2020 Corison, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, USA

Corison fans should enjoy the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon—gentle herbal streaks run through the wine's classic black cherries and cassis fruit. Medium-bodied, sleek and streamlined, it shows vibrant energy and ample length, framed by gentle, silky tannins.

Drink 2023 - 2035

Quite fruit-expressive and floral, with spiced dark cherries, rust, baked plums, hibiscus and violet extract on the nose. Rich and fruity, with tart cherries, cassis and dried herbs on the palate. Full-bodied and juicy, with silky tannins that smoothen it out. 

Drink or hold

Medium to full-bodied, beautiful and restrained, with savoury aromatics of fennel, black liquorice, cedar, and black currants. Soft, satiny blackberry fruits are lifted by fine-grained yet supple tannins while a purity of fruit guides the palate to a long, tobacco-tinged finish marked by a mineral-freshness that beckons sip after sip—100% Cabernet aged 18 months in 50% new French oak barrels.

Drink 2023 - 2035

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley) is a heady, potent wine that shows the heat of the year in its forward, opulent personality. Super-ripe black cherry, plum, chocolate, herbs, earthiness, and liquorice are all amplified in this decidedly exuberant, potent wine. There's not a lot of subtlety and plenty of impact. Even so, this opens nicely with aeration.

Cathy Corison describes 2020 as a very warm year until Labor Day. Her 2020s are among the better wines of the year. The wines are perhaps a bit lacking in elegance, but I am not sure that was possible in 2020. As always, the Corison wines are archetypes of Napa Valley classicism, even if that is harder to discern in this extreme vintage.

Drink 2023 - 2028