From benchland vineyards, the winemaker's perennial beauty of a wine is structured, evolved, graceful and complex, with powerful floral aromatics of rose and violet. Earthy and herbal, it tastes of rock and iron, with bright underlying invitations of cassis, tangy cherry and plum. This will do well in the cellar; enjoy best from 2027 through 2030. VIRGINIE BOONE

A very fresh, pure, high-toned style, offering a pure, almost distilled essence of damson plum, black cherry and raspberry fruit laced with floral and black tea notes. Darkens up a little on the finish, with a lingering hint of wood spice. An alluring wine. Drink now through 2034. 2,200 cases made. — JM

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon “Napa Valley” bottling from Cathy Corison is excellent- no surprise there! This is quite a bit riper than the old school 2016 vintage, as the 2017 tips the scales at 14.2 percent octane, but still delivers all of the purity and elegant refinement one expects from Cathy’s cabernets. The youthful bouquet wafts from the glass in a blend of black cherries, cassis, cigar smoke, Rutherford Dust and a nice touch of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and already quite suave on the attack, with a lovely core of fruit, very good soil signature, ripe, beautifully integrated tannins and a long, nascently complex and very well-balanced finish. Given my palate predilections, it is obvious that I am more drawn to the freakishly classical, lower octane 2016 version, but this too is an absolutely superb bottle of cabernet in the making and all it needs is time in the bottle to blossom properly.

92+ Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon slowly unfurls to reveal a beautiful nose of warm redcurrants, black raspberries and blackcurrant pastilles with an undercurrent of violets, fragrant soil and cinnamon stick. The medium-bodied palate is elegant and refreshing, delivering elegantly styled and yet wonderfully vibrant red and black fruits flavors, finishing with an energetic herbal lift.

A tense wine that needs time to unwind, this is based on western benchland fruit farmed and harvested for lithe elegance rather than effusive power. At first, it gives little aside from rose scents and some sappy rosewood notes. The fruit comes later as the tannins relent, offering black-raspberry and black-currant flavors that are clean and clear. Cathy Corison takes a long view on her cabernet, building finely structured wines to cellar. —J.G.