2017 Corliss Estates Red

The 2017 Red Wine is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon yet has 28% Cabernet Franc, all of which spent 22 months in 65% new French oak. Deep purple/plum, with a killer nose of blackcurrants, cassis, tobacco, and lead pencil, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a light, elegant texture, lots of chalky minerality, and a great finish. It shows the slightly more streamlined, narrow style of the 2017 vintage yet is just beautifully balanced and has the class to benefit from short-term cellaring and evolve for upwards of two decades.

Full ruby-red. Aromas of cassis, black cherry, blueberry, sandalwood and mocha. Silky, large-scaled, plush and horizontal, offering a lovely amalgamation of fruit, sweet oak, minerals and medicinal menthol reserve. This wonderfully dense, seamless, mouthfilling wine is balanced and sweet from the start. Finishes with broad, ripe, palate- and tooth-saturating tannins and no rough edges. A bit more pliant and less vibrant than the '16 at the same stage, this wine will give earlier pleasure but has the energy, stuffing and structure to evolve gracefully. Reminded me of a Saint-Julien. (aged for 22 months in 65% new French oak)

A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Corliss Red Wine is immediately impressive, with a nose of roasted coffee bean, fresh blackberry, cedar, cassis and juicy currant, before giving way to bitter dark chocolate, dried lavender and beautifully layered oak tones with a hint of fern. Full-bodied, the wine is generous on the palate with still-strict tannins that will round out in bottle over the next two years before it’s released. Juicy and rich, the wine delivers pleasure with complexity and ends with a long-drawn-out finish that continues to evolve on the palate for more than a minute. Fermented in French oak and concrete, the wine then rested in French oak for 22 months and is set to be released after an additional 38 months in bottle. Yes, after five years of aging, it will be ready to drink, but I see this beginning to stretch its legs and hit a stride by 2024. This gorgeous beauty will last for a couple of decades, so patience will be rewarded here. Made from estate-grown grapes from Corliss’s Canyons vineyard, Blackwood Canyon vineyard and Red Mountain vineyard, only 5,425 bottles were filled.