Hess The Lion Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
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Suckling
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Jeb
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a rich cabernet-based red with roundness and generosity. Full and flavorful with currant, pine cone and vanilla and a juicy finish. 84% cabernet sauvignon and 16% malbec. Give this a few years to come together.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Blended with 16% Malbec and aged almost two years in 65% new French oak, Hess's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon The Lion presents a striking purple hue in the glass. Scents of mocha and pencil shavings emerge, followed by snaky tendrils of cassis and blueberries and hints of sage and bay leaf. It's full-bodied and intense, with bold fruit, supple tannins and a bright, mouthwatering finish framed by soft tannins. While almost approachable now, it should be even better in five years and drink well for at least 10 more after that.
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Wine Spectator
Gorgeously lush and seductive up front, showing açaí, blueberry and boysenberry compote flavors that are hefty but glide through, with anise, apple wood and fruitcake details that seemingly sparkle as it all cruises through the finish. Features a perfectly embedded graphite spine underneath it all, which should let this version evolve slowly in the cellar. Delivers a flashy display of fruit carried off with aplomb. Best from 2023 through 2038.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon The Lion has lots of exotic red, blue, and black fruits as well as more cedarwood, spice, and tobacco-like aromatics. It's rich, medium to full-bodied, has good concentration, and enough tannins (which are classic Mt. Veeder) Rating: 92+
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For over 40 years, The Hess Collection has been producing complex, elegant wines sourced from estate vineyards high on Mount Veeder and in the far reaches of the Napa Valley. It is from these rugged landscapes that The Hess Collection winemaking team crafts exceptional luxury wines.
A pioneer by nature, Donald Hess was determined to defy convention and pursue winemaking at elevation. In 1978, he established The Hess Collection Winery on the site of one of the region’s oldest wineries on Mount Veeder. Although few in Napa Valley were cultivating vines at elevation, Donald Hess believed the volcanic slopes of Mount Veeder provided the ideal combination of soils and microclimates to yield elegant wines with rich, complex flavors.
Today, the next generation of The Hess family continues Donald’s legacy at the winery's home on Mount Veeder.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Centered at the peak for which it is named, Mount Veeder is Napa’s largest sub-AVA. But even though the entire appellation spreads over 16,000 acres, vineyards cover a mere 1,000. Scattered among Douglas firs and bristlecone pines, Mount Veeder vineyards extend south from the upper elevations of the Mayacamas Mountains—the highest point at 2,400 feet—to the border of the Carneros region. Less than 25 wineries produce wine from Mount Veeder fruit.
Winemaking began early in this appellation. In 1864, Captain Stelham Wing presented the first Mount Veeder wine to the Napa County Fair; it came from today’s Wing Canyon Vineyard. Prohibition, of course, halted winemaking and viticulture wasn’t revitalized until the founding of Mayacamas Vineyards in 1951 and Bernstein Vineyards in 1964.
The Bernstein Vineyards was actually home to the first Petit Verdot in California, planted in 1975. Today most of the Petit Verdot in Napa Valley originates from this vineyard.
Rocky volcanic clay and ancient seabed matter dominate Mount Veeder soils—perfect for Bordeaux varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot enjoy spectacular success. These varieties produce wines rich in brambly blackberry and black cherry fruit with herbal and floral aromatics. Structures are moderate to assertive and wines have great staying power.
Chardonnay from Mount Veeder is lush, full and balanced mineral and fresh citrus flavors.