Corley & Corley Reserve
2004 Corley Proprietary Red Wine
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Print: Tasting Notes | Shelf Talkers
Tasting Notes:
Continuing along my musical theme from above, this wine’s opening stanza is a medley of blueberry, blackberry, floral and sweet oak tones. The chorus is lovely, the tannins laying down a solid rhythmic bass line, while the berry aromatics and dark fruit flavors entertain with an “echo” jam evoking some of the old-school boogie-woogie piano jams of old. The finish is sweet, lingering and smoky – like the last song of the evening in a downtown jazz club. – Chris Corley, Winemaker
Vineyards
Cabernet Franc (61%)
Home Ranch Vineyard and Knollwood Vineyard – Napa Valley, Oak Knoll District
Clone X and Clone 332
Merlot (21%)
Knollwood – Napa Valley, Oak Knoll District - Clone 181
Cabernet Sauvignon (12%)
Tietjen Vineyard on Niebaum Lane – Napa Valley, Rutherford, ‘Cope Clone’
Yewell Vineyard on Ehlers Lane – Napa Valley, St Helena, Clone 337
Syrah (6%)
Knollwood Vineyard, Napa Valley – Oak Knoll District, ENTAV Clone 470
Vinification
2004 was an interesting vintage. Our crop was small, and we had some late summer heat in August which hastened the ripening process. The lots that went into this 2004 blend were picked about 10-14 days earlier than we might normally pick. In the end, the wines of 2004 have shown great fruit quality, and very well-developed tannins.
With the exception of the co-fermented lots, which served as the foundation for the blend, all of the lots were fermented and sent to barrel individually. As is my tendency with this wine each year, the blend was put together in stages over the course of the barrel-aging process. Incremental blending can be thought of as putting together a piece of music. Typically you start with a base melody or rhythm, upon which the rest of the song is based. That’s your catchy riff - and to that you layer the rest of your jam down. The co-fermented lot of Cabernet Franc and Merlot was the riff that I jammed to.