Cathy Corison is a Napa icon that has a great story. Not originally a winemaker, Cathy saved up some money and purchased a great property with her husband on the valley floor, not far from Robert Mondavi. Despite the property being in poor shape, Cathy knew that Napa Valley floor terroir was very special. This vineyard on the property, the Kronos Vineyard, had been abandoned for several years and needed a lot of tender loving care. Over several years Cathy was able to nurture it back to life and now she has award winning Cabernet from the vineyard. The proof is in every bottle of her Kronos Vineyard Cabernet. Cathy saw the great potential for valley floor Cabernet and honed in on her winemaking craft. Cathy has noted that the Kronos Vineyard has a silky elegance that is almost Bordelaise due to the old age of the vines. It is no surprise that her wines have gained international acclaim. A recent visit to her winery impressed as we were able to see the potential of her young wines, and pair them with an older bottling that was drinking in its sweet spot. I was hugely impressed with her 2013 Corison ‘Napa Valley’ Cabernet (WWB, 94) which comes from a hot vintage but shows incredible poise an balanced alongside rich fruit flavors. Her 2012 Corison ‘Kronos Vineyard’ Cabernet (WWB, 94) was amazing and had settled a bit in the past year showing softer tannins and its feminine side alongside a gorgeous array of fruit. While these wines are typically hard to find in the Northwest, they can be ordered from the winery direct. Learn more about Corison wines at http://www.corison.com/ Here are the fantastic new release wines from Corison.
2013 Corison Napa Valley Cabernet- This gorgeous wine starts with aromatics of mocha, sage, anise and mocha. This is currently highly tannic and intense this will need time to unwind. The wine has deep flavors of blackberry cobbler, mocha, anise and creme de cassis with suggestions of pipe tobacco. This is gorgeous and layered wine that need a ton of time in the cellar for the tannins to settle and the fruit to fully integrate. Give this slumbering monster at least two more years. Drink 2018-2040- 94
2012 Corrison ‘Kronos Vineyard’ Cabernet- This impressive Cabernet wine starts with aromatics of red bell pepper, anise, creme de cassis and mocha. There are rich flavors of wild blackberry, milk chocolate, anise, sagebrush and cassis with hints of nutmeg and coffee grounds. This drinks beautifully straight out of the bottle, but consider giving this another hour in the decanter before enjoying. Drink 2016-2030- 94
2006 Corison Napa Valley Cabernet- This impressive bottling begins with aromatics of pipe tobacco, creme de cassis, red bell pepper, sage, anise and mocha. There are rich flavors of anise, creme de cassis, spicebox and red bell pepper. This wine is balanced and lithe, having lovely depth, range and complexity and showing a left bank Bordelaise feel. Drink 2016-2028- 93