2016 Corliss Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is dark and inward, grumbling up with herbal tones, currant and hints of clove. This is sleek yet soft textured, showing a mineral touch to its crisp black fruits. A buzz of residual acid lingers, along with a bitter mocha tinge and edgy tannins. I'm not appreciating the balance of fruit and structure here, as it comes across too structurally aggressive. It’s hard to understand what may have happened, considering the superior performance of the Corliss Red Wine from the same vintage.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
All varietal and aged in 70% new oak, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon sports a deep purple color as well as impressive Cabernet notes of blackcurrants, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and cedar pencil. It's a rich, powerful, full-bodied wine with plenty of mid-palate depth, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. It needs 3-5 years of bottle age but is a beautiful wine that’s going to age gracefully. Hats off to winemaker Andrew Trio for another beautiful set of wines! The team at Corliss continues to pretty much knock it out of the park in every vintage. These aren’t shy wines by any measure, yet they hold onto a terrific sense of elegance and freshness and are beautiful wines readers will love.
Dark medium ruby. Multidimensional nose melds crushed currant, blueberry, blackberry, violet, licorice and coffee. Boasts extraordinary grain and textural density: plush, broad and savory, saturating every square millimeter of the mouth without leaving any impression of weightiness. Utterly classic Cabernet with serious inherent sweetness to its dark berry, licorice and floral flavors. Finishes with noble tannins, an element of sexy oak spices and incredible mounting length. I found myself wondering if this impeccably balanced wine (the pH is 3.8 at the most, according to assistant winemaker Elliott) will ever really shut down in the bottle. Still, it would be a shame not to give it at least a couple years of cellaring when it's released in the fall of 2021. (this Cabernet Sauvignon actually contains tiny percentages of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, but the two varieties make up less than 5% of the wine)
The 2016 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a deep core of fruit and dusty minerality on the nose, with underlying aromas of rich red cherries, black plum, cassis and a soft, savory tone. Full-bodied on the palate, the wine is still youthfully tight, with a firm, structured and broad-shouldered core and long, complex finish. Boldly structured tannins and a firm crunchiness to the wine make this serious Cabernet a special treat. You can bet that once it's released, this is going to be a collector's wine. Just give it time—it's going to age like a champion. 955 cases produced.