1996 Hess Collection

[Cellar2small]

Thanks, WW!

I spotted your post recently, and living in Tulsa where wines trickle in at a snail's pace, I spotted the '96 still on the shelf a mile from the ol' hacienda.

So, I bought a bottle for our Thanksgiving feed for our visiting family, opened along with a Falesco Umbria merlot (1999) and a Ferrari-Carano sauv blanc (2000).

The Hess was excellent after breathing/swirling for 20-30 minutes in glass. Everyone patient enough to wait out the wine was rewarded and enjoyed the experience. I agree with you on the length of finish, which is excellent at this price point!

FWIW, the Ferrari-Carano was well received as well. The Falesco fought with the food IMHO.

Thanks again. I'll be going back for more of the '96 Hess. True to form in Tulsa, we still have many of the excellent '97's still on the shelves in Tulsa -- values like Sebastiani, Gallo Barrelli; and, the big boys like Stag's Leap, Ridge MonteBello, and Cinq Cepages for those with expensive tastes. Still waiting for '98 right bank wines to show up!

Cheers,

Greg (Cellar2small)