2018 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon Sunbasket Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Corison's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sunbasket Vineyard is marked by scents of pencil shavings and cassis on the nose. Just a bit bigger and richer than the Kronos while still refreshingly moderate in alcohol (13.7%), this is more velvet than silk, with a deeper pile to the plush feel on the palate, but perhaps there's a bit less perfume and complexity. It's still a terrific Cab, elegant and finesse-filled, rather than overpowering.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sunbasket Vineyard is racy and exuberant, as it always is, but with a touch less mid-palate than some previous editions. That should actually help in making the wine easy to drink with minimal cellaring. Ripe red cherry fruit, kirsch, rose petal, mint and spice lead into the voluptuous finish. This St. Helena Cabernet has a ton to offer. As always, the Sunbasket is a Cabernet built on texture and opulence.
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sunbasket Vineyard from a site in St. Helena offers more red plum, mulberry, and darker cherry fruits intermixed with plenty of spring flowers, sappy green herbs, and cedar-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has building tannins, nicely integrated acidity, and a clean, classy finish. It’s one of the more structured wines in the lineup, yet it can still be drunk today given its balance and overall charm. However, a solid 3-5 years of bottle age should do it well, and I suspect it will drink nicely over the following 15 years or more.
About the producer
Cathy Corison is one of Napa’s leading lights – a matriarch of the region who crafts defiantly elegant Cabernet Sauvignon from her old vines on the benchland between Rutherford and St Helena. These refined, long-ageing wines are some of Napa’s most impressive.