Whenever I am entertaining new visitors to Napa Valley, I like to start off my visit at Hess Collection. Visually, this winery has so much to offer. Starting with the long walk past the coy pond, into the three-story modern addition to the original stone winery building housing the tasting room, to the two floors of quality art work occupying the top two floors of the addition, this winery is an eyeful of treats. Today I was entertaining a special guest from Mexico, so we started here. Unfortunately, the stylish tasting room in the old stone winery was cordoned off, and we were directed to the third floor to taste in the art gallery. It would seem that Hess’ stonework was one of the victims of the earthquake last August. I was told that the masonry had shifted and was in need of engineering work, but the winery expected to be able to repair the damage. (I also heard that Trefethen’s operations building had suffered damage in the same earthquake.)
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| One of my favorite pieces on display at Hess Collection |
The good news about the wine is that the majority of it survived the earthquake. Because there were four of us tasting today, we decided each to choose our own wines from the lengthy tasting menu and share our favorites. (That’s why I have more than four wines listed.) I started off with the 2012 Artezin Zinfandel Esola, and moved onto the 2011 Petite Syrah, the 2010 Auction Lot 11 blend, the 2010 Block 19 blend, and the 2012 Allomi Cabernet Sauvignon. But my favorite wine was the sip I had of the 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, which was the nicest of the white wines we would taste this day.
A full review was written already about Hess Collection during my visit on May 12th, 2012.
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