Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
A very minerally and subtle wine with blueberry, blackberry and lemon rind. Some saltiness. Full to medium body, balanced and refined. Delicious already but shows wonderful tension and finesse. Drink or hold.
-
Wine & Spirits
A comfortable approach to Napa Valley cabernet, this wine allows the region’s generosity to show through without any excess weight or aggressive tannins. It’s a light-bodied, red currant–scented cabernet, fragrant and clean, with a spark of acidity to balance the fleshy richness of the fruit. A juicy, mouthwatering wine for roast duck.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
As a longtime wine lover and wine professional, I sometimes have gotten wrapped up in prototypes of what seems to be normal. Taking a look at a category like Napa Valley—there is no mystery that many of the valley's most prized wines have a little residual sugar left in the finished wines—this the secret that makes many Napa Cabernets so supple, layered and easy to drink. Cathy Corison's wines are different—high acid, biting and well-balanced. The 2013 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon is frisky with red currants and dried leaves; this wine takes a spin to the savory side of the grape variety. This wine goes against the trend and keeps all of honest in our wine evaluations. Drinks pretty well now. (Tasted: August 22, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.