Don't touch this until 2015. 15+24+23+34. Find the wine

Aromas of ripe complex currant plum and black cherry show a dry loamy earth edge on the palate. Full-bodied deep and focused this is well-structured with chewy tannins and a long lingering finish. Best from 2011 through 2017. 600 cases made.