Hess Select Chardonnay

Let the fun begin with this California Chardonnay from Hess Select—it's truly delicious! The grapes come from the Shirtail Creek Vineyard in Monterey, where all the grapes are harvested by hand, ensuring only the finest juice makes it into the bottle.

The ideal climate for Chardonnay

Donald Hess became interested in mountain viticulture in the mid-1970s during a business trip to Napa Valley. He set out to investigate, and Mount Veeder was the place where it all began. This location offers the ideal combination of soil and microclimate to produce grapes with distinctive character and flavor. This venture became The Hess Collection, where the appreciation for unique mountain and valley fruits is expressed in artfully crafted wines. In California's coastal wine region, Chardonnay grapes benefit from the cooling mist and coastal breezes. The wind that blows from the mountains into the Salinas Valley creates the ideal climate for producing wines with tropical fruit notes and crisp acidity. About a quarter is aged in French oak, the rest in stainless steel – this gives the dry-aged white wine its freshness and soft structure. Only about half is malolactic fermented to preserve the fruitiness. Bottling takes place after six months on its own lees.

A nice balance between the fruit and the wood aging

The oak aging makes this Hess white wine incredibly beautiful, with tropical aromas of citrus (lemon and lime) and pear on the nose, leading to a smooth palate with a lovely balance between pineapple and tropical fruit and the oak aging. The taste of this Hess Select Chardonnay is pure and has a lovely thick structure thanks to the Chardonnay grape, along with beautiful flavors of tropical fruit, vanilla, oak, and spice. A truly TOP-NOT-SIZED wine! It pairs perfectly with fish, seafood, grilled salmon, and crisp summer salads with fruit and goat cheese.