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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.6 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 116 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Harry Cantrell on 12/3/2023 & rated 92 points: Garnet. Kinda shy nose and seemed to be holding something back all night. Nose was anise, black fruits taste was similar. Overall good, but hoped for more. (842 views) | | | Tasted by lozatron on 11/23/2023: Thanksgiving Wimps 2023 - Alfred Stieglitz Table (La Trompette): A generous reserve bottle. Somewhat animale nose - brett? As it opened up - lovely stuff, real fruit and tannins there - a certain almost liquorice note to the core of it. Solid cali cab and was not ashamed by the epic Ridge wines it sat beside. (1078 views) | | | Tasted by mxpbuy on 7/1/2023 & rated 96 points: Decanted 2 hours. One of my favorite Dunns. A powerhouse of a wine that also comes in a soft leather glove. Overripe black and red fruits in waves. Some black and red currant, touch of brett that is nice (not distracting) and underbrush. A little tobacco and hint of spice. A finish that lasts 30 seconds or more. This wine in 750 will still be going strong through to 2030 and perhaps its 40th. (1397 views) | | | Tasted by LindsayPerry on 12/29/2022: Drank for my 30th birthday. Aged really well in my opinion. Tons of tertiary notes like leather, dried red fruits, tobacco. (1791 views) | | | Tasted by AMNG on 11/26/2022 flawed bottle: Terrible (1821 views) | | | Tasted by wa2ofd on 10/9/2022: Drinking ahead our 30th anniversary. The Howell Mtn still not only vibrant but very much in tact. Maturing but still feels like real room to run. (1631 views) | | | Tasted by Richard P Howden on 9/11/2022 & rated 95 points: Been nearly 5 years since my last bottle and the wine has only aged ever so slightly. Excellent intensity and depth, beautiful fruit on the nose and palate, but also finely balanced. Lots of cassis leather and pepper on the long finish. Stunning. (1840 views) | | | Tasted by Genghis88 on 7/7/2021 & rated 93 points: @Ancora
Dark blood red full bodied wine.
Pencil lead. Blood! Cedar bark.
Some wet wool, sour cherries, dark stewed plums.
Fantastic wine! Went perfect with the red meat! (3711 views) | | | Tasted by Labrador on 4/2/2021 & rated 92 points: Ah, the power of Dunn!
This is a big yet balanced wine. After decanting for 30+ minutes it started to "strut its stuff." The dark fruit was rich and aromatic with just a hint of sweetness. It was mouth-coating with a very long finish.
Final thoughts: I suspect that had the wine been decanted for 2 hours, it would have had a higher score, and it has another decade in front of it. (3072 views) | | | Tasted by WoodieBayArea on 12/19/2020 & rated 94 points: This was absolutely fantastic... from Magnum, deep and dark in decanter (three hours), nose was exotic, palate was dark / deep with dark red fruit accompanied by sandalwood and a hint of chocolate... deep but nonetheless so elegant going down... so much power and yet so smooth... not even my particular style but so well made / aged it buckled my knees... had it for Kristy's 32 bday dinner (3168 views) | | | Tasted by JCA49 on 12/15/2020 & rated 95 points: Purchased on release. Stored at 57 deg. F, 70%RH. The cork came out easily in one piece. Nevertheless with Dunn I always use my Duran in case the cork falls apart. Double decanted over 3.5 hrs. with a stainless steel filter to catch the considerable amount of deposits.
The nose was just amazing! As previously stated by another, there is a reason why we age wines. And this wine is why. A smorgasbord of olfactory notes including red and dark fruits, earth, sage, tobacco, and other notes I couldn't identify.
These same scents followed through on the palate. The tannins were primarily resolved with slight acid in the finish. But it wasn't overwhelming.
I don't think this wine will improve much more; so I suggest if you have a bottle find a reason to pull the cork. You won't be disappointed! (3021 views) | | | Tasted by peeyush on 10/17/2020: #1 in a vertical tasting (3016 views) | | | Tasted by galewskj on 5/17/2020 & rated 94 points: Served single blind, I managed to guess this correctly. This tastes like an old school Napa cab, with leather, mushroom, funk and good minerality. I love the nose on this, and the palate is almost as good. (2622 views) | | | Tasted by rocknroller on 5/14/2020 & rated 95 points: Single Blind Old Napa Virtual Tasting (Home): Very dark red color with a subtle 1cm transitional margin. Gentle splash double decant through cheese cloth and immediately back into the bottle and recorked until poured into vessels about 5:15pm and then poured into glasses at 6:30pm. Drank 2 glasses single blind over 3 hours. I was pretty sure this was the Dunn even without tasting the others. The brilliance of Randy Dunn and old school Napa Valley wines is on full display. Provocatively perfumed nose of leather, funk, dried earth, mushroom, cassis, and moutain wild berries. The palate is full bodied, yet dextrous, silky fine tannins, pencil box, cassis, very earthy with a core of pretty black fruits and just a glimpse of blue fruit and a rocky mineral essence. This was wonderful, building over the first 30 minutes and then just sailing along never fading at all. This should easily go another 10+ years as the structure is all there to be a fifty year wine. This was my and the group WOTN, (3+3+3+2+2=13pts). 95+(+?)pts. (2594 views) | | | Tasted by I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine on 5/14/2020 & rated 94 points: This was a single blind tasting. Everyone knew the wines, but not the order or which wine was which....the lineup:
1996 Ridge Monte Bello
2011 Myriad Cellars
2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia
1996 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard
2002 Dunn Howell Mountain
2012 Kirkland Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon
2010 Araujo Estate Sauvignon Blanc Eisele Vineyard
Dunn was opened and decanted to remove sediment, then back in the bottle at 2:30, until 4:45, when it was poured into jar 6 oz for transporting. The rest of the wines were poured in glass jars starting at 4:15. Tasting began at 6:30. All wines were tasted between 6:30 and 8:00. Group's number 1 wine was the 1992 Dunn. Number 2 wine was the 1996 Heitz Martha's Vineyard.
1992 Dunn Howell Mountain - This is why cabs should be aged! I just hope my 2013's age this well! This wine is still youthful in appearance with no noticeable bricking. The nose was the best of the bunch, showing leather, earth, spice, lead, forest, and gravel. Very complex, but also very, very pleasing! The palate followed up with blackberry, cassis, western leather, prairie dust, mushroom and cedar. The finish was good (20+ seconds), and the wine kept calling you back for another whiff and taste! An excellent wine, and my #1, as well as the groups #1. A 93+ wine (and I may be being a little conservative). I don't see this wine falling apart soon, but I also do not see it improving...my recommendation would be to pop it open anytime in the next 5 years, if an occasion calls for it. A very enjoyable wine ! Revisited this wine the next morning, still drinking well, with lots of fruit and leather and dust. Raising the score to a 94+. (2384 views) | | | Tasted by aagrawal on 5/11/2020 & rated 95 points: Decanted, significant sediment. Deep ruby-purple with less bricking than expected for its age; high intensity aromatics with black currant, capsicum, mint, eucalyptus; palate is full bodied, fresh medium-plus acidity, balanced low-medium alcohol (13%), still has some primary fruit but also tertiary complexity with a bit of cigar box, cedar, clean throughout; finish is long, precise, and clean, and just slightly drying. World class california cabernet made in a restrained style, just as I like it. This drinks well now but will also drink well for the next decade. 95 (2080 views) | | | Tasted by lolo66 on 2/11/2020 & rated 94 points: Blind Bordeaux vs Cali Cab (Bobby Van's): great showing. So charming and elegant. bright fruit that has mellowed with age. some orange peel and spice give it more intrigue. I really like this. (2476 views) | | | Tasted by GFischmann on 10/26/2019 & rated 94 points: Balanced dark berries with great finish (2309 views) | | | Tasted by Milos on 6/15/2019 & rated 93 points: Cork was impossible to remove. Had to strain. Nose was at first dominated by a green note over the dark red fruit to a point of opening up and consuming a backup bottle (Montelena Estate 1996). But guess what, it completely cleaned up in couple of hours and delicious dark red fruit with lot of earthy complexity showed well. Beautiful dark red colour with no evidence of age. Lots of structure and balance. Long finish. This wine still has decades ahead. (2635 views) | | | Tasted by barrytaylor on 1/12/2019 & rated 92 points: 2 hrs air. still lots of nose. little fruit. much better next day (3086 views) | | | Tasted by AWBryce on 1/1/2019: Black cherry, bell pepper nose. Still present tannin, medium acid, long finish. Excellent, surely this is at its peak and should stay there for a few years. (3014 views) | | | Tasted by Sievvy on 12/25/2018 & rated 70 points: Opened three bottles. All corks disintegrated. Two wines were corked the other highly acidic. Really very disappointing. I have owned and cellared this from release so its not a storage issue. I think this is a bad batch of corks. If you have any I would check it now. Bummer!!! (2958 views) | | | Tasted by Backdoctor on 12/25/2018 & rated 94 points: Decanted an hour before going to dinner, it was 2 hours before we actually drank it. Great wine. so young and vibrant. Big fruit on palate. Great nose. I actually liked it better than the 91 Hillside Select. (2432 views) | | | Tasted by paulst on 11/22/2018 & rated 95 points: Leather; cherry-blackberry; supple with length and complexity. (2888 views) | | | Tasted by vanpe003 on 9/10/2018 flawed bottle: Cooked. (2905 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain: 1979–2014 (Aug 2018) (8/1/2018)
(Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Epic Dunn: Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 1979-1999 (Feb 2014)
(Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain Howell Mountain) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Dunn Vineyards Producer websiteCabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Howell Mountain Howell Mountain |
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