2014 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
Community Tasting Note
WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine:
Saturday, April 25, 2020 - Nose: Initial dark purple fruits and slightly ripe red fruits from the pour (the red becomes more prominent and darker than the purple fruit with time), a little bit of a flower garden scent, deep and damp earthy soil with some soft chocolate notes, light minerals, there's a faint citrus notes like the flesh of a blood orange or something (take that with a handful of salt.. even that's new to me) and a pleasant old/dulled wood. Similar to the '13, with time, deep earth begins taking control.
Palate: Red fruits turned dark with great energy, a good lacing of dark bitter earth with shrubs and bark skin, good juiciness that isn't overdone, steeped tea, clean dull oak and slightly savory wet river rocks. There was a soft spice but it seemed to have went away.
Attributes: Dark ruby. Dry with medium-plus amounts of fine, chewy tannin. Medium to medium-plus body with medium to medium-plus acidity. Good finish of about 15-18 seconds.
Thoughts: The nose was amazing.. it was as if Mother Nature was teasing me with her perfume that later wore off and came onto me with her natural scent. The flavors are just as good with great delivery of dense flavors with great power and the right amount of acidity to keep it lifted and even fresh. If this had a little bit of graphite flavors, this would've passed for a really good modern Bordeaux (not that this needs it though). This definitely edges out the '13 for my preference. Excited for next year to try again. Very tasty now, can't tell how it will be in the future but can stand the test of time. 95-96
Other notes: No decant, time in glass and bottle only (didn't need to). Bordeaux glass. Served initially ~57° then ~66° and consumed over 3 hours.
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10 comments have been posted
7 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (4,431 views)
Comment posted by davidandrose:
4/27/2020 9:12:00 AM - Thanks for the thorough TN!
Comment posted by WineBurrowingWombat:
4/27/2020 9:14:00 AM - You're absolutely welcome :)
Comment posted by TXRDW:
4/30/2020 9:29:00 AM - Your notes on the 2014 are very interesting when compared to your 2013 notes. I have tried just 1 bottle of the 2014, but it was about 2 years ago. I found the 2013 & 2014 to be completely different, each good. I’m interested in the fact that you scored the 2014 much higher. Does any one thing come to mind that drives your preference in favor of the 2014? For me I’m the exact opposite, yet both vintages are quite good.
Comment posted by WineBurrowingWombat:
4/30/2020 10:12:00 AM - Wow interesting! Great question and I think for me it just came down to preference.. the '14 showed better (great nose, fruit, oak, earth and minerals) right out of the bottle and with time in the glass. The notes complimented each other very well. The '13 needed some air time because it was quite bright in the beginning. By the time I was almost done (about 2 hours), that's when it started to show better.
You're absolutely right though on how the '13 and the '14 are so different but both still good. From my previous experiences, I think the majority of the time I preferred the '14 over the '13 by just a bit. I'm thinking maybe this time I just got, for a lack of a better term, lucky :P
And when I do get lucky like this, I really try to slow my consumption rate and really try to appreciate it.
I am curious to hear your thoughts as well.. may I ask you what made you prefer the '13 over the '14?
Comment posted by TXRDW:
4/30/2020 10:48:00 AM - Thanks for your insight. It has been my experience that the 2013 needs to be slow oxd for 5-6 hours to get a sense of the upside of the wine, though 2020 is still way too early. The wine just transforms. The 2014 and the 2015 are fruitier and much more approachable now. My guess... and this is strictly a hunch, is that Randy Dunn’s son started getting more involved with the winemaking in 2014 or 2015. In any case there seems to be a big stylistic difference pre and post 2013.
Comment posted by WineBurrowingWombat:
4/30/2020 11:10:00 AM - Oh yes, I totally agree on '14 being a little more fruit based. You're also right about the slow-ox but by that time I was almost done with my bottle. I'm on the same boat with you as I'm sure his son getting involved has definitely changed the style a lot.. I got lucky with the vintages I bought to really note the difference.
A separate question here, when you say slow-ox, how are you doing it exactly? Do you empty the bottle into another vessel then put it back in the bottle and let it sit? Or is it like pouring a small glass first so the surface in the bottle becomes wider and just let it sit then?
Comment posted by TXRDW:
4/30/2020 12:21:00 PM - I’m a creature of habit. When I slow-ox I pour enough into a glass for the remaining wine to reach the maximum circumference of the bottle. I then enjoy my partial poured glass as my benchmark. The other technique I will use is to decant for an hour or two and then re-pour into the bottle and let sit. Sometimes I even re-cork after a decant. Lots of trial and error on my part.
Comment posted by WineBurrowingWombat:
4/30/2020 12:28:00 PM - Got it, thanks for your explanation! Cheers
Comment posted by davidandrose:
4/30/2020 2:00:00 PM - TXRDW - I know Mike has been more and more involved but my understanding is that he still has to follow Randy's strict protocols. Our kids spent several years as college roommates (long after I began collecting their wine) so I've had the oppty to try some of Mike's ideas that don't get past Randy. Also worth looking into Mike's label Retro. Some great Petite Syrah's at a very reasonable price.
Comment posted by TXRDW:
4/30/2020 2:56:00 PM - Davidandrose - great info, thanks! There was an August 2018 article put out by Wine Spectator that said Randy was then only deciding “when to pick” and Mike was “handling the rest“. It’s good to know that Randy is still involved at the level of detail you describe. I absolutely love Randy’s wine style and I certainly like the post 2013 vintages, they just seem a little fruitier. I’d love to tour their facility sometime and meet Randy.