1986 Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

This wine possesses a profoundly deep ruby/purple color exhibiting no signs of age. A sweet, jammy, blackcurrant, truffle, licorice, and vanillin-scented nose is youthful as well as expressive. Full-bodied, structured, and rich, with high tannin and equally high levels of fruit, glycerin, and extract, this is an atypically youthful, well-balanced California Cabernet that is just beginning to open and reveal secondary nuances and flavors. Accessible and impressive to drink, it will only get better over the next 5-10 years, and it will keep for another 20 years. The tasting notes for this section are from two single blind tastings, one conducted in May, 1996, in California, and the other in June, 1996, in Baltimore.