1987 Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Firm, dark, ripe and intense. A young, vibrant wine with lots of earthy currant, spice, cedar and sage notes, finishing with a tight band of tannin and good length. --1987 California Cabernet horizontal.

Author: James Laube

Last Tasted 3/94. This was a superb showing for this opaquely purple-colored wine. Still dense, with the essence of jammy black-cherries and vanillin in the bouquet and flavors, the wine displays superb purity in its highly extracted flavors, full body, plenty of glycerin, and a formidable tannin level. This well-balanced, big, rich, concentrated, backward wine needs several more years of cellaring. It should age well for 20-25 years.

Author: Robert Parker

Very good ruby-red. Bitter cherry, nuts and resiny oak on the nose, along with a distinctly vegetal note of asparagus juice. Smooth and creamy in the middle, with a bright currant flavor of surprising concentration. The initially green aspect more or less dissipated, and was replaced by sweet fruit. Showed a claret-like vinosity and sound structure. Finishes with firm tannins that grew stronger with aeration.

Author: Stephen Tanzer

Issue: September/October 2002