CORRA, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, 2019 (by Celia Welch)

Overview of the Wine
After more than twenty-five years of making wines for other Napa Valley vintners, Celia Welch is excited to share with you the wine she has made for her own brand, Corra.

Celia Welch’s first interaction with grapes was under the huge oak tree in her backyard in Southern Oregon, where her siblings and she plucked grape berries from stems for their father, an avid wine collector and home winemaker. Her parents also included the family on trips through Napa and Sonoma in the early sixties, and, like most visitors, she was entranced with the beauty of the rolling vineyards.

In 1982 with a degree in Enology earned at UC Davis in her back pocket, she set out to take a peek at a few wine regions. Her travels took her to the Pacific Northwest, the East Coast, and to New Zealand. She worked harvest in the Barossa Valley of Australia, and then settled in the Napa Valley to refine her craft.

Celia had reached a fork in her career path in the early nineties, and she chose to focus on independent wine consulting. The wines she has made create a microcosm of Napa Valley. She has made wine from vineyards on Mt. Veeder, Atlas Peak, and Howell Mountain to those in Carneros, and from benchland vineyards from St. Helena to Napa.

In 2004 came the idea and the challenge of founding Corra. It was not easy to find vineyard sources with top-quality fruit, a winery with a bit of space to spare for barrels, and a strong team of individuals with experience in different aspects of the wine business from grapevines to websites. The results of these efforts have been tremendous; well-received wines and a project that has lead to information- and idea-sharing for everyone involved.

Once every ten or so years Mother Nature seems to answer our prayers, sending us enough winter cold, enough spring rain, and the right amount of warm summer sun. In those seasons, winemakers rejoice in our good fortune to be able to “choose the moment” for harvest. The juicy, rich, flavor-packed wines which are born by these vintages bring us joy from the day we harvest the grapes until the last drop in the last bottle 20+years later.

Grape / Blend
100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin
Napa Valley, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
For the 2019 Corra Cabernet Sauvignon, this “season of excellent timing” provided the foundation to create a “vintage of excellent balance”. Vibrant cassis, blackberry, dark cherry and vanilla aromas combine with a touch of cocoa powder and a bit of toasty oak in the aromas. On the palate, the wine shows vibrant fruit at entry, a solid core but well-resolved tannins and crisp acidity at the finish. 

As with prior vintages, this Napa Cabernet was crafted from grapes grown on the steep west-facing rocky slopes in the Pritchard Hill area (east of Rutherford) as well as on the western benchlands of Rutherford and Oakville. Each vineyard source was vinified separately, then blended carefully after one year in oak, return to the barrels and aged for an additional 10 months. The final product is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, all from Napa Valley, matured in 100% French oak (70 % new) for 22 months.

97+ Points - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate 
Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep garnet-purple colored 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon explodes with vivacious scents of crushed blueberries, chocolate-covered cherries and blackcurrant pastilles with hints of menthol, unsmoked cigars and cardamom. The concentrated, full-bodied palate (15% alcohol) has a solid foundation of firm, fine-grained tannins with seamless freshness and a long, spicy finish. 300 cases were made.

96 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
I continue to love the wines from Celia Welch. Her 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is medium to full-bodied, elegant, and seamless, with quintessential Cabernet notes of black fruits, tobacco, earthy, herbal nuances, and a touch of chocolate. The balance is spot on, it shows the seamless, balanced style of the vintage, and it’s a joy to drink. It will last for 20-25 years.

Product size: 750ml