2016 Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2016 vintage of Cathy Corison’s estate cabernet is the lowest octane version I can remember in a month of Mondays, as the wine comes in at an extremely svelte 13.1 percent this year. The bouquet is classic, wafting from the glass in a complex and very classy blend of black cherries, sweet dark berries, Cuban cigar wrapper, Rutherford dust, a deft framing of cedary oak and just a hint of eucalyptus in the upper register. On the palate the wine is extremely pure and focused, full-bodied and beautifully bound up in its sophisticated structural chassis, with a gorgeous core of fruit, great soil signature, ripe, buried tannins and superb length and grip on the seamlessly balanced finish. This is stunning juice, but it is built for the long haul (like all of Cathy’s wines) and will demand fully fifteen years of patience in the cellar before it edges into its plateau of maturity. It is an understated beauty, but this will be one of Cathy’s finest vintage for her estate bottling cabernet when it is fully ready to drink. But, let it hibernate in the cellar, as it deserves patience!