Celia Welch’s new release 2007 Corra cabernet sauvignon – a classic Napa Valley wine

After 20 years of working as consulting winemaker for several Napa Valley wineries, Celia Welch decided to make her own wines beginning with the 2004 vintage. She took on the name of Corra, the celtic goddess of prophecy, because for the first time, she would be able to communicate directly to her consumers about her wines. The goddess Corra took the form of a crane, representing Celia’s slow but certain and graceful path to the present. Celia herself is a goddess of sorts, having either consulted or made wine for over a dozen of Napa Valley’s most coveted brands such as Scarecrow, D.R. Stevens and Hartwell, and was also named Food & Wine magazine’s winemaker of the year in 2008. Celia is just a handful of women winemakers who have had a wide-ranging influence on Napa Valley wines through their consulting and mentoring activities over the years.

For Celia, creating a classic Napa Valley wine is about blending, an art she has mastered by working with the finest fruit from almost every corner of the Valley. Her 100% cabernet sauvignon wines are made with fruit from two of the best but divergent terroirs of the Napa Valley to achieve just the right amount of finesse and balance in the wines. About half the fruit comes from Pritchard Hill in the eastern mountains some 1,500 feet above Rutherford, the other half from the alluvial benchlands of Oakville and Rutherford. What she achieves is the best of both worlds – concentration, density and freshness from mountain fruit balanced by the lush berry fruit and full body of the valley floor.

The 2007 Corra Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($125) is an opulent wine with a heady perfume of chambord and mulberry fruit, notes of vanilla and licorice and a hint of spice. On the palate, the wine has dense concentration of ripe black cherry and boysenberry fruit laced with cocoa, full body with freshness, and mouth-filling, velvety tannins. The 90% new French oak is well-integrated and the finish is long. A luxurious wine that is ready to drink. 350 cases produced.

On the eve of releasing the 2007’s to her mailing list customers, Celia realizes the vision that is Corra.

Corra wines and mailing list are available through the website.