The Hess Collection: New Releases
The Hess Collection Winery is located on the volcanic slopes of Mount Veeder in the Napa Valley. Founded by Donald Hess over a quarter century ago, the winery produces three tiers of wines. The Hess Select tier is inexpensive wines sourced from California’s North Coast; he Allomi Vineyard wines are sourced from a 201-acre vineyard estate located in the northeastern hills of Napa Valley; and the Hess Collection Wines are top tier cuvees sourced from the winery’s Mount Veeder estate. The wines reviewed here are from all three tiers and include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties.
The Hess Collection wines are well made, commercial wines produced in relatively large volumes and offer good value for money. The Hess Select Chardonnay and other whites exhibit good flavor intensity and balance and make judicious use of oak aging. The reds offer ripe fruit aromas and flavors, moderate to highly complexity, excellent texture, and ripe firm tannins. Our favorite wines are the upper tier Hess Collection Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Veeder. However, the Allomi series offers excellent value for money, especially the Cabernet Sauvignon. All Hess Collection wines are made under the direction of winemaker, Dave Guffy pictured here. Additional reviews of Hess Collection wines can be found by using the search function.
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