Occasionally a wine surprises me. But when an entire winery makes a turnaround, I take notice. Take Hess Collection. I’m absolutely bored with Napa where Hess hails from, so honestly, I haven’t given them a look in years. But recently, Dave Guffy, winemaker for Hess Collection, came to town and changed my mind.
Guffy has been winemaker at Hess Collection for ten years. The guy is a farmer’s farmer, whose eyes light up as he talks about strolling through the vineyards. He even crafts wine for his family with syrah grapes grown in his front yard. The dirt is where his heart lies.
He’s in charge of the mounds of money Hess spends on vineyard development and replanting older vines that aren’t producing much anymore. Some people say this might be age discrimination, even me, since wines made from older vines taste more concentrated and elegant. But a big corporation can’t afford to keep vines which are no longer producing at maximum quantity/maximum quality level. It’s not commercially viable. However, their Allomi Vineyard, the sustainably-farmed piece of land where this fantastic cabernet sauvignon is birthed, is a 210 acre plot at the base of Howell Mountain in Napa that enjoys a long, warm growing season. I can almost taste the warm sun on the grape skins in this gorgeous wine:
Hess 2006 Allomi Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Fragrant with vanilla and sweet cassis. Ripe plum, lush bittersweet chocolate, soft oak flavor and black cherry lined with supple, easy tannins and medium acidity. Tastes a bit of cigar box spice: smoky nutmeg mixed with sweet, green leaf tobacco. It has so much going on, you don’t really know what to concentrate on. Great value for the quality. Foods to pair with it: grilled steak with a spicy rub, duck with a fruit sauce or roast pork. Sw=1. $25. 4.5 stars.
Buy it at Total Wine and More, select ABC Liquors and high end Publix grocery stores.
This article appears in Apr 8-14, 2009.