Today we share one of the top producers of Washington. Corliss is an ultra-premium producer of red and white wines founded in 1999 by Michael and Lauri Corliss. Over the years Mike Corliss has bought vineyard land throughout the state, including more holdings on Red Mountain. Corliss has been met with some serious critical acclaim since their first release in 2008. It has been such a pleasure seeing how well these beautiful wines age. Corliss is also well-known for performing exceptionally well with tough vintages.
Such is the case with how they navigated the 2019 vintage — a slightly cooler year that saw a heavy freeze in mid-October.The winemaking team explained that they had nearly all of their grapes picked by the October freeze in 2019. That year grapes that they picked had reached physiological ripeness because of their thinning process in the vineyard. This was a year where yields were down but quality was very high.
As times evolve Corliss is now producing nearly 100% estate fruit sourced other than some Syrah being sourced from the Stillwater Creek Vineyard in the Royal Slope AVA. The wines have been slowly evolving to have less new French oak and less oak impact. I was blown away with the 2019 Corliss Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 99) which flirts with perfection. This is clearly one of the wines of the vintage and it is seriously impressive how they created this level of flavor density from 2019. I was able to try their 2020 pre-release wines as well and was blown away. The 2020s by Corliss are also some of the finest wines made in this tough vintage. They come off clean, concentrated and well-structured. I adored the 2020 Corliss Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 99) which also nears perfection in a bottle. Learn more about these incredible wines at corlissestate.com and here are my notes on the pre-release wines by Corliss.
2019 Corliss Red Wine- The 2019 Corliss Red Wine combines 58% Cabernet Franc with 37% Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder Petit Verdot coming from the estate Red Mountain, and Blackwood Canyons Vineyard. Stored in 60% new French oak this opens with beautiful violets that combine with blueberry compote, red bell pepper, garrigue and black licorice. The palate has incredible flavor density considering the vintage. Finishing long, this is really only starting its progression in the bottle. Give this a few more years to fully come together. Drink 2026-2050- 97
2019 Corliss Cabernet Sauvignon- The gorgeous and heady 2019 Corliss Cabernet Sauvignon was stored in nearly all new French oak before bottling. The nose is aroatnicallqy intense and downright gorgeous with sandalwood notes alongside anise, creme de cassis, Turkish coffee and shades of graphite. The palate is seamless and intense with serious texture, verve and flavor density. Weightless throughout the drinking experience, this effortlessly glides through the mid-palate. Showing glorious length, this is really only an infant now at the five year mark. Cellar this beauty for another twenty five years. Drink 2026-2050- 99
2019 Corliss Syrah- This 2019 Corliss Syrah comes from the Black Rock, Red Mountain and Stillwater Creek Vineyards. Extremely inky in the glass the wine was stored in roughly 40% new French oak for 22 months before bottling. Smoked brisket, and tar with pipe tobacco and scorched earth notes fill the nose alongside cedar and blackberry cordial. The palate is beautifully textured with serious weight and underlying verve. A total stunner, this is the finest edition of this wine that I have tasted so far. Give this a few hours in the decanter if savoring now. Drink 2025-2045- 98
2020 Corliss Red Wine- The 2020 Corliss Red Wine is a stunning combination of 60% Cabernet Franc with the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon that was stored in 55% new French oak for 22 months before bottling. Dried herbs and tar combine with shades of black currants and suggestions of exotic spices. The palate is plush and refined with serious texture and weight. Concentrated huckleberry, dark currant and creme de violette notes combine, yielding a beautiful sense of weight and also bright underlying poise. Finishing long, this nothing short of a stunning effort from a tough vintage. Drink 2026-2036- 97
2020 Corliss Cabernet Sauvignon- Sourced from all three estate vineyards, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon was stored for 22 months in 65% new French oak before bottling. Very inky in the glass, this offers sandalwood and shades of cassis that combine with boysenberry compote and black licorice on the nose. The palate is plush and soft with a refined sense of weight. Very fresh and fragrant, with a concentrated core of black currants, creme de cassis and scorched earth, with herbal accents, this is a gorgeous, very generous bottling that is already really nicely defined at the five year mark. Drink 2026-2037- 99
2020 Corliss Syrah- The 2020 Syrah by Corliss comes from the Stillwater Creek Vineyard as well as the Black Rock and Blackwood Canyon Vineyards. A brooding purple in the glass, this delivers charcuterie and roasted figs alongside cassis and Kalamata olives on the nose. The palate is dense and chewy with a fantastic sense of verve and texture. Layers of beautiful black raspberry and black cherry fruit flavors mingle well with espresso grounds, tar and shades of scorched soils. Full-bodied and delicious, this is already showing beautifully and will continue to evolve well for at least another decade. Drink 2025-2035- 96