Paul J

9.4

Having to work down our bottles in the London wine fridge, so drinking some very young vintages. Last vintage of a six bottle vertical.

Almost 2hr decant. Dark red color. Classic Pontet Canet nose with a little ammonia. Wine is definitely young and green. Fruit forward with cherries as expected but lacks the typical depth. Medium finish. Rounding up to 94. — 5 years ago

with Brooke

Jessica Dean

9.0

Light and bright. Good table wine — 7 years ago

Jordan Wardlaw

9.2

Definitely the most broadly appealing and well-rounded of the Alvear range. Fruit-driven and concentrated, decidedly less salty and mineral-forward as the entry level Fino. Rounded, complex mouthfeel with nice slow-building acidity that coats the palate very well from front to back. Quite dominated by youthful yeasty aromas that are remarkably similar to fresh baked bread. It’s relatively dry and fresh but would work beautifully with sharp cheeses. — 8 years ago

Andrew Lohse

9.0

Black cherry, underbrush, cola, baking spice. Finesse. Med- bodied. Acid does a lot of work. — 8 years ago

Stephanie Horbaczewski

9.3

Post work treats 🍷 with JNB in Luxembourg 🇱🇺 — 9 years ago

Ryan M

9.6

Started decanting this morning as encouragement to start the 🦃 day prep work. Absolutely outstanding! Each hour getting better and better. TN: powerful oak full of blackberry fruits - one of my favorite wineries and honestly this didn't need a decant but enjoying the journey. #chriscarpenterisgod @cardinalewinery #thanksgivingwine — 9 years ago

with Larissa

speedy duncan

9.0

totally unique crisp but full of mouth eye of cranberry with eli's deconstructed succotash grilled pork chops and local heirloom maters wowser did this work — 10 years ago

with Frances and Eli

LM Segal

9.6

Even better than last year’s bottle, which I called “the devil’s work” and rated 95. So much more emerging and the finest, grainy tannins just melted on my palate. Burnt cocoa, velvety cassis. Never got warmed up due to Covid doors open. This has decades to go. — 6 years ago

with Mark and Joe

Nick H

9.4

What can derail you from Delectable for a few months? Perhaps a global pandemic and all the associated work it brought? Hopefully back to stay and rating the backlog that got me through it 😂 Classic Cali Chard - tropical, citrusy notes with almost a waxy or silky mouthfeel. Very little if any butter or oak, and always a delight! — 7 years ago

Dean Rogers

8.9

At Ocean Prime with ladies from work! — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

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. — 9 years ago

Roger Tabor

9.3

Thanks to my girls at work turning me on to this one, I could enjoy this everyday! Thanks! :) — 10 years ago

Chance Miller

9.3

Nice after work treat 🙂🥂 — 6 years ago

Andrew Schirmer

9.5

A real stunner. Honeyed nose with beeswax, mead-like. Palate is all-encompassing, coating, zinging acidity, long finish. Beautiful work. — 6 years ago

with Alsu

Nicole Johnson

8.9

I enjoyed this reasonably priced wine. — 8 years ago

Elizabeth Verity

9.3

Not a watery boring Pinot - lots of depth. Gift from Rob for work on Avast — 8 years ago

Alex Lallos

Owner No Limit Fine Wines, Private Wine Consultant

9.1

Fabulous wine. Golden color with classic chenin aromas; quince, lemon oil, honey and butterscotch... found this on the list at Bernardus lodge for $60... siting down outside at the lodge with this at my table for $60 is ridiculous... good work michael Marcy — 9 years ago

Alexander Niehenke

9.4

Real nice work by @Chris Pittenger true to the call balancing old with new. — 9 years ago

with Shannon

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

As good as this is tonight, it's a bit of a shame to drink it. It's beautiful, ripe, rich but the tannins still need some work. This wine will be amazing in 15-20 years. Dry blackberries, dark cherries, dark cherry liqueur, black plum skin, cooked strawberries, dark coco, minerals are so fine & elegant, suede leather, dry dark earth, decayed floral bouquet, black licorice anise, good acidity and a round plum dry finish. — 10 years ago

Winton Sweum

9.2

Well lacks the intensity of their best work leaving a little too much oak out front. — 10 years ago