We have been selling Hess wines for a long time. There have been many incarnations, ups and downs, and an import company that brings in wine from the southern Hemishpere (including Hess’ own Argentine label from the ‘high country’ of Salta). There has probably been a little confusion along the way, too, as the name Hess is on a lot of different bottles…Hess Select, Hess Collection, Lion, Lion Tamer, Lioness (their ‘crest’ is a lion). There are ‘small batch bottlings’ of all sorts of things from Albarino to Gruner Veltliner to Orange Muscat. There are many different Cabernets (what is an ‘Allomi’, anyway) and an art collection.
There’s a lot to sort through, though most of it came later. They started out being known for their Cabernet and Chardonnay, and sometimes those classics get lost in the very busy picture. We aren’t going to try to explain all the permutations and combinations of the ‘Hess’ experience. We are simply going to mention that the 2016 Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder is the best effort we have had from them in a long time.
Yes, it is rich and polished, bestowed with well infused notes of high quality oak, and has plenty of stuffing, though that sounds like a lot of Napa Cabernets. A couple of things make this one stand out in the crowd. First is the wine’s layered complexity and elegance. As soon as one says elegance, though, a lot of ‘Cabernet types’ read that ‘light’. Not at all. The wine has power in its cassis, plum and dark berry fruit component, but it also has perceptible layers from that ‘Veedery’ savory/spice component and chocolate notes that speak more of a ‘chocolatier‘ than a common chocolate bar. They got all of this one and it commanded our attention in a way few have.
Even better, at a time when the winery put forth their best Cabernet effort in some time, they also decided to dial back their pricing (via a special offer) to reach a broader audience. How refreshing and totally un-Napa that is.
Apparently Wine Advocate’s Lisa Perotti-Brown is of a like mind, ‘
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Mount Veeder aged for 22 months in 75% new French oak. No 2017 vintage of this wine will be made. Deep garnet-purple colored, it delivers a very serious nose of baked plums, crème de cassis, dried mulberries and dark chocolate with nuances of tapenade, chargrill, licorice and menthol with a waft of tree bark. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is built like a brick house with a solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and oodles of freshness supporting the taut, muscular black fruit, finishing on a provocative mineral note. ..95 points.”
She only has it a point or two above prior recent efforts but we think the ‘style points’ here merit a greater separation. In any case, this Cabernet, at this price, is a treat!