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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.9 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 160 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by WhineEnthusiast on 9/2/2023 & rated 96 points: Needs some air- hour 3 was by far the best. Very good , but a hint of sour, and not as much secondary flavor as I would like to see. Does it need more time?? (1290 views) | | | Tasted by jonboy74 on 7/2/2023 & rated 94 points: Stellar. Long life ahead of it. Dang that wax capsule !!! (1345 views) | | | Tasted by Burgnick on 6/27/2023 & rated 93 points: Pnp. Nose exhibited eucalyptus, blackberries, dark currants, leather, graphite and smoke. Palate was youthful and vibrant with layers of sensation that resembled the nose. Drinking at peak but likely to stay at this level for a long while. (1538 views) | | | Tasted by Burgnick on 4/12/2023 & rated 93 points: Best to flash decant and serve. Consistent with previous note. Good spice and Cali sunshine on the palate. (1951 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 3/10/2023: 2023 Napa in the City: Gala Dinner (The Pool in NYC): Out of a magnum. Totally awesome. Drinking really well. Lots of mineral and fruit and good energy. Plenty of time left but drinking really well today. (2109 views) | | | Tasted by ash_then_chase on 2/4/2023 & rated 95 points: Will need more time to open up. Will come back. Now noticing the musk, though is nuanced. Has a very interesting finish that Harris called and I only noticed after he mentioned — potpourri and soap. Also noticing an odd pineapple juice (may be the gumbo in front of me, who knows…). Rocky and I agreed, it’s syrupy pineapple juice out of the Dole preserved pineapple can. We came back to this glass. Totally green pepper and pyrazine (Harris called this 2 hours back, we are slow…) @ Napa Boys Trip (1200 views) | | | Tasted by Ered RN on 12/17/2022 & rated 92 points: Waited a little to long to consume. Had not turned, but would have been much better if I had had it 2 years earlier. Dunn is a great wine. My mistake for waiting. (1155 views) | | | Tasted by bestdamncab on 9/2/2022 & rated 94 points: Nose of saddle leather, black berry, black cherry, dry, and dusty earth, same on the palate, big body, at peak, amazing at 35 years of age, mouth filling fruit, rich fruit, and a long flavorful finish and aftertaste, thank you Derrald for a lovely, timeless treat. (1866 views) | | | Tasted by Burgnick on 6/25/2022 & rated 93 points: As 87 is my birth vintage, I have tried most of the 87 Napas that are highly acclaimed. The Dunn Howell Mountain is consistently my favorite alongside Dominus, Montelena and Opus one. The wine tonight exhibits herbs, cassis, dark fruit, smoke and gravel. The fruit is round on the palate with penetratable depth and layers. While it is drinking at its peak, it is likely to stay elevated for a very long while. 93-94 (1926 views) | | | Tasted by Philip67 on 5/2/2022 & rated 87 points: Huge wine but not pleasant. I'm afraid my note does not reveal more. (2007 views) | | | Tasted by Benoit Hardy on 12/16/2021 & rated 94 points: 1987 is a legendary vintage in California. The nose is delicate, with notes of rancio, smoke and eucalyptus.
The palate is like the nose, quite thin, almost lace, a change from the syrupy bombs of the New World. This does not prevent the juice from asserting its presence on the palate, with notes of leather and old cedar trees very present. Very nice balance with fully integrated acidity and melted tannins, the whole giving off a feeling of fullness. Superb minty finish, intense, like a breeze on the face that stretches all in length and delicacy.
Very beautiful wine, I would have liked just an extra depth in the mouth to qualify it as great because it is one-dimensional on the palate. (2944 views) | | | Tasted by slywka7 on 7/24/2021 & rated 95 points: Pop and pour. Aromas of leather, dried cherry, dried blackberry, Earth and hint of smoke. Flavors of dried cherry, dried blackberry, dried currant, earth and touch of dried plum. Ends with a 40 second finish with dried cherry and blackberry. Might be the best showing yet for this wine. (3271 views) | | | Tasted by Old Vino on 2/26/2021 & rated 95 points: 34 year old juice and still going with loads of lush fruits black currant and some cedar. no sign of fatigue and might easily last 2 additional decades. delicious (2985 views) | | | Tasted by jimcopland on 2/20/2021 & rated 94 points: Excellent, mature, tannins resolved. Perfect pairing for porterhouse. (2690 views) | | | Tasted by rkww on 11/20/2020 & rated 95 points: On its 33rd birthday, this Dunn Howell Mountain at first seemed all musk on the nose and damp forest floor on the palette. That funk blew off with an hour in decanter and glass--even more time would have been better. Then we were in secondary & tertiary land: mushrooms, tobacco, and earth, with just a bit of blueberry still shining through. The tannic structure has and will likely continue to hold up beautifully, but I don't think there's either much time left for the fruit or any upside for new flavor development. If we could find more bottles, we'd definitely want to drink them in the next 2-3 years max. (2618 views) | | | Tasted by aquacongas on 7/14/2020 & rated 95 points: blind
we had three 87 Cali's this was the best one for me but all very close (Dominus, Beringer). Some etherical notes but a lot of tertiary notes that could be Bordeaux either. Eucalyptus, blueberries. 95 (2865 views) | | | Tasted by Nanda on 3/5/2020 & rated 92 points: La Paulée Zachy's Auction - Thursday (Le Bernardin Privé): Not as enjoyable as a bottle I was able to sit with 3-4 months ago. This glass was broodingly stubborn on the nose. Palate was chewy and dense with sweet fruit. Still needs time to integrate. Upside with aeration or a few more years in the cellar. (2618 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 3/5/2020 & rated 90 points: Zachys La Paulee Auction; 3/5/2020-3/6/2020 (Le Bernardin Prive - New York NY): Small glass, brief note. Big and bold with rich fruit, but tannins still a bit too pronounced. (2881 views) | | | Tasted by forceberry on 2/19/2020 & rated 95 points: 13,4% alcohol.
Deep, somewhat translucent and very dark ruby to black cherry color; surprisingly youthful for its age. Powerful, savory and rather straightforward nose with intense aromas of fresh blackcurrants, some meaty tones, a little bit of bouillon, light sweet notes of cherry marmalade and a hint of graphite. The nose doesn't feel young anymore, but it isn't fully tertiary either. The wine is full-bodied, muscular and quite robust on the palate with intense, dry flavors of ripe blackcurrants, some tertiary notes of beef jerky and leather, light bloody tones, a little bit of meaty umami, a sweet hint of juicy dark plum and a woody touch of pencil shavings. The overall feel is very structured with the high acidity and quite assertive, grippy tannins. The finish is ripe, robust and rather tannic with intense flavors of juicy blackcurrants, meaty umami, some peppery tones, a little bit of sour cherry bitterness, light sweet notes of dried red fruits, a hint of savory oak spice and a touch of meat stew.
A very powerful, impressively structured and enjoyably old school Napa Cabernet with lots of muscle to keep all that intense fruit in check. Overall the wine is quite evolved and getting rather tertiary, although there's still lots of fruit still left to the wine. Most likely the wine is peaking now; even though the structure could use some further aging, I doubt the fruit will benefit from any further cellaring. Compared to the regular 1987 Dunn Napa Cabernet that was tasted alongside, this feels somewhat bigger and more structured with more concentrated fruit - but surprisingly more developed as well. While the regular Napa Cab was surprisingly youthful for its age, showing capability to age even further, this Howell Mountain Cab is pretty much at its peak. Although I preferred the slightly more delicate and harmonious style of the regular Dunn Napa Cab, this is quite stunning a wine as well. Highly recommended. (2211 views) | | | Tasted by DesMarteau on 1/5/2020 & rated 95 points: boy started off shaky...thought it went bad. brick color...sour, acidic...decanted for 2 hours and color deepened. faint cherries, blueberries, integrated saddle leather and tobacco...great! (2381 views) | | | Tasted by ElAzul on 1/4/2020 & rated 96 points: I was not expecting too much when the cork crumbled even using an ah-so cork puller. But wow was I surprised on the first sniff and sip after I splashed it back and forth 6 times ( my version of decant-arrested). Though there is a definitive orange rim to the wine it is still very much fresh and alive. On the nose initially forest floor, earth, tobacco and hint of leather. Then evolved to ripe red fruit after 2 hours. But the palate on this is just wonderful. Blueberries, dust and plums then ripe plums and menthol and eucalyptus. I chose this wine to watch AFC playoffs but it turned to be Super Bowl worthy! The wine kept evolving all night getting richer and deeper. Matched with both chocolate mousse and a New Zealand ultra creamy milk chocolate and was very pleased. The finish is at least 45 seconds long and just makes you want another sip as soon as it dissipates. My initial score was 94 but as the wine evolved I had to raise it, first 95 then 96 (1915 views) | | | Tasted by jlgnml on 12/21/2019 & rated 96 points: Big nose, bright fruit, swelling flavor on the palate. Plenty of years ahead for this wine. (1527 views) | | | Tasted by Nanda on 12/21/2019 & rated 95 points: Wine Flock Champagne Gala (Park Ridge CC): Generously shared (along with the 83) by JLGNML. The 83 was a touch more intense and precise, but there isn't much white space between these two amazing wines. Fully mature and in a peak window now. (2180 views) | | | Tasted by Kevnzworld on 9/23/2019 & rated 93 points: Decant and slowly drink
Still has some ripe fruit and life. The tertiary flavors of mushroom, cedar and earth makes this older wine complex and enjoyable.
The fruit faded after the first hour and the other flavors predominated.
This isn’t a wine that needs a long decant ( which differs from my last review ).
The fruit went from moderately fresh to stewed and some barnyard flavors emerge. The finish is herby, sage and oregano.
An enjoyable evolution from pop to finish (2082 views) | | | Tasted by gejohnston on 7/16/2019 & rated 95 points: Fabulous. Great way to turn 50. Had been saving for a special occasion. Well worth the wait. (2152 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. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Bonus Articles, California Cabernet Sauvignon: A Tale of Two Epochs (June 2003)
(Dunn Vineyards “Howell Mountain” Cabernet Sauvignon) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, September/October 2002, IWC Issue #104
(Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (10/9/2008)
(Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain) Group's #7 (my #7) – 58 pts; 1, 0, 1, 4 – Dark red violet color with pale meniscus; earthy black fruit and herbal nose; narrower, earthy black fruit and charcoal palate with high acidity; medium finish 90 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and View From the Cellar and RJonWine.com. (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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