For years Cathy Corison has been crating some of the great wines of the Napa Valley. Corison is the brainchild of Cathy Corison, first founded in 1987. 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 later purchased 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. In. 2015 she grabbed the Sunbasket Vineyard which produces some beautiful fruit and is located near the winery location.
For many years I have been enchanted by these highly balanced wines as Cathy is one of the legendary faces of Napa. She is a master’s degree graduate of the Enology program at UC Davis and has 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 ageworthy 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 2018 Corison ‘Napa Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 95) shows the classic Cathy Corison elegance while maintaining a silky mouthfeel and serious range. This is one for the cellar. Learn more about these beautiful and elegant Napa wines at https://corison.com/ Here is my review of her new Corison wines.
2018 Corison ‘Napa Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2018 Corison ‘Napa Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a beautiful offering that shows violets and red currant aromatics alongside sage, blackberry compote and shades of pipe tobacco. The sense of balance is gorgeous here as red and dark fruits parade with graphite, leather and freshly tilled soils. Seamless and highly refined, this shows beautiful restraint and bright acidity that should carry this wine over two decades. Drink 2021-2040- 95
2018 Corison ‘Sunbasket Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The glorious 2018 ‘Subbasket Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon is rich yet highly elegant even now at the three year mark. The nose is downright intoxicating with its dark rose petals, smoke, graphite and marionberry cordial. Once on the mouth this possesses an outstanding sense of weight and poise, presenting a massive wall of red and dark fruits with tar, tobacco leaf and espresso ground flavors. Truly gorgeous in its youth, this has another two decades or more to go. Be sure to give this a two plus hour decant if enjoying in its heady youth. Drink 2021-2045- 97
2018 Corison ‘Helios’ Cabernet Franc- Year after year I have been massively impressed with the quality of Cabernet Franc that Cathy Corison produces. This latest edition from the 2018 vintage evokes a beautiful texture with ripe red currants woven together with cigar box, rose water and black tea flavors. The minerality and tension of the wine really shine through, as this has a really long way to go in the cellar. Drink 2021-2040- 95