Colgin - Herb Lamb Vineyard 2005

WINE SPECTATOR: "Shows amazing purity of fruit, focus, balance and depth, with tiers of spicy currant, anise, hazelnut, mineral and melted licorice, combining power with finesse and grace with intensity. Ends with a long, lingering finish that keeps repeating the core flavor themes. 110 cases made."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb Vineyard is a vineyard that Ann Colgin and her winemaking team made famous. The primary reason whay Colgin’s wines from this source show better than other wines that have emerged from the Herb Lamb Vineyard is because Colgin got the top 14 rows, the sweet spot in the entire parcel. Dense ruby/purple, with notes of graphite, a touch of bay leaf and lavender, the 2005 is spicy, cedary, much more evolved than the Dixon Hill, full-bodied with decent acidity, and very ripe blackcurrant fruit infused with a touch of unsmoked cigar tobacco." (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "The wine is big and fleshy, almost meaty in ist youth. Aromas and flavors of black currants, licorice, Bay laurel, dark unsweetened chocolate and new smoky oak change and grow more complex by the second, as the wine airs in the glass. Notable in the mouth for the tannins, firm and grippy but sweet and refined. The slight astringency suggests ageability."

JAMES SUCKLING: "This smells as the name suggests, herbs and lamb. Nice notes of rosemary, sweet tobacco, plums, and chocolate mints. This is an old style Napa Cab. Full bodied, but very reserved and fine. Very caressing palate, no need to wait on this but will only get better the longer you wait. This shows the cool growing season more than the other 2005s."