ST. HELENA, CA. — Whatever else Cathy Corison may me, she is consistent. That much was evident on Monday as a small group of wine journalists gathered to taste a vertical of eight vintages of Corison Cabernet Sauvignon, from 1989 through 1996.
Though she has spent more than three decades making wine in the Napa Valley, Corison’s style is more European than California, showing remarkable restraint when power and muscle and the inevitable accolades from all the right places could be obtained so easily.
“I want my wines to walk the line between what appear to be opposites, power and elegance,” she said. “I love that line.”
This is a style she employed with great success over a decade as winemaker at Chappellet, where she worked with moutain fruit and had to learn to manage aggressive tannins to instill balance and elegance in her wines.
She is a devotee of the Rutherford Bench, however, and established very early that benchland vineyards — the most well known being Morisoli — would be the souce of grapes for the Corison Cabernets.
Before she built her own winery in St. Helena just a few years ago, Corison lived a vagabond existence as a vintner, making her wines at a number of different facilities in the Valley, beginning with her first vintage in 1987, which she made at Chappellet. But her fruit sources remained consistent throughout.
There is a similarity in the vintages ’89 through ’96 that is easy to spot. First, all of the wines, even the ’89 from a rain-drenched harvest, were in excellent condition. All were well balanced. None were above 14 percent alcohol. None were sweet or exhibited overripe aromas. All were aromatic and packed with bright red fruit aromas and lively acidity.
“I’ve been maybe a little stubborn to stick to the style I love,” she said. “I’ve been through three (fads) now where riper was better, but the pendulum always swings back.
“A day doesn’t go by that someone doesn’t thank me for making wine that’s not rocket fuel.”
Someone suggested that perhaps Corison might be thinking about someday making wine elsewhere, perhaps even in Bordeaux, but she quickly put that idea to rest.
“Here in the Napa Valley we’re all about Cabernet Sauvignon, and I believe we make Cabernet Sauvignon that is as good or better as any in the world,” she said.
I contemplated the eight vintages of Corison Cabernet Sauvignon in front of me and found it difficult to argue the point. One word came to mind. Bravo.
Well done, Corison.
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