Winemaker Notes
The result of a nearly perfect, long and cool ripening season (and oblivious to the Covid chaos swirling around it), the 2020 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. Corison is so grateful, and relieved, to present the lovely 2020. This wine is wildly complex with tart cherry, blueberry, red and black currants, raspberry, plum and boysenberry fruit, fleshed out with notes of baking spices and peppermint. The tannins are characteristically polite yet grippy. Mineral notes add lift and the evolving violet perfume is so pretty.
Professional Ratings
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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.
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Wine Enthusiast
Classic balance and a little restraint characterize this firmly structured, deeply flavored wine that brings black cherries, cranberries and black pepper to the front, backed by slightly tangy acidity and texturizing tannins that will help it mature nicely. Best 2028–2038.
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Wine & Spirits
This supple and gracious cabernet reflects none of the challenges of the 2020 season—from the outbreak of a pandemic in the spring to the devastating Glass Fire in the fall. Cathy Corison’s vines delivered healthy fruit several weeks before the fire hit the valley, and her 2020 offers Napa Valley satisfaction in a ripe, voluptuous red. The tannins have a plum-skin essence that lasts, along with heady scents of fraises des bois.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
With her early career stops at Freemark Abbey (1978) and winemaking positions at Yverdon (1979-1980) and Chappellet in the 1980s, she certainly has left her imprint on the Napa Valley. Oh, and moonlighting at Staglin, York Creek, and Long Meadow Ranch as the Corison Winery was born. I grew up on these wines as I learned what Cathy's wines are all about. The 2020 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits richness and elegance on the palate. This wine offers aromas and flavors of stylish black fruits, alluring black fruits, and stones-in-the-desert. Serve it with Thai-style lamb stir fry. (Tasted: August 26, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Distinctive, with a vivid display of mulberry, pomegranate and plum fruit aromas and flavors that glide through easily, carried by a silky but persistent structure. Reveals nice floral nuances through the finish, with a late twinge of iron, too. Drink now through 2035. 1,600 cases made.
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James Suckling
Quite fruit-expressive and floral, with spiced dark cherries, rust, baked plums, hibiscus and violet extract on the nose. Rich and fruity, with tart cherries, cassis and dried herbs on the palate. Full-bodied and juicy, with silky tannins that smoothen it out. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The base 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon is pretty, with a medium-bodied, elegant style as well as lots of sappy herbs, flowers, and currant-driven aromatics, fine tannins, and nicely integrated acidity. Drink this balanced, satisfying, old school Cabernet over the coming 10-12 years or so. This Cuv e spent 18 months in 50% new oak.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Corison fans should enjoy the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon. Gentle herbal streaks run through the wine's classic black cherries and cassis fruit. Medium-bodied, sleek and streamlined, it shows vibrant energy and ample length, framed by gentle, silky tannins.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
St. Helena is in the heart of the Napa Valley, nestled between Calistoga to the north and Rutherford on its southern border. On its western side, the Mayacamas Mountains guard it from the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean; to its east stand the Vaca Mountains. In conjunction, these mountain ranges serve to lock in summer daytime heat. But in the evening, cool air from the San Pablo Bay funnels up through the valley, creating very chilly nights. It isn’t uncommon for temperatures to drop 50 degrees, a shift that promotes a balance of sugar ripeness and acidity in wine grapes.
St. Helena contains a plethora of different soil types in a small area, which have been enhanced over centuries by rain runoff from both mountain ranges. Its vineyards cover a variety of terrain, spreading across the bucolic valley floor and its benchlands.
These ideal topographic and climatic growing conditions easily caught the attention of early winemaking pioneers. In fact, St. Helena is the birthplace of Napa Valley’s commercial wine industry. Dr. Crane founded his cellar in 1859, David Fulton in 1860 and Charles Krug in 1861.
Today there are no less than 400 separate vineyards planted within the 12,000 acres that make up the St. Helena appellation.
Revered most for its red wines based on Bordeaux varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, the St. Helena appellation is also a source of superior Syrah, Zinfandel and Sauvignon blanc.