Corison 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 96 Points

Winemaker Notes: “The entire spectrum of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit flavors is present and accounted for, from red cherries and raspberries through blueberries, to purple plums, black cassis and marionberries, for remarkable complexity. A floral perfume of dried roses, violets, and lavender is already jumping out of the glass. Signature Rutherford Dust minerality joins baking spices, notes of cocoa, dried thyme, and a whiff of tar and anise. Tannins that are firm and grippy, though velvety, lend structure and mouthfeel. It is going to be a lot of fun watching this wine over time.”

96 Points Wine Enthusiast (Cellar Selection): Savory and complicated in saline, woody notes of cedar and dry tannin, this old-school wine is dark and structured, aged 20 months in French oak, half of it new. Brooding black fruit and clove give it an edgy richness that is restrained and balanced by underlying acidity. Enjoy best 2029–2039.

96 Points Wine & Spirits: “The 2019 vintage might be something of an outlier for Cathy Corison, who picked two weeks later than usual, taking advantage of the cool season from summer into fall. This wine is, in fact, an idealized version of her benchland cabernet sauvignon, holding on to the elegance she regularly achieves, while adding a luscious textural beauty that more often comes from bottle age. James Conley of NYC’s Keen’s Chophouse found the aroma suggested a more delicate wine than the density and extract this one carries in its “cabernet grape tannins and intriguing, lifted fruit. If someone said, ‘I love Napa, but show me what I’m missing.’ I’d say, ‘Well, try this.’” Warm and explosive in its energy, this wine carries an imprint of the benchland soils in the play of darkness and light, in the detailed tannins that make you crave another taste”

94 Points Wine Spectator: “A very fresh, floral-laced style, offering a bright beam of cassis and plum gelée laced with flashes of violet, hibiscus, and rose petal. Nicely grounded through the finish, with alder and warm earth hints filling in. Approachable, but this has more to show in time. Best from 2023.”

94 Points James Suckling: A perfumed nose of blackberries, dark cherries, cedar, cocoa, and nutmeg. Violets too. Medium body with fine tannins and bright acidity. Fresh and refined with a bright core of wild fruit and a long, flavorful finish. Drink or hold.”

94 Points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “Delicate herbal shadings accent the cassis notes on the nose of Corison’s 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s classic Corison, balanced and concentrated without being showy or weighty, silky in feel, with a long, lingering finish and two decades of age-ability.”