WTN: Sunbasket King

[David M. Bueker]

• 2018 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon Sunbasket Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (8/22/2025)
  I had been wanting a “treat” wine for a while, and finally just broke down and grabbed a bottle of this. Opened about an hour before dinner, and the small sample pour was enough to know it was going to be a very enjoyable bottle. This is not Napa Cabernet Sauvignon modeled on 1997. This is Napa Cabernet Sauvignon modeled on 1974, projected through the lens of optimized organic farming, and winemaking that allows the soil and the grape to show their best traits. The benchland soils that underlie all the Corison Cabernets are obvious here. There is no unnecessary gloss or artifice. There is power, as it is Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s also elegance, as there is a fine balance to all of the parts. It’s like a fine watch where the mechanism is fully visible, yet the focus is on the finely made hands that tell the time.

Is this a newish addition?
I'm a Corison fan but have only had Napa and Kronos (maybe the Helios once). This I never heard of Sunbasket.

[David M. Bueker]

Yes - first vintage was 2014. I only bought 2016 and 2018 (there was no 2017 IIRC) before the retirement pullback made it cost prohibitive.