2014 Hess Collection Napa Valley Chardonnay

90WE

$17.99

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Wine Enthusiast

Reviewed March 2017

The producer pulls from its estate Su'skol Vineyard for this wine, which opens in an aromatic flirtation of sweet honeysuckle, revealing the site's abundance of musqué clone. Crisp on the entry and midpalate, it shows a full-bodied style as it opens—notes of pear and fig are wrapped between spicy nutmeg and a viscous bite of oak on the finish. (VB)

Professional Reviews

Wine Advocate

Review Date: 12/2016

Readers looking for one of the big-time sleepers of the vintage, and a great value, need look no further than the 2014 Chardonnay Estate Napa. This is 100% Chardonnay from Napa and it sells for a song – and more good news is there are just over 24,000 cases of this wine that went through about 25% malolactic and was aged in stainless steel and neutral wood. Exotic floral notes of mango and guava jump from the glass, along with pineapple and honeysuckle. It is medium-bodied, crisp and fresh with loads of fruit. This is a big-time winner! Drink it over the next year. As I indicated last year, the Hess Collection winery up on Mt. Veeder is profiting from a complete makeover and producing better and better wines as well as more special cuvées. This was a winery that burst on the scene in the mid-1980s with some terrific wines and then became moribund. That’s all changing now, as the recent releases strongly evidence. (RP)

Wine Spectator

Review Date: 06/2016

Pithy citrus peel elements impart distinctive texture and flavor in this white, which is pleasing and cleansing. Drink now. (JL)

Staff Reviews

Kirk Walker

This is not the Hess that I remembered. It delivers everything that you want from a Napa Chardonnay. Medium full bodied with a creamy rich mid palate, but not drowned in butter. A touch of oak spice, and a crisp stainless steel finish (only about 25% of the wine underwent malo). Ripe but cool fruit tie everything together. I was taken aback with how much I enjoyed this wine. Being under $20 makes it a little better.

Notes

Hess put themselves on the map in the late '80s/early '90s by making some of the best value wines in the market from serious vineyards on Mount Veeder and near San Pablo Bay, not to mention from purchased fruit across California. The problem was that at some point, the brand seemed to lose its identity and dedication to quality in the early '00s. They created more tiered labels than anyone could understand, or keep straight, and what they built slowly receded to just another brand on supermarket or "big box" stores shelves. So then why, you may ask, are we putting these wines in front of you? It's because Hess has completely rededicated themselves to quality over the last few years on all levels. They've gone green in the vineyards (sustainable and certified Napa Green), cut way back on production and are focusing on estate-grown wines from the aforementioned vineyards. All in all it is a great comeback story capped off by the affordable and tremendous wines that we have today. (Bryan Brick, K&L)

Details

Type	White Wine
Varietal	Chardonnay
Origin	Napa Valley, California, United States
Bottle Size	750 mL
Alcohol Content	14.4%
SKU	1265565