Napa Valley is not known for its reserve, subtlety and understatement. Flamboyance, yes, as well as grandiosity, weight, excess and the wines that epitomize these traits. Yet before Napa wineries began to take architectural cues from Las Vegas, the Valley was largely a quiet agricultural center that let its wines speak for themselves.

Even as Napa grew into a marketing colossus, these more modest sorts of wineries coexisted with the hype, amicably dispensing their bottles, often with far less attention than they deserve. If you don’t believe me, try a Corison cabernet sauvignon. Better yet, try 25 vintages in a sitting.

I had the rare opportunity to do just that two weeks ago as Cathy Corison, the proprietor, came to New York to offer a retrospective of her Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon, from its first vintage in 1987 to 2011, its current release. Typical of the gentle Corison approach, she chose to show the wines simply, at the New York office of her local distributor, Skurnik Wines, rather than at the more typical extravagant meal at a fancy restaurant.

Regardless of the setting, it was clear to me in tasting these wines that Corison is among the greatest producers of cabernet sauvignon in Napa Valley today. These were fresh wines of great balance and elegance that spoke clearly of their place and vintage, and were remarkably consistent in character through a quarter-century. They possess the capacity to age and become more complex, integrated and eloquent with time. Best of all, they demonstrate plainly that Napa cabernet can speak transparently and persuasively in a pure, restrained voice without artifice or bombast.