I've had the Hess. Good bottle.

One thing I figured I'd throw out there to anyone reading this thread and running out and buying a bottle based on a recommendation someone posts.

This is primarily concentrated to Cabs, but all reds benefit from it as well. Let that sucker breath!

I used to laugh at folks that would tell me to do this, but have become a believer. I use my decanter for every bottle of red I open anymore. I bought this silly thing a few years ago for straining 'the good bottles' that get sediment after a decade or so, but it works amazingly well for rapid breathing (I'm impatient as hell). It works so well that I have two of them now. I pull a bottle out of the cooler, dump it into the decanter and let it sit for about twenty minute (swirling it every now and then). When friends come over for a wine swilling night, both decanters have wine in them.

So anyway, don't give up on a bottle unless you let it breath for a while. If you still don't like it, move on. No sense blowing money on something nasty to you twice. But definately give it time to breath. Some bottles go from down right horible to pretty darn good with a little air.