Wine Enthusiast 95
"From benchland vineyards, the winemaker's perennial beauty of a wine is structured, evolved, graceful and complex, with powerful floral aromatics of rose and violet. Earthy and herbal, it tastes of rock and iron, with bright underlying invitations of cassis, tangy cherry and plum. This will do well in the cellar; enjoy best from 2027 through 2030."

James Suckling 94
"A succulent red with currants and fine, lightly dusty tannins. Medium to full body. Cedar and hazelnuts at the finish. Extremely refined and delicious. Drink now or hold."

Wine Advocate 92+
"Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon slowly unfurls to reveal a beautiful nose of warm redcurrants, black raspberries and blackcurrant pastilles with an undercurrent of violets, fragrant soil and cinnamon stick. The medium-bodied palate is elegant and refreshing, delivering elegantly styled and yet wonderfully vibrant red and black fruits flavors, finishing with an energetic herbal lift."

Wine & Spirits 92
"A tense wine that needs time to unwind, this is based on western benchland fruit farmed and harvested for lithe elegance rather than effusive power. At first, it gives little aside from rose scents and some sappy rosewood notes. The fruit comes later as the tannins relent, offering black-raspberry and black-currant flavors that are clean and clear. Cathy Corison takes a long view on her cabernet, building finely structured wines to cellar. J.G. (2,200 cases)"

The Wine
2017 at Corison was a near-perfect vintage. The weather was ideal for flowering in the spring, which resulted in a plentiful crop, followed by an unseasonably cool summer. The nighttime temperatures were correspondingly chilly, giving the wine a firm structure on which to hang the complex flavors.

The Estate
Cathy Corison produces a limited quantity of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, hand-crafted without compromise from some of the finest vineyards in the Napa Valley. They are all located along the western benchland centered around Rutherford where deep, stony alluvial soils promote the ideal growing conditions for the Cabernet vine. These vines regularly produce some of the most concentrated and superbly ripened fruit anywhere.

Many years of winemaking for others, including Chappellet Vineyard, Staglin Family Vineyard, York Creek Vineyards and Long Meadow Ranch, honed her skills and left her eager to express her own winemaking voice. In 1987 she made the first vintage of Corison Cabernet. There was a wine inside me that needed to be made, she says. The harvest of 2011 marked Cathys 25th vintage of Corison Cabernet!