2003 Colgin Cellars, IX Estate Red, Napa Valley, Bottle (750ml), [Slightly Soiled Label]

RP 96+ "The 2003 IX Estate Proprietary Red is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from their steep hillside vineyards. The youngest, tightest, most masculine wine of this quartet, it will benefit from another 5-6 years of cellaring and should have 25 years of life ahead of it. This impressive, blue/purple-colored 2003 behaves more like a 4- to 5-year-old wine than one that is a decade old. It is just beginning to strut its full potential. There is a roasted meaty character to this beauty, along with plenty of cassis, blackberries, blueberries, incense and spring flower notes. It admirably reveals the great terroir Ann Colgin and her husband, Joe Wender, have unlocked high above Lake Hennessey. (RP)" (June 2013)