
Winemaker Joseph J. Wagner is a 4th generation winemaker from a family with farming and winemaking roots in the Napa Valley since 1906. Deep Ruby (darkest Pinot almost looks like a Cab) with aromas of ripe berries and spice notes. The palate shows rich black fruits, blackberries, plums and black cherries, vanilla spice, cedar and cacao. Rich soft tannins, firm acidity on lingering finish ending with mineral tones. Nice! — 9 years ago
Love this Zinfandel. Spicey berry and medium bodied. Not too fruity like a lot of Zinfandel. Getting more! — 11 years ago
Very black wine. One of the darkest I've seen. Very complex wine. Dark black currant, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, very bold cocoa/chocolate. Smells extremely hot, spicy, red fruit. Medium long finish and medium plus acid. The longer it's in the glass, the more flavors that come out. Really blown away. — 8 years ago
On the nose, stewed fruits of; black plum, blackberries, dark cherries, plum and blueberries. Mocha, chocolate, mixed berry cola, sweet spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, loamy mineral soils and dry dark florals. The mouthfeel is less concentrated than other vintages of Corison but that's indicative of the 10 Napa vintage generally. The tannins are nicely resolved with another 5-8 years before they are completely resolve. The fruits are; dark cherries, black plum, plum, black raspberries, blackberries with strawberries that dance around the rest of the fruit. There's nice barrel toast, vanilla, nutmeg, light clove, cinnamon, touch of wood shavings, liqueur notes, caramel, mocha chocolate, mix berry cola, loamy soils, dry crushed rocks, bramble, dry stems with nice soft round acidity. The finish is a little lean but tasty. Good balance of fruit and earth with long, rich elegance. Cathy slightly overachieved the 10 vintage as a whole. Photos of; her estate building, Cathy in her vineyard, grapes coming in at night (better to harvest when the fruit is cooler) and her estate vineyard in all it's glory. Producer notes and history...Cathy Corison grew up in Riverside, California. She studied biology at Pomona College and was on their men's diving team, because the school didn't have a women's team. In 1972, she had to take an extracurricular class. She signed up for a trampoline class, but changed her mind upon seeing a sign-up sheet for a wine tasting class. This class was the catalyst that sparked her interest in winemaking. After graduation in 1975, she moved to Napa Valley in California. She received her Master's degree in Enology from University of California, Davis. Upon moving to Napa, she started working in the tasting room at Sterling Vineyards and at a wine shop. During this time, she was getting her Master's degree at the University of California, Davis. She was told by her professor that she would not get a job in Napa Valley because of being a woman. However, if she wasn't the first Napa Valley female Winemaker, she was certainly one of the first. She tried to get a job at Freemark Abbey and was denied because they believed she could not work in the cellar. She almost took a job at Christian Brothers in the enology lab. However, she decided not to take the job and in 1978 she became an intern at Freemark Abbey and eventually became their Winemaker. She joined Chappellet in 1983 and was their Winemaker for nearly ten years. She founded Corison Winery, in 1987. The winery is located in St. Helena, California in a barn built by her husband, William Martin. Corison makes Cabernet and Gewürztraminer. They produce about 3,500 cases a year depending on the vintage. The winery makes a Kronos Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and as well as a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The Kronos is an estate wine that is made from organic grapes. The vineyard is dry farmed. The grapes come from one of the oldest vineyards in Napa Valley. The Napa Valley Cabernet comes from Rutherford. The Gewürztraminer is called Corazón and comes from the Anderson Valley. — 8 years ago

Another Wine Club meeting come and gone. This time we had some exceptional selections that were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Speaking of enjoyment, there are few things more enjoyable than sharing good wine with good friends. This is one reason why Wine Club is a tradition that we will strive to preserve for many years to come. — 8 years ago

Blind Dinner, Franco-American Winemaker Theme; 17 Nov 2016 at Prairie Whale, Great Barrington, MA — 9 years ago
Excellent wine. Had with spaghetti. Inexpensive and will buy more. — 9 years ago
Takes me home to when I was a lad drinking Greg Norman. — 9 years ago
2011 vintage. — 11 years ago
Matthew Cohen
When the price of this doubles in a few years grown men and women will be weeping that they didn’t buy more. Myself included. Explosive fruit and minerality. More than enough balancing acidity for the 15 acidity alarmists. As this opens it has palate expansiveness. My gut is that this will improve with more age. Wow. Bought from Fass Selections. Ok an hour in this is killing it. Profound wine. — 8 years ago