Winemaker Notes
Aromas of wild mountain raspberry and Bing cherry, on the palate, luscious blueberries framed by hints of vanilla, cassis, creamy milk chocolate and oak spice.
The layers of flavor in this wine pair well with complex foods, including braised or grilled meats like lamb, pork or duck; spring or sweet onions; earthy flavors such as mushrooms, eggplant and fennel; harder cheeses with salt crystals such as Bravo Farms Silver Mountain or Beecher’s Flagship Reserve.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
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. 3,000 cases produced.
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Wine Enthusiast
Thick, herbal and earthy, this is a fantastic expression of the appellation. Firm tannins show structure and measured richness around thickets of black cherry, dark chocolate and earthy sage, finishing on a hint of black pepper.
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Wine Spectator
This shows steeped blackberry, plum and black currant fruit set against a backdrop of warm tar, smoldering charcoal and sweet tobacco notes. A tarry edge and dark fruit meld beautifully through the finish due to well-embedded acidity. A textbook mountain Cabernet. Best from 2022 through 2035.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The Hess Collection Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 is a powerful wine that stays bright and feisty through its finish. TASTING NOTES: This wine is alive and steady with persistent aromas and flavors of red and black fruits, along with a touch of oak. Pair it with slowly-braised meats. (Tasted: July 14, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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.