Exploring Hess Collection Wines

My first experience with Hess Collection Wines was at the Wine Bloggers Conference in 2009 and I remember having lunch on their Mount Veeder estate with the goats. Now looking back, that was their first year with the goats, having purchased 24 goats in 2008 and they all turned out pregnant. I remember them telling us the story and we were eating with the offspring. Those goats play an important part of vineyard management during bud break. They help with the weed control, minimizing the use of the tractors and tilling. I totally enjoyed the wines then and still do so today. The only thing I do want to do my next trip to Hess Collection (besides taste the wine) is see the art museum, it is suppose to be amazing.

In the meantime, we can explore their wines. For this article we are going to visit the Hess Collection 2015 Napa Valley Chardonnay, 2015 Hess Collection Allomi Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley and Hess Collection Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Napa Valley. Next month we will explore some of the white wines of Hess Collection.

A little quick background on Hess Collection. Donald Hess came to California from Switzerland in the mid 1970’s. He wanted to expand his Swiss based bottled water company but instead fell in love with Napa Valley and the wines. He purchased 600 acres of land on Mount Veeder because he felt the best grapes grow on mountains, hillsides, ridges and bench lands. In 2011 Donald Hess retired and the fifth generation of Hess Family took the leadership rolls.

Label note: The tiger on the label signifies the three different generations of the Hess family.

Hess Collection 2015 Chardonnay $22

This Chardonnay comes from the Su’skol Estate Vineyard in Napa. It is located in one of the coolest growing regions in the area. The vineyard is named after the native Su’skol people who used the area as a meeting place and valued the areas resources for fish and game. The vineyard is on a site of ancient seabed with shallow, sandy soils that Chardonnay grapes love.

Tasting notes: An elegant complex Chardonnay that has been aged 9 months in barrels. Layers of apple, pear, honeydew melon and pineapple seductively work their way through your palate. Enjoy this next to fireplace and have a romantic evening.

Hess Collection 2015 Napa Valley “Allomi” Cabernet Sauvignon $32

This comes from the 210 acre Allomi Vineyard that has 35 six different Cabernet clones which add to the dicersity of flavors in the wine. The wine has 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petite Sirah and 2% Petite Verdot and was aged in oak for 18 months. Twenty-five percent of the oak was New American oak.

Tasting notes: A complex wine full of dark fruit, back cherry, currant, tobacco, vanilla, cocoa, nice integrated tannins.

Hess Collection 2014 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon $65

This comes from their estate Veeder Hills Vineyard. This cineyard has steep slopes and elevation ranges from 600 to 1,120 feet with sedimentary clay and shale soil. The berries are small with intense fruit flavors. The wine is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec and 3% Petite Verdot aged for 22 months in barrels with 80% in New French oak.

Tasting notes: Strong aromas hit your nose as you decipher the layers of black fruit, plum, leather, blackberry and cassis. Strong layers of black fruit on the palate, a very robust wine, strong and powerful with polished tannins that integrate nicely but stand their ground. Some nice mocha spice on the finish.

Amalaya - Hope for a Miracle

Amalaya like it’s brother Colomé is part of the Hess Family Wine Estates. Amalaya is fairly new, founded in 2010 the word means ‘Hope for a Miracle’ at what began from an experiment at Colomé.

That experiment was to find alternative sourcing and varieties for Malbec and Torrontés to produce new wines. The land where the vineyards are located were virgin to grape vines. The land located in the northern Calchaqui Valley in the eastern foothills of the Andes at an altitude between 5,250 and 5,580 feet above sea level. The high altitude provides intense sun during the day and cool evenings that enables the grapes to retain their acidity and fruit characteristics.

Amalaya wines are based on the varieties known through-out Argentina, Malbec and Torrontés that are blended with other varieties to reach their full expression. This totally shines through on their Amalaya Blanco and Amalaya Malbec.

2016 Amalaya Blanco is a bled of 85% Torrontés and 15% Riesling aged in stainless steel for between 90 and 120 days. The wine had a very floral nose with lemon shining through. The palate was elegant with a mineral notes, hint of grapefruit and lemon. Crisp and refreshing on a hot summers night! This paired very well with Mexican food. Note: my friend Jen said this wine reminded her of a Sauvignon Blanc. Think of this wine as an alternative. SRP $12

2016 Amalaya Malbec is a blend of 85% Malbec, 10% Tannat and 5% Petit Verdot. Twenty five percent of this wine spent 8 months in French oak. This is the perfect burger wine!! Deep purple in color, the wine showed aromas of black cherry, chocolate, mocha and allspice when first opened. As the wine was able to breath, soft aromas of strawberries and raspberries began to show. On the palate red fruit with a hint of plum, tree bark, licorice and rounded out with soft tannins. SRP $16

What Goes Best With Ribs But Malbec

One of my favorite wines to pair with ribs is Malbec. So  naturally I pulled out a Malbec from Argentina to pair with my dinner.  The ribs I made, I didn't baste with the usual barbecue sauce, but with a mustard vinegar sauce. I hoped for the best. As this was the first time making  them this way.

The Malbec I pulled was a 2013 Colome Malbec from the upper Calchaqui Valley in the Salta region of Argentina. This estate vineyards of Malbec grow at the world's highest elevation.  Four estate vineyards are blended into this wine that is 100% Malbec and aged in French Oak for 15 months.

The Vineyards used for the blending are La Braba Vineyard at 5,740 feet and the grapes from this vineyard bring the complexity and the weight in the wine.  El Arenal Vineyard at 8,530 feet gives the wine its elegance and freshness and Altura Maxima at 10,207 feet which is said to be the highest vineyard in the world give the wine it's floral and mineral notes.

The higher altitude produces less UV protection and thicker skinned grapes. This makes the wine more robust in taste with nice acidity to support it.

The winery itself was founded in 1831 by the Spanish governor of Salta.  In 1854 the first grapes, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon were introduced and planted. In 2001 they were purchased by the Hess Collection of Napa, California.  Today the Hess family gives back to the community.  They have helped build the community center, church, school improvements and community housing.

The 2013 Colome Malbec was very complex and bold.  With dark intense color on the border of maroon and deep purple. Aromas of plum, blackberries and red fruit with hints of wood.  The palate was just as complex with ripe plum and black fruit with a hint of chocolate and pepper surrounded by strong tannins.

The wine went perfect with the baby back ribs basted with the mustard vinegar sauce.  This is a very food friendly wine.  The SRP is $25

Hudson Valley Wine Goddess sums up the WBC09

I just returned from the Wine Bloggers Conference in Sonoma. What an outstanding conference it was! Joel Vincent and Allen Wright did a wonderful job in organizing it. They deserve a round of applause.

I tweeted thanking the sponsors of this conference and someone wanted to know who they were. Well they wouldn't fit in 140 characters or less. Here is the list of sponsors and I would like to thank them. They went beyond and we were treated like royalty.

Thank you: Open Wine Consortium,Zephyr Wine Adventures, Sonoma Vintner,Sonoma Winegrape Commission,Sonoma Tourism,Napa Valley Vintners, Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers,Bouchaine Vineyards,ViniPortuga,Russian River Valley Winegrowers,Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley,Rueda,WineFuture Conference, Wine Biz Radio,Wine Business Monthly,Mashable.com,Mutineer Magazine,Wines & Vines,Wark Communications,Washington Wine Commission,Rodney Strong Vineyards,Bonny Doon Vineyard,Vinfolio,Sherry Council of America,True Fabrications, ListenShare, Benziger,BottleShock.

The weekend was lots of fun and informative. I received a Spicy Zin tattoo Friday. (It's almost gone now.) Tasted lots of wine. Had a wonderful lunch at Hess Collection in the vineyard on Saturday.


Saturday evening concluded with an amazing dinner at Antica Family Estate. The view was incredible as was the food. They went all out for Bus #1 (We definetly had the best bus with the best stops and the best wine!)
Sunday morning was spent in Social Media seminars. I was honored to have the Hudson Valley Wine Country ning site show up as an example on Janet Fouts presentation. At the conclusion of the conference there were many wineries having events for us bloggers. Unfortunately I didn't attend. I headed to San Jose with the conference organizer Joel Vincent to hang with my friend Diane of 29 years. No matter how long between visits, we seem to pick up, just where we left off. Time went by to fast, as the next thing I knew, I was on a flight Monday morning heading East.

One of these trips to CA, I might not board that plane back home. In any event, I did, I'm back and I'm getting ready for the Bounty of the Hudson Wine Festival.