I am generally of a mind to write about wines I can recommend. There are simply too many wines and wineries to waste words on those that are of little interest, mediocre, or downright bad.
But yesterday, during one of my regular tastings, I came across a wine from a top producer that stopped me in my tracks. It was the Hess Collection 2006 Su’skol Vineyard Chardonnay.
Hess has long been one of my “go-to” wineries in the Napa Valley; a winery I prize for its commitment to quality at a reasonable price (all things being relative, what’s reasonable in the Napa Valley might be considered pricey in Paso Robles).
As a rule, Hess wines are well-balanced and not given to the excesses of the moment. This is particularly true of its flagship Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon.
So my expectations were reasonably high for the Su’skol Vineyard Chardonnay. Sadly, I was stunned by the “heat” on this wine. So much so that I quickly checked the alcohol level. It came in at 14.7 percent. That’s high, particularly for a Chardonnay, but the impression on the palate was even greater and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if a lab analysis returned a much higher number.
My assistant, Felicia, had been wondering what all the hullabaloo over “high-alc” wines was about, so I encouraged her to take a sip. Felicia loves Chardonnay — I mean to the exclusion of wonderful Sauvignon Blancs, Rieslings and most other whites — but she wrinkled her nose at the Hess.
“Now I get it!” she said as she shook her head.
Good. I’m glad somebody “gets” it.
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