Winery - Corliss Estates
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
More than the tight and tannic 2005 Corliss Red, this Cabernet Sauvignon is immediately fragrant and open, with a mix of sweet fruit and sweet oak. Black cherry, cassis, subtle notes of lavender, and a foundation of wet stone are all nicely balanced and surprisingly elegant, given the relatively high (15.1%) alcohol. This wine seems now to be entering its prime time—it benefits from decanting, and will cellar well, but should probably be consumed within the next 2–8 years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Soft on entry, this five-grape Bordeaux blend wraps sweet baking spices, toasted coconut, and hints of custard around strawberry preserves and cherry fruit. It has plenty of supporting acid, and though it’s been given extra bottle age prior to being released, it is still quite youthful and tightly wound.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Mostly old vine fruit creates the exceptional Cabernet, which also includes small amounts of the other four Bordeaux grapes in the blend. The lovely bouquet is now starting to develop some secondary aromatics, expressive and complex. Delicious raspberry and cherry fruit flavors, crisply defined by firm acids, are nudged into hedonism with a wash of pretty chocolate and buttery nuts.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Blackberry, blueberry pie and plum fruit flavors are nicely welded to smooth barrel flavors that bring in coffee, licorice, toasted walnuts and mocha. This is definitely a fruit and barrel wine, thoroughly delicious but without the funk or minerality of Walla Walla Syrahs.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Though it lacks the precision of a single-vineyard Syrah (a grape that meticulously reflects individual terroir), this is balanced, clean and unmistakably varietal. There is a spicy, sharply herbal underpinning and tannins that suggest some stems in the fermentation. The high alcohol does not intrude, and the wine is complete and full.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Soft entry, with generous aromas introducing supple purple and black fruits. Tannins are substantial, well-structured, slightly grainy. There are light streaks of smoke, coffee, herb and bark; the earthy character of Syrah is evident but seems somehow softened and wrapped in the toasty barrel flavors. The blend includes 3% cofermented Viognier and 17% Grenache.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
. Though it is five years old and just being released, this thick, tannic and rich Bordeaux blend still requires decanting, cellaring, and/or extensive breathing time. A full day after first being tasted, it came together for me; the initial, aggressively herbal character is equally matched to ripe black cherry fruit and massive tannins. The nose suggests sweet cherry, but the palate leans more to the herbal side, with flavors of earth, stem and leaf, and there is a green tea residual flavor that infuses the finish. A wine to cellar and to savor with a fine steak.
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