Hess The Lion Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
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Blend: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec, 2% Petite Verdot
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The last bottled wine I tasted is also spectacular, and rivals the finest wines ever made at Hess – the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate The Lion. It is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot and obviously a cuvée meant to be the best Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated wine they produce. They didn’t make it in 2009, 2010, 2011 or 2012, so this is the first vintage in some time. Inky purple in color it offers notes of lead pencil shavings, white flowers, blueberries and blackberries. The Mt. Veeder hallmark of blue fruits and white flowers definitely comes through in this supple, opaque purple wine that is full-bodied, built like a skyscraper and super-impressive. If this is what we can continue to expect from Hess Collection, they are on a quick, express elevator to the top. There are 431 cases of this gorgeous wine.
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Wine Enthusiast
A new, high-end offering from this producer, this wine is made to celebrate and luxuriate in the appellation, which it does in its ying-yang of dark chocolate and cedar. Bright acidity uplifts a soft, creamy texture and firm, subtle tannin, allowing the blackberry bramble to speak.
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For over 40 years, The Hess Collection has been producing complex, elegant wines sourced from estate vineyards high on Mount Veeder and in the far reaches of the Napa Valley. It is from these rugged landscapes that The Hess Collection winemaking team crafts exceptional luxury wines.
A pioneer by nature, Donald Hess was determined to defy convention and pursue winemaking at elevation. In 1978, he established The Hess Collection Winery on the site of one of the region’s oldest wineries on Mount Veeder. Although few in Napa Valley were cultivating vines at elevation, Donald Hess believed the volcanic slopes of Mount Veeder provided the ideal combination of soils and microclimates to yield elegant wines with rich, complex flavors.
Today, the next generation of The Hess family continues Donald’s legacy at the winery's home on Mount Veeder.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Centered at the peak for which it is named, Mount Veeder is Napa’s largest sub-AVA. But even though the entire appellation spreads over 16,000 acres, vineyards cover a mere 1,000. Scattered among Douglas firs and bristlecone pines, Mount Veeder vineyards extend south from the upper elevations of the Mayacamas Mountains—the highest point at 2,400 feet—to the border of the Carneros region. Less than 25 wineries produce wine from Mount Veeder fruit.
Winemaking began early in this appellation. In 1864, Captain Stelham Wing presented the first Mount Veeder wine to the Napa County Fair; it came from today’s Wing Canyon Vineyard. Prohibition, of course, halted winemaking and viticulture wasn’t revitalized until the founding of Mayacamas Vineyards in 1951 and Bernstein Vineyards in 1964.
The Bernstein Vineyards was actually home to the first Petit Verdot in California, planted in 1975. Today most of the Petit Verdot in Napa Valley originates from this vineyard.
Rocky volcanic clay and ancient seabed matter dominate Mount Veeder soils—perfect for Bordeaux varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot enjoy spectacular success. These varieties produce wines rich in brambly blackberry and black cherry fruit with herbal and floral aromatics. Structures are moderate to assertive and wines have great staying power.
Chardonnay from Mount Veeder is lush, full and balanced mineral and fresh citrus flavors.