Echoing the below review This is glorious lively acidity. Mild tertiary notes on the nose but none noticeable on the palate fully integrated tannins. Dark red and berry fruit all over. A joy to drink. And this is at PnP. Looking forward to how it develops in the glass
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Wow what a difference from the last bottle I opened. This is delicious! Cork had only a 3/8 inch run. Fill to the half inch above the neck. Initially the nose was forest floor funk but very quickly evolved to dark berry and currant notes. On the palate the flavors of dark berries like blackberry dominate while there is a wonderful tingly feeling on tongue and gums. Tannins are fully resolved and integrated beautifully with the fruit. A pleasure to have saved this wine over the years! Ok these comments are for 24 hours open: the wine now exhibits a smooth yet brooding dark berry dominant flavor backed by the now more supple tannin. This wine continues to evolve in the glass. There are subtle chocolate notes that matched well with a chocolate muffin. This wine has more life knit than I had thought. A super effort by Randy Dunn.
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Decanted for an hour but maybe it needed a little longer. Dusty nose with some menthol, fresh herbs and a large burst of lead and iron. Surprisingly not bricking very much at all. Initially a touch stewed on the palate but this subsided with some time. Lots of metallic notes on the palate but some faint red berries in there too. Holding together nicely but definitely on the downside for this bottle. Paired nicely with pan-fried liver.
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plums, red currant, eucalyptus, savory herbs, forest floor, tobacco, leather and smoked cedar.
Took a little bit of time to come into form, but the dark fruit is still very much present, just slightly matured. Intense and focused, soft tannins, and the acidity is generous. No brett here, softened tannins. nice spot.
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This is very much alive and still drinking beautifully. Really nice cherry and graphite nose. Complex palate, with a nice balance of fruit and cedar. Long finish. Still benefits from some time in the decanter to open up.
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Monthly Boys' Wine Night (Eric's House, Hong Kong): Half-translucent, dense red-black colour. Nose is deep confit dark woodland wild berries fruits and the soil of the woodland. You can sniff and sniff this and get lost in its Johnny Depp darkness and depth. Palate is so linear.... integrated, but still like a flower bud rather than full-bloomed. Such huge depth of black-red semi-confit fruit. Quite similar to the preceding 1985 Ducru Beaucaillou but the Dunn has more ‘oomph’. Really savoury, very long and satisfying on the finish. Really long length. A really fab wine. 95 for me, easy.
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Nose of black cherry, black berry, and black currants, big body, very tasty, elegant, rich, mouth filling fruit, terrific bottle of wine to enjoy in these tough times, 33 years old and still holding well in the cellar, Randy Dunn makes fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon and he learned at the hands of Charlie Wagner, and a lovely, long, long finish and terrific aftertaste. Photo uploaded.
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Moderately translucent, somewhat developed and luminous pomegranate red color. Vibrant and still quite youthful nose with aromas of ripe blackcurrants, some red cherries, light cooling, herbal notes of menthol or minty greenness, a little bit of tobacco, a herbaceous hint of chopped red chili and a touch of savory oak spice. The wine is full-bodied, dry and quite sinewy on the palate with intense, savory flavors of ripe blackcurrants and black raspberries, some sour cherries, a little bit of minty herbal character, light developed notes of wizened red plums and leather, a vegetal hint of cooked bell pepper and a woody touch of pencil shavings. Despite its +30 years of age, the wine is still impressively structured with its high acidity and firm, moderately grippy tannins. The finish is dry, long and complex with some tannic grip and intense, crunchy flavors of ripe blackcurrants, brambly raspberries, some leathery tones, a little bit of tobacco, light umami notes of raw bloody meat and a cooling hint of menthol.
A wonderfully structured, rather muscular and beautifully developed yet still relatively youthful Napa Cab. Performed even slightly better than the similarly impressive Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet 1987. Among the 9 Cali reds we had, this was my wine of the night. Offers tons of pleasure right now, but has enough stuffing to develop even further from here. A classically built, harmonious and very complex wine; very highly recommended. Do the modern Napa Cabs possess this kind of capability to age anymore?
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God damn was this good. Fullish body, fresh black fruit, some green notes. Once the wine gets open, the green fades away and those earthy tobacco, tertiary atoms start to come through. It's friggin hard to believe that this wine is over 30. I wish I could drink this young.
This is bottle was a dead ringer for old Bordeaux. The nose soars with tobacco leaf, charred green pepper, smoked meat, dark cherry, plum and old leather. The nose is a bit better than the palate, the palate being the only thing holding this back from another point for me. I'm finding the palate dominated by leathery notes. The acidity is fabulous, medium plus, with very light dusty tannin.
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Holding up beautifully. Dark fruit and black cherry with cedar and some pyrazine. Resolved tannins. Good acidity. The green note faded over a few hours. Revisited the last glass on the second night and it might have been even better then.
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Absolutely beautiful and stunning! What a treat to share. 40+ years of NAPA CAB history. Perfect floral immediately upon opening, lucious dark ruby red and frankly a bit juicy. Dunn created a Masterpiece here!
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Consistent with previous note except the fact that this is drinking very nicely, more truthful to its age and showing what an aged 80s napa should be like with cedarwood, tobacco, ripe black fruit and a dose of fresh acidity.
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Opening Dunn from the cellar to celebrate my birthday month, nose of black cherry and black currants, medium/big body, very tasty, almost elegant, rich, easy to enjoy, slightly soft, would suggest you drink up, long finish, flavorful finish.
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31 years old - color definitely deteriorated- smells like chocolate in the glass. Extremely well integrated ... slightly raisinated but still some fruit. Well past prime - I’d shorten drink window to 2015 or so. Drank a glass or two but didn’t finish.
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Wednesday night with a group When I wear the cans nose was shy color was red ruby not really showing Much age Very balanced on the pallet with plenty of fruit and a nice acidity this Wine is at its peak Would consume in the next 5-7 years
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Cork in good shape, still some garnet but also an orange tint on rim. It took a lot of splashing to get this wine to come around. Even then it was only delicious for maybe 1 hour of the 7_8 hours it was open before it went dumb again. Disappointing but not enough to say I do not like it.
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Nose of forest floor, black cherry, and black berry, same on the palate, big body, very tasty, mouth filling fruit, great tasting at 30 years of age, time to enjoy it if you have it in the cellar as it probably won't reward more cellaring, long finish.
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Amazingly fresh and young, wowed the whole group. slight garnet edge with moderately deep color, nice cherry and currant aromatics with cedar notes, full rich mouth feel, wonderful flavors, long finish, years to go
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amazingly youthful at 30 yo, dark red purple, rich dark fruits, cassis, balck cherry, minerals, dust, mouth coating, firm but integrated tannins, long finish, years and years to go
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Popped and poured into a decanter and served. Bottle was in a pristine condition. Nose was so beautiful with black currant, truffle, perfume and blue fruits. Palate had a lot of intensity and fruit. It was still very primary. This is drinking beautifully with at least 10-15 years left. It was crafted in a old school classic napa style with good amount of left bank bordeaux characterisics. The wine was integrated seamlessly at this stage. The wine still had a lot of youth. Drank like a 10 yr old wine.
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Double decanted hours before tasting & this was simply beautiful aged Cali Cab. Still dark red with almost to the rim, dark fruit & moderately long finish. At blind tasting it was guessed to be 10 years younger. Ready to drink but still not fading.
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served at the USC Marshall Partners Casino Party at our place, this was double decanted 24 hours ahead of the party (60 mins in decanter and then back to bottle and gassed), this was just a tad too earthy to rate higher... seems like the fruit was in the far back seat, still another great experience with an old Cali cab... such a goldmine for those of us living in CA, also had the '86 and the '96 on this night
had at the Sacred Heart Schools Fashion Show, great wine and well liked by all, it was elegant and not about power, red and some darker fruits, dried fruits, some hint of leather, a touch of tannin and very good acid for liveliness, double decanted two hours in the AM and had with dinner, as the dinner and show went on the fruit lifted a bit and folks began to comment on how nice it was
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Absolutely lucious! Dark juicy fruit beautifully aged. Really amazing. 28 years of an exquisitely blended Napa CAB. It is such a joy to drink that u can only imagine ur life for this moment began almost three decades ago by an artisanal winemaking genius!
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Cork was in great shape. Similar notes to previous bottles, but lacking the complexity they showed. I'm not sure this is in decline, however, since it's still dark and a bit tight. Maybe just in an odd spot. Enjoyable regardless.
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The cork was in great shape. Decanted for two hours prior to this note. Very similar to previous bottles, but this one has incredible balance. Phenomenal.
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What a gorgeous wine, the same age as my youngest son. Far more Left Bank than Napa. Soft and restrained and giving. Red black fruit, a tiny hint of chocolate, a whisper of Napa eucalyptus. Bordeaux dusty leather. Worth every single penny.
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The cork on this bottle was in much better shape than previous ones. Very similar tasting notes to previous bottles, although there was a bit more pepper on the palate than previous ones. This one took a bit longer to open up than the others I've had but once it did, it was just as good.
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Very similar notes to my last bottle. Cork still broke, but was in a bit better shape. Still has time left and I will hold my last bottle for another year or two at least. Forget all the over-hyped, uber-expensive Napa Cabs--Dunn is a much better value for serious wines!
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Bottom half of cork was soft and broken. Was at its best after about 20 min in decanter. A bit tart for my preference, however there are definitely strong notes of black cherry, leather, cedar and minerals with a long finish. Surprised that I found this better with cheese than with fillet mignon. Persomal opinion is that it is past its prime but still enjoyable.
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Aged Bordeaux, Cali Cabs and more with the Benchmark Wine Group in Greenwich (The Ginger Man in Greenwich, CT): This proved to be one of the most interesting wines of the tasting, and to my surprise it wasn't even the Howell Mountain. Still a lot of fruit in this with notes of black cherry and blackberry but mature notes of tobacco, leather and coffee. Very well balanced and a nice finish. Drinking at its peak right now but should last for a good number of years. I would have expected the Howell Mountain to perform like this, not the Napa Valley. Certainly no doubt these are well made wines that are built for aging.
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Brought to Steph and Ari. This bottle was better than the one I had a couple of months ago. Decanted for an hr and ready to go. No formal tasting notes. Plenty of fruit left and long finish. Enjoy within the next 5-7 years
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S FL WS Group Welcomes VinT (Chez JC & FKG, Hollywood, FL): Bright cherry and currant fruit with medium + body and acidity. Very balanced with a long, complex finish. WOTN for me and most others. This bottle showed better than one I brought to an offline a year ago.
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From a lot of three bottles purchased at auction. The cork broke into a few pieces but was otherwise in nice shape. Decanted to get rid of the sediment (not as much as I expected) and bits of cork, but this was drinking well from the start.
Nose of black cherry, cedar, and leather. Dark fruit, and tobacco on the palate, with a hint of coffee. The acidity and tannins are perfect. Well balanced, with a touch of sweetness.
So happy I have two bottles left. This is a fantastic wine. It drinks like a classed growth Bordeaux with a touch of California. In a perfect spot, but has several years of life ahead of it.
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Took to the palm d' or; decanted for an hour. No formal notes but in a very good spot now. Don't think this will improve but no rush to drink. I think it will hold at this level for 5-7 years
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Decanted and tasted over four hours. Enjoyed over the course of four more.
For the first hour the fruit was restrained, tannins slightly perceivable with good acidity and length.
Hours 1 through 3 - strong cigar box on the nose with hints of cherry, more lively tannins and still great acidity and length.
This started singing after the 3-4 hour mark and did not stop or fade after that. Fruit became much more notable, along with tobacco, leather and more cigar box. The palate followed suit, with a coffee note also appearing nearing the finish.
Excellent bottle overall - not big and bold, but rather elegant, focused and completely balanced.
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Impressionante già dal colore, sembra un vino di qualche anno. Naso intenso, concentrato, ricco, molto ancora sul frutto dolce con contorno minerale. Bocca larga, ricca ma ben equilibrata, tannino setoso e bel finale fresco. Non ha l'eleganza di un Bordeaux ma è un bellissimo cabernet di grande equilibrio e piacevolezza di beva che deve ancora raggiungere il suo apice. Per me grandissima sorpresa.
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Beautiful mature cabernet nose, with sweet, red-fruited scents mixed with powerful tobacco and soil notes. On the palate, the tannins were fully integrated and the wine showed lovely balance overall, but with a pronounced and racy acidity that made this wine stronger with food than without.
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S FL WS Group tastes 1988 Bordeaux (and others) (Jupiter, FL): This had a bit more fruit than the Bordeaux (not surprising), and also higher acidity (surprising). Red fruit stuck out to me, getting cherry and even some strawberry, with some tobacco notes on the finish. Medium to full body and medium to high acidity. Surprisingly vibrant for a 26 year old wine, and even needed some air time to flesh it out.
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Earthy and pungent with sweet berry and well integrated tannins; mature; round; the tannins are still strong and muscular on the back; nice long fruit laden finish.
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Earthy and austere; tobacco with nice blackberry; textured and full bodied with an acidic offset; 5 hr decant helped to bring roundness and softness; ongoing finish; nice old world 13% alc style.
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had brought this because an ‘85 I had promised was mildly corked (I didn’t really get when double decanting in afternoon, but a sniff before heading out made me leave the ‘85 and grab an ‘87). The '87 showed well despite its travels. Full, rich black plum and cassis fruit, herb/mint, still some tannins. B+/A-
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Another awesome bottle that again has me wondering why I don't own any Dunn. Rich dark fruited flavours framed by maturing cedar, pipe tobacco and dusty earthy flavours and conveyed with a sense of power and elegance. Still quite youthful with some grainy tannin on the back end, and quite wonderful with the duck.
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CT blind group tasting at David's (Enfield, CT): Just a great bottle of wine. I really should own more Dunn. A fragrance that had me guessing Graves, with savoury smoky, gravelly, cedar and tobacco flavours around a core of elegant red and dark fruited flavours. Medium weight and very finessed on the palate, still showing some lingering tannic structure on the back end but superbly balanced and all too easy to drink right now.
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TTTG Blind (DB): In a "guess old world/new world" blind flight against 2001 Pavie. Not surprisingly, this was my old world guess - left bank Bordeaux. Still very youthful fruit, along with pencil lead, leather; good acidity.
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Not much experience with wines this age, but this was very impressive. 2 hour decant. It took me a while to place it, but it had the aroma of opening a pot of freshly steamed mussels. Sounds terrible, but it was unexpected and amazing. No mustiness or off odors, and plenty of complexity. A good bit of tannins still around, considering the age. Minimal fruit, but lots of great earth and vegetable flavors to balance it out. Not a huge wine, but by no means thin.
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Cork was in good shape (unlike a couple of other 1987 bottles we opened where the cork crumbled). Dark purple, no visible bricking. Not terribly complex, but nice sour cherry fruit, with an earthy quality to it. Don't think it will go downhill anytime soon, but also don't think it will evolve much more either.
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nice bottle again, opened and immediately had some funk on both nose and palate, after a bit the nose became fruit and a bit of oak?, wine was alive and bright... and delicious to drink, bright cherries... classic california cab and delicious but didn't stand out in any way
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consistent with prior note from a week back, lovely lovely lovely... everyone liked it... cork in great condition and the fill was fantastic... if you have these in this condition, you can have an awesome time now and over another ten years i would bet
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just loved this old cab, plenty of fruit, tannins resolved, nose was red fruited, some herbs and cedar on the palate to mix w the fruit... felt like an old, broken in pair of 501's... great and great qpr at something like $70
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The CT recommended drinking age was upto 2007, I beg to differ. The color was dark red, with a cloudy murky texture, almost like sewer water. Luckily It was showing beautifully after 30 minutes of air, with mushroom, earthiness, and a little bit of minerals and dark plum fruits left. The finish was not super long but still very enjoyable today, has 3-4 more years to go at peak if the bottle condition is good.
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While fully aged, this wine showed no signs of being over the hill. It has gerat furit, subtle tannins and lots of of nose. All in all, a wonderful wine.
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Showing good earth, minerality and texture with black cherry pit fruit, although light in fruit now. The mouth feel carries this wine nicely and the finish is long.
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Great nose of red and black fruit hidden behind tobacco, earth, and cedar. As it opened it expanded to reveal a wonderful balance of subtitle aged fruit and a earthy veggie like note. As noted by other tasters the acid was slightly higher than what I recall from other 87 Napa Cabs I have dad. Overall a great bottle of wine for sure and a throw back to what Napa once was, less oak more place.
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Pop/poured. Nose of cedar, tobacco, and sweet red fruits. Excellent fruit on the palate, though for me there is a shade too much acidity. Fading tannins on a medium long finish. I don't have a lot of experience with Napa wines of this age, but my gut tells me that it could be time to drink up. While the acidity could fold in over time, my concern would be that the fruit might diminish first.
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Likely at its peak, nice notes of earth and green vegetables but the fruit blossomed after about an hour, finish was a bit weaker than I had wanted but still proved memorable
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Drank for a post Thanksgiving at the Palms with family members. My nephew was born in '87 and I thought this was a good way to introduce him to older wines. The nose was cabernet throughout the glass. It was lacking the ump power that the traditional howell mountain has but overall was a great drink especially from magnum.
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WIML91 Opened and decanted about 1 ½ to 2 hours before serving in Spiegelau Authentis Magnum Glasses. Proabably only needed decanting for sediment. Ruby to dusty rose color in glass. Dark fruit filled nose of spice, plum and currants. Flavors of currant, plums and black cherries. Good acidity still but the tannins are faded. Still a good wine but probably about a year to 2 years past its’ prime. If you have any of these I’d highly recommend opening one soon. 91 WIML.
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Tasted with Patrick, Naoko, Chuck, Serap, Walt and Susan. This was a controversial wine, as it came with a strong whiff of barnyard (brett).
The nose on the Dunn didn’t bother me except for one exceptionally strong whiff of dung. For some reason I wasn’t getting this horsiness at first?!? I found the finish to be surprisingly long albeit tannic. The bottle age brings such a lovely softness on the palate from the ethyl tartrates. It was a nice aged example that started to drink better and better. I picked it purely on the smoothness on the palate, although at first I wasn’t even finding that until Patrick pointed it out.
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At Singer & Foy survey of Dunn. Brooding ruby color. Nose is deep and rich. Accessible, at least. Palate is quite a bit softer, with more of a milk chocolate character. Also some licorice. 5-10-14-7: &6/100.
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6 La Jota +Montelena+Dunn Tasting (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Nice, fruity, dusty, chocolate, and acid, well balanced, nice wine, rich, black cherry frut with coffee, lots of acid and soft tannins, well balanced. My tied #1 and Group #1.
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8 Cabernet Sauvignons tasted blind-fourth place. Big, rich, intense, cabernet nose, lots of rich, intense fruit on the palate, lots of soft tannins present on the finish.
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At Singer & Foy survey of ‘87 cabs. Good ruby/purple. Tremendous fruit in the nose. Just packed with rich, complex fruit. On the palate, it’s very fine. Well-defined, rich fruit. Best overall so far today. 5-12-16-8: 91/100.
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GROTH, GROTH RESERVE, FENESTRA, AND DUNN (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Great, bright red color in the glass, big rich fruit, intense concentration, very intense, berry fruit, lots of berry fruit and great currants on the finish and aftertaste, needs 7 years to peak. Group Wine #1.
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5 Great Cabernet Sauvignons (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Wine Group Christmas Tasting of 5 Cabernet Sauvignons. At $35 was a fantastic wine. rich, cabernet forward fruit on the nose, followed by rich, tasty almost forward fruit in the mouth, lots of cabernet fruit and acid during the long finish, promises great things for the person who waits 4 years. My #2.
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12/22/2023 - mowtod Likes this wine: 84 Points
Nose pleasant but light. Lost all tannin ,maybe sl past but still enjoyable.
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6/30/2023 - jonboy74 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Echoing the below review This is glorious lively acidity. Mild tertiary notes on the nose but none noticeable on the palate fully integrated tannins. Dark red and berry fruit all over. A joy to drink. And this is at PnP. Looking forward to how it develops in the glass
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3/23/2023 - ElAzul Likes this wine: 96 Points
Wow what a difference from the last bottle I opened. This is delicious! Cork had only a 3/8 inch run. Fill to the half inch above the neck. Initially the nose was forest floor funk but very quickly evolved to dark berry and currant notes. On the palate the flavors of dark berries like blackberry dominate while there is a wonderful tingly feeling on tongue and gums. Tannins are fully resolved and integrated beautifully with the fruit. A pleasure to have saved this wine over the years!
Ok these comments are for 24 hours open: the wine now exhibits a smooth yet brooding dark berry dominant flavor backed by the now more supple tannin. This wine continues to evolve in the glass. There are subtle chocolate notes that matched well with a chocolate muffin. This wine has more life knit than I had thought. A super effort by Randy Dunn.
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1/21/2023 - matters.of.wine Likes this wine: 95 Points
The cork crumbles as I pulled it out of this bottle, but the wine inside was in excellent condition.
Visually, there’s significant bricking and fading in color.
There’s still some cassis on the nose after 36 years, along with notes of bell pepper, olive, sweaty cured meats, and trampled leaves.
The palate is savory, with seemingly youthful acidity and finely resolved tannin. A great bottle.
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5/20/2021 - Tony Simo Likes this wine: 94 Points
Incredibly youthful. Decanted only 30 mins. More primary fruit than expected. This particular bottle could have aged at least another decade.
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3/21/2021 - bavaur wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for an hour but maybe it needed a little longer. Dusty nose with some menthol, fresh herbs and a large burst of lead and iron. Surprisingly not bricking very much at all. Initially a touch stewed on the palate but this subsided with some time. Lots of metallic notes on the palate but some faint red berries in there too. Holding together nicely but definitely on the downside for this bottle. Paired nicely with pan-fried liver.
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1/26/2021 - pkouchu wrote: 93 Points
plums, red currant, eucalyptus, savory herbs, forest floor, tobacco, leather and smoked cedar.
Took a little bit of time to come into form, but the dark fruit is still very much present, just slightly matured. Intense and focused, soft tannins, and the acidity is generous. No brett here, softened tannins. nice spot.
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1/15/2021 - kkleg Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is very much alive and still drinking beautifully. Really nice cherry and graphite nose. Complex palate, with a nice balance of fruit and cedar. Long finish. Still benefits from some time in the decanter to open up.
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10/21/2020 - drbob5 Likes this wine: 93 Points
will last a few more years
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8/31/2020 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 95 Points
Monthly Boys' Wine Night (Eric's House, Hong Kong): Half-translucent, dense red-black colour. Nose is deep confit dark woodland wild berries fruits and the soil of the woodland. You can sniff and sniff this and get lost in its Johnny Depp darkness and depth. Palate is so linear.... integrated, but still like a flower bud rather than full-bloomed. Such huge depth of black-red semi-confit fruit. Quite similar to the preceding 1985 Ducru Beaucaillou but the Dunn has more ‘oomph’. Really savoury, very long and satisfying on the finish. Really long length. A really fab wine. 95 for me, easy.
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3/28/2020 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 95 Points
Nose of black cherry, black berry, and black currants, big body, very tasty, elegant, rich, mouth filling fruit, terrific bottle of wine to enjoy in these tough times, 33 years old and still holding well in the cellar, Randy Dunn makes fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon and he learned at the hands of Charlie Wagner, and a lovely, long, long finish and terrific aftertaste. Photo uploaded.
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2/19/2020 - forceberry wrote: 96 Points
13,4% alcohol.
Moderately translucent, somewhat developed and luminous pomegranate red color. Vibrant and still quite youthful nose with aromas of ripe blackcurrants, some red cherries, light cooling, herbal notes of menthol or minty greenness, a little bit of tobacco, a herbaceous hint of chopped red chili and a touch of savory oak spice. The wine is full-bodied, dry and quite sinewy on the palate with intense, savory flavors of ripe blackcurrants and black raspberries, some sour cherries, a little bit of minty herbal character, light developed notes of wizened red plums and leather, a vegetal hint of cooked bell pepper and a woody touch of pencil shavings. Despite its +30 years of age, the wine is still impressively structured with its high acidity and firm, moderately grippy tannins. The finish is dry, long and complex with some tannic grip and intense, crunchy flavors of ripe blackcurrants, brambly raspberries, some leathery tones, a little bit of tobacco, light umami notes of raw bloody meat and a cooling hint of menthol.
A wonderfully structured, rather muscular and beautifully developed yet still relatively youthful Napa Cab. Performed even slightly better than the similarly impressive Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet 1987. Among the 9 Cali reds we had, this was my wine of the night. Offers tons of pleasure right now, but has enough stuffing to develop even further from here. A classically built, harmonious and very complex wine; very highly recommended. Do the modern Napa Cabs possess this kind of capability to age anymore?
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2/6/2020 - HandmadeHomemade Likes this wine:
God damn was this good. Fullish body, fresh black fruit, some green notes. Once the wine gets open, the green fades away and those earthy tobacco, tertiary atoms start to come through. It's friggin hard to believe that this wine is over 30. I wish I could drink this young.
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1/23/2020 - Wine Canuck wrote: 92 Points
This is bottle was a dead ringer for old Bordeaux. The nose soars with tobacco leaf, charred green pepper, smoked meat, dark cherry, plum and old leather. The nose is a bit better than the palate, the palate being the only thing holding this back from another point for me. I'm finding the palate dominated by leathery notes. The acidity is fabulous, medium plus, with very light dusty tannin.
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5/23/2019 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 91 Points
From the same batch as the last bottle. Not as deep as the 87 Howell. At its peak. Should drink up.
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5/19/2019 - sunnylea57 wrote: 92 Points
Holding up beautifully. Dark fruit and black cherry with cedar and some pyrazine. Resolved tannins. Good acidity. The green note faded over a few hours. Revisited the last glass on the second night and it might have been even better then.
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5/12/2019 - Nerdy Earth Boy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Absolutely beautiful and stunning! What a treat to share. 40+ years of NAPA CAB history. Perfect floral immediately upon opening, lucious dark ruby red and frankly a bit juicy. Dunn created a Masterpiece here!
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12/12/2018 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 93 Points
Consistent with previous note except the fact that this is drinking very nicely, more truthful to its age and showing what an aged 80s napa should be like with cedarwood, tobacco, ripe black fruit and a dose of fresh acidity.
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10/18/2018 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opening Dunn from the cellar to celebrate my birthday month, nose of black cherry and black currants, medium/big body, very tasty, almost elegant, rich, easy to enjoy, slightly soft, would suggest you drink up, long finish, flavorful finish.
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9/9/2018 - fournet wrote:
Better than my last bottle of this wine. Slightly green.
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7/29/2018 - Wine Buergler Likes this wine: 92 Points
31 years old - color definitely deteriorated- smells like chocolate in the glass. Extremely well integrated ... slightly raisinated but still some fruit. Well past prime - I’d shorten drink window to 2015 or so. Drank a glass or two but didn’t finish.
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5/23/2018 - redknife Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wednesday night with a group
When I wear the cans nose was shy color was red ruby not really showing Much age
Very balanced on the pallet with plenty of fruit and a nice acidity this Wine is at its peak
Would consume in the next 5-7 years
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5/13/2018 - prsnrs Likes this wine: 88 Points
Dark red. Smooth. Still fruity. No fade.
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1/31/2018 - pren wrote: 91 Points
Day2 is better, mature, understated, a little tannin left, serve at 62, secondary flavors, not much fruit, good acidity
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12/18/2017 - ElAzul wrote: 88 Points
Cork in good shape, still some garnet but also an orange tint on rim. It took a lot of splashing to get this wine to come around. Even then it was only delicious for maybe 1 hour of the 7_8 hours it was open before it went dumb again. Disappointing but not enough to say I do not like it.
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10/20/2017 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nose of forest floor, black cherry, and black berry, same on the palate, big body, very tasty, mouth filling fruit, great tasting at 30 years of age, time to enjoy it if you have it in the cellar as it probably won't reward more cellaring, long finish.
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6/8/2017 - ShadowIII Likes this wine: 95 Points
Amazingly fresh and young, wowed the whole group. slight garnet edge with moderately deep color, nice cherry and currant aromatics with cedar notes, full rich mouth feel, wonderful flavors, long finish, years to go
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1/31/2017 - ShadowIII Likes this wine: 93 Points
amazingly youthful at 30 yo, dark red purple, rich dark fruits, cassis, balck cherry, minerals, dust, mouth coating, firm but integrated tannins, long finish, years and years to go
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9/24/2016 - WoodieBayArea wrote:
good low key friday night at home bottle, my last two notes said it all... drink up and enjoy
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2/7/2016 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 93 Points
Popped and poured into a decanter and served. Bottle was in a pristine condition. Nose was so beautiful with black currant, truffle, perfume and blue fruits. Palate had a lot of intensity and fruit. It was still very primary. This is drinking beautifully with at least 10-15 years left. It was crafted in a old school classic napa style with good amount of left bank bordeaux characterisics. The wine was integrated seamlessly at this stage. The wine still had a lot of youth. Drank like a 10 yr old wine.
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1/3/2016 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Double decanted hours before tasting & this was simply beautiful aged Cali Cab. Still dark red with almost to the rim, dark fruit & moderately long finish. At blind tasting it was guessed to be 10 years younger. Ready to drink but still not fading.
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10/10/2015 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 90 Points
served at the USC Marshall Partners Casino Party at our place, this was double decanted 24 hours ahead of the party (60 mins in decanter and then back to bottle and gassed), this was just a tad too earthy to rate higher... seems like the fruit was in the far back seat, still another great experience with an old Cali cab... such a goldmine for those of us living in CA, also had the '86 and the '96 on this night
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9/12/2015 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 91 Points
had at the Sacred Heart Schools Fashion Show, great wine and well liked by all, it was elegant and not about power, red and some darker fruits, dried fruits, some hint of leather, a touch of tannin and very good acid for liveliness, double decanted two hours in the AM and had with dinner, as the dinner and show went on the fruit lifted a bit and folks began to comment on how nice it was
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9/4/2015 - Nerdy Earth Boy Likes this wine: 93 Points
Absolutely lucious! Dark juicy fruit beautifully aged. Really amazing. 28 years of an exquisitely blended Napa CAB. It is such a joy to drink that u can only imagine ur life for this moment began almost three decades ago by an artisanal winemaking genius!
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4/18/2015 - kkleg Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cork was in great shape. Similar notes to previous bottles, but lacking the complexity they showed. I'm not sure this is in decline, however, since it's still dark and a bit tight. Maybe just in an odd spot. Enjoyable regardless.
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2/20/2015 - fournet wrote:
Magnum. A year or two past its optimal drinking window. Great nose. The finish was the most "over the hill" aspect of the wine.
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1/10/2015 - kkleg Likes this wine: 96 Points
The cork was in great shape. Decanted for two hours prior to this note. Very similar to previous bottles, but this one has incredible balance. Phenomenal.
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12/25/2014 - randyjc wrote: 92 Points
What a gorgeous wine, the same age as my youngest son. Far more Left Bank than Napa. Soft and restrained and giving. Red black fruit, a tiny hint of chocolate, a whisper of Napa eucalyptus. Bordeaux dusty leather. Worth every single penny.
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12/6/2014 - kkleg Likes this wine: 94 Points
The cork on this bottle was in much better shape than previous ones. Very similar tasting notes to previous bottles, although there was a bit more pepper on the palate than previous ones. This one took a bit longer to open up than the others I've had but once it did, it was just as good.
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6/16/2014 - kkleg wrote: 94 Points
Very similar notes to my last bottle. Cork still broke, but was in a bit better shape. Still has time left and I will hold my last bottle for another year or two at least. Forget all the over-hyped, uber-expensive Napa Cabs--Dunn is a much better value for serious wines!
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5/31/2014 - Jgallup wrote: 91 Points
Bottom half of cork was soft and broken. Was at its best after about 20 min in decanter. A bit tart for my preference, however there are definitely strong notes of black cherry, leather, cedar and minerals with a long finish. Surprised that I found this better with cheese than with fillet mignon. Persomal opinion is that it is past its prime but still enjoyable.
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5/24/2014 - slywka7 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Aged Bordeaux, Cali Cabs and more with the Benchmark Wine Group in Greenwich (The Ginger Man in Greenwich, CT): This proved to be one of the most interesting wines of the tasting, and to my surprise it wasn't even the Howell Mountain. Still a lot of fruit in this with notes of black cherry and blackberry but mature notes of tobacco, leather and coffee. Very well balanced and a nice finish. Drinking at its peak right now but should last for a good number of years. I would have expected the Howell Mountain to perform like this, not the Napa Valley. Certainly no doubt these are well made wines that are built for aging.
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3/22/2014 - redknife Likes this wine: 95 Points
Brought to Steph and Ari. This bottle was better than the one I had a couple of months ago. Decanted for an hr and ready to go. No formal tasting notes. Plenty of fruit left and long finish. Enjoy within the next 5-7 years
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3/12/2014 - vinole Likes this wine: 94 Points
S FL WS Group Welcomes VinT (Chez JC & FKG, Hollywood, FL): Bright cherry and currant fruit with medium + body and acidity. Very balanced with a long, complex finish. WOTN for me and most others. This bottle showed better than one I brought to an offline a year ago.
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3/11/2014 - kkleg Likes this wine: 95 Points
From a lot of three bottles purchased at auction. The cork broke into a few pieces but was otherwise in nice shape. Decanted to get rid of the sediment (not as much as I expected) and bits of cork, but this was drinking well from the start.
Nose of black cherry, cedar, and leather. Dark fruit, and tobacco on the palate, with a hint of coffee. The acidity and tannins are perfect. Well balanced, with a touch of sweetness.
So happy I have two bottles left. This is a fantastic wine. It drinks like a classed growth Bordeaux with a touch of California. In a perfect spot, but has several years of life ahead of it.
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2/8/2014 - redknife Likes this wine: 93 Points
Took to the palm d' or; decanted for an hour. No formal notes but in a very good spot now. Don't think this will improve but no rush to drink. I think it will hold at this level for 5-7 years
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1/25/2014 - rebs1 wrote:
Bad bottle
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12/16/2013 - Firefly78 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted and tasted over four hours. Enjoyed over the course of four more.
For the first hour the fruit was restrained, tannins slightly perceivable with good acidity and length.
Hours 1 through 3 - strong cigar box on the nose with hints of cherry, more lively tannins and still great acidity and length.
This started singing after the 3-4 hour mark and did not stop or fade after that. Fruit became much more notable, along with tobacco, leather and more cigar box. The palate followed suit, with a coffee note also appearing nearing the finish.
Excellent bottle overall - not big and bold, but rather elegant, focused and completely balanced.
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12/16/2013 - Venexian wrote: 93 Points
Impressionante già dal colore, sembra un vino di qualche anno. Naso intenso, concentrato, ricco, molto ancora sul frutto dolce con contorno minerale. Bocca larga, ricca ma ben equilibrata, tannino setoso e bel finale fresco. Non ha l'eleganza di un Bordeaux ma è un bellissimo cabernet di grande equilibrio e piacevolezza di beva che deve ancora raggiungere il suo apice. Per me grandissima sorpresa.
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12/11/2013 - paulst Likes this wine: 90 Points
Light nose; decent blackberry; austere with good structure; good length.
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6/21/2013 - kkleg Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fantastic wine. Bordeaux-like nose with wonderful sweet fruit on the palate. This is drinking beautifully right now!
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5/11/2013 - Billigan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful mature cabernet nose, with sweet, red-fruited scents mixed with powerful tobacco and soil notes. On the palate, the tannins were fully integrated and the wine showed lovely balance overall, but with a pronounced and racy acidity that made this wine stronger with food than without.
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5/3/2013 - GalvezGuy wrote: 91 Points
CT Texas V - North Dallas Forty and then some; 5/3/2013-5/5/2013 (McKinney, North Dallas, TX): Nose of sweet red fruits and tobacco. On the palate, rich and full with bright cherry, raspberry, and tobacco. Interesting to contrast the two Dunns. I liked the 85 a slight bit more than the 87.
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2/23/2013 - vinole wrote: 92 Points
S FL WS Group tastes 1988 Bordeaux (and others) (Jupiter, FL): This had a bit more fruit than the Bordeaux (not surprising), and also higher acidity (surprising). Red fruit stuck out to me, getting cherry and even some strawberry, with some tobacco notes on the finish. Medium to full body and medium to high acidity. Surprisingly vibrant for a 26 year old wine, and even needed some air time to flesh it out.
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2/19/2013 - paulst Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep smooth sweet blueberry, blackberry and cherry; balanced; integrated tannins; soft and textured with length.
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2/3/2013 - paulst Likes this wine: 92 Points
Earthy and pungent with sweet berry and well integrated tannins; mature; round; the tannins are still strong and muscular on the back; nice long fruit laden finish.
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1/12/2013 - paulst Likes this wine: 94 Points
Earthy and herbaceous; complex; blackberry with some cherry; long textured display; tannins still a little acidic.
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11/21/2012 - paulst wrote: 92 Points
Earthy and austere; tobacco with nice blackberry; textured and full bodied with an acidic offset; 5 hr decant helped to bring roundness and softness; ongoing finish; nice old world 13% alc style.
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10/26/2012 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 93 Points
A little more developed than the bottle last week. Dark fruit, integrated tannin, good acidity, elegant soft palate. ++
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10/25/2012 - DaleW wrote:
had brought this because an ‘85 I had promised was mildly corked (I didn’t really get when double decanting in afternoon, but a sniff before heading out made me leave the ‘85 and grab an ‘87). The '87 showed well despite its travels. Full, rich black plum and cassis fruit, herb/mint, still some tannins. B+/A-
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10/23/2012 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Another awesome bottle that again has me wondering why I don't own any Dunn. Rich dark fruited flavours framed by maturing cedar, pipe tobacco and dusty earthy flavours and conveyed with a sense of power and elegance. Still quite youthful with some grainy tannin on the back end, and quite wonderful with the duck.
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10/18/2012 - salil wrote: 94 Points
CT blind group tasting at David's (Enfield, CT): Just a great bottle of wine. I really should own more Dunn. A fragrance that had me guessing Graves, with savoury smoky, gravelly, cedar and tobacco flavours around a core of elegant red and dark fruited flavours. Medium weight and very finessed on the palate, still showing some lingering tannic structure on the back end but superbly balanced and all too easy to drink right now.
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10/17/2012 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 92 Points
TTTG Blind (DB): In a "guess old world/new world" blind flight against 2001 Pavie. Not surprisingly, this was my old world guess - left bank Bordeaux. Still very youthful fruit, along with pencil lead, leather; good acidity.
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9/24/2012 - GlassHalfFull wrote: 92 Points
Not much experience with wines this age, but this was very impressive. 2 hour decant. It took me a while to place it, but it had the aroma of opening a pot of freshly steamed mussels. Sounds terrible, but it was unexpected and amazing. No mustiness or off odors, and plenty of complexity. A good bit of tannins still around, considering the age. Minimal fruit, but lots of great earth and vegetable flavors to balance it out. Not a huge wine, but by no means thin.
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9/22/2012 - WineLackey wrote: 90 Points
Cork was in good shape (unlike a couple of other 1987 bottles we opened where the cork crumbled). Dark purple, no visible bricking. Not terribly complex, but nice sour cherry fruit, with an earthy quality to it. Don't think it will go downhill anytime soon, but also don't think it will evolve much more either.
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6/21/2012 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 91 Points
nice bottle again, opened and immediately had some funk on both nose and palate, after a bit the nose became fruit and a bit of oak?, wine was alive and bright... and delicious to drink, bright cherries... classic california cab and delicious but didn't stand out in any way
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4/8/2012 - SoCal wrote:
Perfect cork and wonderful wine. Same notes as last time.
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3/30/2012 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 92 Points
consistent with prior note from a week back, lovely lovely lovely... everyone liked it... cork in great condition and the fill was fantastic... if you have these in this condition, you can have an awesome time now and over another ten years i would bet
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3/23/2012 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 91 Points
just loved this old cab, plenty of fruit, tannins resolved, nose was red fruited, some herbs and cedar on the palate to mix w the fruit... felt like an old, broken in pair of 501's... great and great qpr at something like $70
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12/2/2011 - M DU VIN wrote: 91 Points
Still going strong with nice fruit and integrated tannins.
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8/13/2011 - LelouchViBritannia wrote: 92 Points
The CT recommended drinking age was upto 2007, I beg to differ. The color was dark red, with a cloudy murky texture, almost like sewer water. Luckily It was showing beautifully after 30 minutes of air, with mushroom, earthiness, and a little bit of minerals and dark plum fruits left. The finish was not super long but still very enjoyable today, has 3-4 more years to go at peak if the bottle condition is good.
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8/8/2011 - M DU VIN wrote: 93 Points
While fully aged, this wine showed no signs of being over the hill. It has gerat furit, subtle tannins and lots of of nose. All in all, a wonderful wine.
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6/10/2011 - Baeyens Cellars wrote: 92 Points
Showing good earth, minerality and texture with black cherry pit fruit, although light in fruit now. The mouth feel carries this wine nicely and the finish is long.
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6/19/2010 - Jaco2112 wrote: 95 Points
the best bottle of Dunn i have had. Plenty of fruit left but the tannins are gone. Delicious!
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6/4/2010 - SoCal wrote: 94 Points
Great nose of red and black fruit hidden behind tobacco, earth, and cedar. As it opened it expanded to reveal a wonderful balance of subtitle aged fruit and a earthy veggie like note. As noted by other tasters the acid was slightly higher than what I recall from other 87 Napa Cabs I have dad. Overall a great bottle of wine for sure and a throw back to what Napa once was, less oak more place.
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5/28/2010 - vanpe003 wrote: 92 Points
Pop/poured. Nose of cedar, tobacco, and sweet red fruits. Excellent fruit on the palate, though for me there is a shade too much acidity. Fading tannins on a medium long finish. I don't have a lot of experience with Napa wines of this age, but my gut tells me that it could be time to drink up. While the acidity could fold in over time, my concern would be that the fruit might diminish first.
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2/6/2009 - buckeye76 wrote: 94 Points
LICORICE, BLACKBERRIES, AND BLACK CURRANTS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR. MOUTHCOATING WINE WITH RICH TANNINS AND A LONG FINISH.
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8/3/2008 - Jaco2112 wrote: 94 Points
Excellent with St. Andre cheese
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5/12/2008 - ptheimer wrote: 92 Points
Likely at its peak, nice notes of earth and green vegetables but the fruit blossomed after about an hour, finish was a bit weaker than I had wanted but still proved memorable
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11/24/2007 - jlgnml wrote: 92 Points
Drank for a post Thanksgiving at the Palms with family members. My nephew was born in '87 and I thought this was a good way to introduce him to older wines. The nose was cabernet throughout the glass. It was lacking the ump power that the traditional howell mountain has but overall was a great drink especially from magnum.
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4/1/2005 - burningstarIV wrote: 90 Points
Cherry flavors. This wine is still young, showing very little fading of color, but it has developed all of its secondary nuances. Great concentration.
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1/28/2004 - wineismylife wrote: 91 Points
WIML91
Opened and decanted about 1 ½ to 2 hours before serving in Spiegelau Authentis Magnum Glasses. Proabably only needed decanting for sediment. Ruby to dusty rose color in glass. Dark fruit filled nose of spice, plum and currants. Flavors of currant, plums and black cherries. Good acidity still but the tannins are faded. Still a good wine but probably about a year to 2 years past its’ prime. If you have any of these I’d highly recommend opening one soon. 91 WIML.
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12/8/2002 - Eric wrote: 90 Points
Tasted with Patrick, Naoko, Chuck, Serap, Walt and Susan. This was a controversial wine, as it came with a strong whiff of barnyard (brett).
The nose on the Dunn didn’t bother me except for one exceptionally strong whiff of dung. For some reason I wasn’t getting this horsiness at first?!? I found the finish to be surprisingly long albeit tannic. The bottle age brings such a lovely softness on the palate from the ethyl tartrates. It was a nice aged example that started to drink better and better. I picked it purely on the smoothness on the palate, although at first I wasn’t even finding that until Patrick pointed it out.
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3/2/2002 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
Nice kirsch nose, full-bodied and ripe. Great balance and long finish.
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10/19/1993 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
10 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignons (Lafayette, Ca.): Younger, richer, tastier than most, pleasant fruit, chewy, friendly fruit, good balance, hint of licorice. My #9, Group #6.
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4/3/1992 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 86 Points
At Singer & Foy survey of Dunn. Brooding ruby color. Nose is deep and rich. Accessible, at least. Palate is quite a bit softer, with more of a milk chocolate character. Also some licorice. 5-10-14-7: &6/100.
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3/26/1992 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 93 Points
6 La Jota +Montelena+Dunn Tasting (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Nice, fruity, dusty, chocolate, and acid, well balanced, nice wine, rich, black cherry frut with coffee, lots of acid and soft tannins, well balanced. My tied #1 and Group #1.
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11/26/1991 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
8 Cabernet Sauvignons tasted blind-fourth place. Big, rich, intense, cabernet nose, lots of rich, intense fruit on the palate, lots of soft tannins present on the finish.
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7/20/1991 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 91 Points
At Singer & Foy survey of ‘87 cabs. Good ruby/purple. Tremendous fruit in the nose. Just packed with rich, complex fruit. On the palate, it’s very fine. Well-defined, rich fruit. Best overall so far today. 5-12-16-8: 91/100.
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5/29/1991 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 93 Points
1979-1987 DUNN NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON (LA FOLIE SAN FRANCISCO, CA.): Big, closed, rich fruit on the nose, big body, powerful, fruity, great potential, big, powerful fruit to taste, and tannins.
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1/16/1991 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 95 Points
GROTH, GROTH RESERVE, FENESTRA, AND DUNN (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Great, bright red color in the glass, big rich fruit, intense concentration, very intense, berry fruit, lots of berry fruit and great currants on the finish and aftertaste, needs 7 years to peak.
Group Wine #1.
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12/29/1990 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 95 Points
5 Great Cabernet Sauvignons (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Wine Group Christmas Tasting of 5 Cabernet Sauvignons. At $35 was a fantastic wine. rich, cabernet forward fruit on the nose, followed by rich, tasty almost forward fruit in the mouth, lots of cabernet fruit and acid during the long finish, promises great things for the person who waits 4 years. My #2.
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10/26/1990 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 88 Points
Tasting 7 Dunns, 2 Spottswoode, and a Girard Carbernet Sauvignons. (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Tasting of 10 Cabernet Sauvignons. Featured a little spice and bell pepper on the nose, bright color in the glass suggested it was the newest wine tasted, rich, cherry fruit, well balanced, followd by a long, perfect finish. My #10 and Group #3.
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