Corison 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Cathy Corison makes one of our favorite "true" Napa Cabernets from great benchland vineyards between Rutherford and St. Helena. If you haven't tried her Corison Cabs yet do yourself a favor and discover them now.

96 Points Decanter:  "Medium to full-bodied, beautiful and restrained, with savoury aromatics of fennel, black liquorice, cedar, and black currants. Soft, satiny blackberry fruits are lifted by fine-grained yet supple tannins while a purity of fruit guides the palate to a long, tobacco-tinged finish marked by a mineral-freshness that beckons sip after sip—100% Cabernet aged 18 months in 50% new French oak barrels

95 Points John Gilman: "The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon from Cathy Corison also comes in at the same 13.9 percent alcohol as the Sunbasket cabernet this year, but the wine seems a bit more precise and fresher on the nose than the Sunbasket, at least at this early stage. The classic Corison bouquet wafts from the glass in that Rutherford Bench classic signature of black cherries, cassis, dark soil tones, Rutherford Dust spice tones, cigar ash and a lovely framing of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is bright, elegant and full-bodied, with lovely depth at the core, fine-grained, buried tannins, great focus and grip and a long, complex and impeccably balanced finish. This just seems cooler in personality to my palate than the Sunbasket Vineyard bottling this year, despite the two wines coming in at the same octane. It is a great classic Corison cabernet in the making!

The result of a nearly perfect, long and cool ripening season (and oblivious to the Covid chaos swirling around it), the Corison 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon was picked and in the barn fully two and a half weeks before the Glass Fire broke out. Industrial-grade air filters kept smoke out of the winery as the wines went down to barrels. We are so grateful, and relieved, to present the lovely 2020.