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Rob's "Wine of the Week" Archives

So here is my wine review for the week of October 2nd, 2006...

Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Description: Released last Fall, Hess is one of those handful of wineries that generally lags behind the rest of Napa in its cab releases. A solid producer of generally good wine, Hess here creates a cab that is 91% cab grapes and a 9% blend of Malbec, Verdot and Franc.

How to Get it: It's available at the winery in Napa, occasionally at Bevmo and on-line.

How Much: Per bottle, the winery wants about $40.

My Thoughts: This is a good to very good cab. Quite honestly, for $40 it's an average Napa $40 cab. Certainly this a good bottle, but it won't blow you away yet. This is another example of a Napa cab that needs to lie around for 5-10 years. Tasting it now produces dark cherry and chocolate flavors with some spice to the finish and a little nutmeg and vanilla. With time, hopefully the blackberry and cherry notes will fade to a more lingering vanilla/oak finish.

Overall Score: This a decent bottle of wine, perhaps worth the price tag down the road. For now, you won't be disappointed or blown away. 3 vines.

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