Skip to main content

Vertical Tasting at Corison with a Frontline View of Vintage 2015


I had been looking forward to touring Corison Winery since I took a Napa Valley wine class from Matt Stamp, Master Sommelier. He brought in a fantastic array of wines for the tasting but the 2008 Corison "Kronos Vineyard" is the one wine that stood out for me. I made a mental note on it then and I remember thinking that I would visit soon; 2 1/2 years later, I finally made it out here.

Day 2 started at Corison Winery where I briefly got to meet Cathy Corison before she was called back to the front line to start the new vintage. It was great fun to see her step into action at every level while inhaling the aromas of the newly fermenting wine filling the air. You could see the care she takes from the very first steps of the winemaking process.
Sales manager, Justin Boudrie toured us through the gnarly old grapevines in the Kronos Vineyard.The old vine Cabernet Sauvignon is sustainably farmed on gravelly loam soils. The vineyard is located on the benchland between Rutherford and St Helena in Napa Valley. He went into great depth about his respect for Cathy and her vineyard management and winemaking philosophy, information that I will be using in an upcoming feature.

He then toured us through the winery and back to the tasting room.

The Tasting:
2002 Corison Napa Valley (approximately $185)- From magnum, very fresh, cherry, blackberry, plum, chocolate, spice, full body, smooth.
2004 Corison Napa Valley (approximately $150)- Rich, blackberry, pencil shaving, firm tannins, structured.
2006 Corison Napa Valley (approximately $125)- A grab bag of weather brought different challenges all year; Deep, rich, complex; mixed berry jam, dark chocolate, coffee, clove, velvety tannins, long rich finish.
2010 Corison Napa Valley (approximately $100)- Cooler than usual vintage; Structured, elegant, more restrained, blackberry, baking spice, pencil shavings, long lingering minerality.
2012 Corison Napa Valley (approximately $85)- Perfect growing season; Bright, fresh ripe cherry and cranberry, floral note, youthful, approachable, ripe velvety tannins, long fruity finish.

2011 Corison "Kronos Vineyard" (approximately $165)- Long, cool vintage; Rich cherry, blackberry and plum with a floral note, touch of mint and minerality. Elegant, powerful, expressive.

This was one of my favorite winery visits. I met the winemaker and I saw her making wine, I toured the vineyards, the winery and I had a phenomenal tasting, that is a Napa Valley experience. The winery is open daily to the public with a tour and library tasting for $55, by appointment only.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lust Zinfandel 2007

     My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David  dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette.      This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so.      The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007  was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of ...

Introducing Oltrepò Pavese - An Italian Sparkling Wine that You Should Know

Last year, I had the opportunity to travel to Italy to taste the wines of Oltrepò Pavese. I discovered that these sparkling wines are based on Pinot Noir, they are made in the traditional method, like Champagne, and most importantly, they are an Italian hidden gem that bubble lovers across the world need to put on their radar. In the August issue of Galveston Monthly magazine, I introduce these wines to my readers.

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude.  Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from...