I love Napa with restraint. Talking a walk into the more elegant side of Napa, we bring you famed Corison Winery, founded in 1987 by legendary winemaker Cathy Corison. At that time Cathy Corison started purchasing Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from prime vineyards between Rutherford and St. Helena. Her first wines were made at other spaces that she rented out and she made the great decision to purchase the Kronos Vineyard in 1995 which was a historic property that had been a farm for over a century and she finally built her estate vineyard as well as the spot for her winery. She later purchased the Sunbasket Vineyard in 2015 which is located near the winery location.
Cathy’s wines have received a massive amount of critical acclaim over the years. A graduate of the masters in Enology program at UC Davis, Cathy previously served as Chappellet winemaker prior to starting her own winery. Corison is known for her classic style of creating a Bordelaise, more restrained style to Napa wines. If you have never had the opportunity to try these beautiful wines, you will find them to be highly elegant and a wonderful contrast to wines that simply focus on power or concentration. Her wines are highly age-worthy as the winery even has a program that releases their older wines and I have found these wines to age exceptionally well. Her new release Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2016 Corison ‘Napa Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon (WWB, 95) is highly elegant and has very soft tannins and a gorgeous sense of mouthfeel. Even better is her downright thrilling 2016 Corison ‘Sunbasket Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon (WWB, 97) which is silky smooth and shows glorious aromatic and flavor ange.. Learn more about these beautiful and elegant Napa wines at https://corison.com/ Here is my reviews of the new Corison wines.
2016 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2016 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon is a thrilling, seamless wine that is both powerful and elegant. On the nose there are dark currants woven together with shades of graphite, tobacco leaf and silty soil that all meld in the glass. The palate has wonderful weight and depth, yet has a seamless factor that makes this effortlessly glide across the mid-palate. Layers of boysenberry preserves and coffee grounds come together with suggestions of creme de cassis and tar on the palate. Highly refined, this memorable effort will cellar well for decades to come. Drink 2020-2038- 95
2016 Corison ‘Helios Sunbasket Vineyard’ Cabernet Franc- Sourced from this famed St. Helena site, the 2016 ‘Helios Sunbasket Vineyard’ Cabernet Franc shows beautiful aromatics of violets and ripe red fruits that mingle with tar and shades of loamy terroir on the exotic bouquet. The palate is seamlessly textured and highly elegant as this wine effortlessly glides across the midpalate. Loganberry preserves, leather, damp earth and shades of red bell pepper and ripe blueberry flavors all come together on the palate. The flavor range imparted is insanely good, as this finishes with great length and finesse. I love the sense of elegance in this wine. Cathy Corison has crafted another masterpiece as her 2016 ‘Sunbasket Vineyard’ Cabernet Franc will surely enjoy a long life ahead of it. Drink 2020-2038- 96
2016 Corison ‘Sunbasket Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon- One of the wonderful wines that I have savored from Napa over the past year, the 2016 Corison ‘Sunbasket Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a scintillating new bottling my eminent producer Cathy Corison. Needing a two hour decant to be fully aroused, once awoken you are greeted to an exquisite aromatic range — from red bell pepper to sagebrush and loamy terroir, chocolate and dense black fruits that all parade in the glass. The palate has good weight and structure, showing off the trademark seamless factor that Corison crafts. Layers of dark fruits are woven together with herbal undertones, pipe tobacco, damp earth and shades of dark chocolate covered espresso bean. This is nearly impossible to put down once opened. A delight to savor in its youth, the 2016 Corison ‘Sunbasket Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon will cellar well for many decades to come. Drink 2020-2040- 97