Corliss: Celebrating the excellence of Red Mountain AVA

Located in the heart of Red Mountain AVA, a tiny yet mighty Washington wine region – covering only around 1,600 hectares – lies ultra-premium producer Corliss. For over 20 years, founders Michael and Lauri Corliss have been producing some of this exceptional region’s most ageworthy and site-specific wines.

A unique expression of terroir

Farmed and treated with the utmost care, the wines from Corliss’ three estate vineyards – which combine old vines with new clonal varieties – display concentration, intensity and power, whilst remaining nuanced and elegant.

Famed for its warm, dry climate, high latitude, dramatic diurnal temperature swings, powerful winds, well-drained sandy loam soils and mineral-rich profile, Red Mountain AVA challenges winemakers to craft balanced wines in an extreme environment. Long growing days with cool nights slow grape ripening and extend hangtime, creating developed flavours and softer tannins, while retaining natural acidity.

Sustainable, careful farming

The Corliss team opts for low yields, meticulous decision-making and attention to detail in the vineyard, to ensure full flavour development and optimum ripeness. Farming practices are decided on a block-by-block basis and yields are chosen with specific fermentation vessels – both oak and concrete – in mind.

Consistency and excellence in winemaking practices are key: Corliss prioritises vine health by using cow and chicken manure, and cultivating under vineyard rows to reduce the need for herbicides.

Patience rewarded

The Corliss family’s three-wine portfolio is highly celebrated: Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and a Cabernet Franc-driven blend, ‘Red Wine’. Corliss wines from Red Mountain AVA are bold and inky, offering a fragrant bouquet, savoury complexity and excellent ageing potential. No detail is spared in the production of these wines: from finely-tuned picking decisions to the five years spent ageing the wines before their release – even down to the wax punt stamp denoting wine and vintage.

Attention to detail has been key to the success of the Corliss Red Wine 2019. A blend of 58% Cabernet Franc, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot, this vintage was selected as one of Decanter’s Wines of the Year (97 points), and lauded as ‘a ponderous wine, melding hedonism and contemplation nearly to perfection’.

A personalised approach

Corliss wines are only available to their Registry members. By signing up to the Registry list, subscribers will not only be able to access these superb wines, but will also be given a personalised introduction to the state-of- the-art Walla Walla winery, hosted by Production Winemaker Adam Toliver and the Corliss hospitality team. Thus, Corliss seeks to build on its traditions, whilst looking to the future as it continues to produce world-class wines in Red Mountain AVA.

For a limited time, Decanter subscribers may bypass the waitlist and enrol in the Corliss Registry list to acquire wine: corliss.wine/request-allocation

Read Decanter’s editorial wine reviews for Corliss wines below

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