Dunn Cabernet Vertical '82 - '86 Blindtasted

I have had Dunn Cabs several times, but only once before this tasting had I sampled a bottle that was mature enough for me to understand how beautifully these wines can mature, if given sufficient time. The others I'd tried before--even at 12 or 14 years on--were simply too tight and tannic to be enjoyed.

These two tastings were a great opportunity to evaluate the development of both the Dunn Howell Mountain and Dunn Napa Cabs at 18 to 26 years of age.




The following introduction is by our group tasting organizer, Ross Bott:
Dunn Winery was founded near the peak of Howell Mountain in 1979 by
Randy Dunn. At the time, Randy was a talented young winemaker at
Caymus, having lead the winemaking team there since 1975 and
producing some of Caymus' most profound Cabs. He remained as
winemaker at both wineries through 1985, when Charlie Wagner Jr took
over at Caymus. Randy went on to become winemaker at Pahlmeyer from
1986 through 1992, timesharing between there and his own winery. Dunn
remains a consultant for many other top cult Cabernet makers,
including Grace Family, La Jota, Livingston and others.

One of the reasons why Randy Dunn left Caymus was their decision to
expand to 10,000 cases. He's never been a fan of large wineries, or
crowds for that matter. He's kept Dunn at a maximum of 4000 cases
for most of the last 2 decades, and you have to convince him to send
you directions or a map to find his unmarked winery at the end of a
long winding driveway off of White Cottage Road. He's been known to
hide in his red barn when unexpected visitors come by, and even when
the Dunn's are expecting me (when I come by to pick up my allocation
each year), more often than not the only living thing to greet me is
Randy's dog. The dog never says much but is very friendly, and
watches attentively as I load the couple cases.

Randy Dunn has always been an advocate for lower alcohol wines, and
one of the attractions of Howell Mountain was its cooler climate,
which enabled a long growing season (and long "hang times" for the
grapes) while allowing him to pick at lower brix. The Howell
Mountain property was only 14 acres, with only 5 planted, and he
combines the grapes with a neighboring Howell Mountain Cabernet
vineyard which he manages. In 1982 he started making a Napa Valley
Cabernet from grapes sourced from other vineyards in the
Valley. This bottling is a little more forward when young, but both
Cabernets are tight, structured, tannic and very concentrated when
young, requiring at least a decade to start to show their best and
capable of aging easily for 25 or more years. All of Randy's Cab's
are aged in French oak for two and a half years before bottling, and
are 100% Cabernet.

Tonight we will try the Dunn Cabernets from 1982 through 1987. Many
of these are legendary, considered to be some of the most compelling
Cabernets that California has produced. They have aged at glacial
speed, and some, like the 1985 are nowhere near their peak even as
they approach their 25th birthday. Here's the lineup and some tasting notes:

1982 Dunn, Napa Valley (13.0%) (92/100, Robert Parker) (97/100, Wine
Spectator) (95-100/100, Connoisseurs' Guide) No notes available.

1982 Dunn "Howell Mountain", Napa Valley (13.0%): "Remains the star
of the vintage, with its rich core of fruit and earthiness. Packed
with complex currant and black cherry flavors." (94/100, Wine
Spectator, Nov 1991) "In complete contrast to the formidable,
impressive, yet largely undrinkable 1985, the blockbuster 1982 Howell
Mountain Cabernet is beginning to shed much of its tannins and reveal
lavish quantities of sweet cassis fruit. This full-bodied wine is
more flattering to smell and taste than the 1985. The nose offers
that mineral component often seen in the Howell Mountain wines, a
nice touch of oak, and vividly pure cassis and black-raspberry fruit.
Although this splendidly opulent, fleshy, chewy wine reveals some
noticeable tannin, the overall impression is one of lushness, as well
as stunning richness and length. This gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon
should continue to drink well for 10-15 more years. In a blind
tasting, Dunn's Cabernet would offer many 1982 Bordeaux stiff
competition." (95/100, Robert Parker, Aug 1992) (95-100/100,
Connoisseurs' Guide)

1984 Dunn, Napa Valley (13.0%): "A big, sinewy, tannic Cabernet with
fresh, ripe cherry, berry flavors that are persistent from start to
finish and the tannins are friendly, soft and ripe." (90/100, Wine
Spectator) (90-94/100, Robert Parker) (95-100/100, Connoisseurs' Guide)

1984 Dunn "Howell Mountain", Napa Valley (13.0%): "Extremely
backward, closed, hard, tannic, and unyielding, this behemoth of a
wine exhibits a saturated purple color, a nondescript bouquet,
enormously rich, concentrated flavors, and a boat load of tannin.
Unless you are a masochist, do not touch a bottle before the turn of
the century." (94/100, Robert Parker, Aug 1994) (95-100/100,
Connoisseurs' Guide)

1985 Dunn "Howell Mountain", Napa Valley (13.0%): "... exhibit
extremely dark, saturated purple colors, full body, and frightfully
high tannin levels. They remain as closed and tightly knit as any
Cabernet Sauvignon I have tasted. The Napa bottling was more
attractive and easier to understand. The Howell Mountain offers a
huge mouthful of highly extracted, sweet, chewy fruit buttressed by a
formidable tannin level. These are unquestionably impressive wines
that have been built for the long term." (90-95/100, Robert Parker,
tasted 1993-95) (95-100/100, Connoisseurs' Guide)

1986 Dunn, Napa Valley (13.0%): "Two of the most impressive wines in
these tastings, both of Dunn's 1986s tasted like 3-4-year old
Cabernets rather than 10-year old adolescents. The 1986 Cabernet
Sauvignon Napa is still tight, but it reveals more openness, and gobs
of sweet, mineral-laden, black-raspberry, and cassis fruit. The fruit
dominates the wine's structure, a positive sign given all the wine's
tannin and body. Rich, pure, and youthful, this 1986 is accessible
now, but will unquestionably last another 20+ years. It is a
profound, well-balanced Cabernet with well-integrated acidity and
tannin." (92/100, Robert Parker, May 1996) (95-100/100, Connoisseurs' Guide)

1986 Dunn "Howell Mountain", Napa Valley (13.0%): "Two of the most
impressive wines in these tastings, both of Dunn's 1986s tasted like
3-4-year old Cabernets rather than 10-year old adolescents. The
opaque purple-colored 1986 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain offers
awesome richness, mindboggling intensity, huge tannin, a massive
mouthfeel, and a closed yet formidably long, well-endowed finish.
This wine could be put in a tasting of 1994 California Cabernets and
not stand out as a 10-year old wine. Give it another 5-7 years of
cellaring and drink it over the subsequent 25-30 years ... amazing!"
(95/100, Robert Parker, May 1996) (95-100/100, Connoisseurs' Guide)

1987 Dunn, Napa Valley (13.0%): "The 1987 Napa Cabernet reveals an
opaque dark purple color, and a strong yet unevolved bouquet of
cassis, minerals, and toasty oak. Rich, but very tannic and full,
this wine should be at its best between 1998-2010." (91/100, Robert
Parker, Oct 1993) "Attractive for its deep, rich fruit and spicy
aromas, this is very young, intense and complex, with tiers of
currant, plum and black cherry flavors and toasty oak notes. Stylish,
very complete and firmly tannic on the finish" (93/100, Wine
Spectator) (95-100/100, Connoisseurs' Guide)

With a couple of exceptions, this was a very tasty group of maturing Cabs. It was interesting that the group's top two wines were Dunn Napas instead of the Howell Mountain.The group's number one--the '86 Napa--was my number 3, but it was an excellent, well-structured mature Cab. My number 1, and the group's number two was the '84 Napa. I thought it was a stunning effort. The other Dunn Napa in the line up, however, was the clear last place for the group. It was clearly over the hill. I rated the '86 Howell Mountain even lower though, because I thought I detected a fault or two in the wine, including mercaptans.

• 1986 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #1 (my #3) – 34 pts; 3 1st place votes, 0 2nd place votes, 5 thirds, 0 last places – Medium cherry red color with clear meniscus; mature leather, mushroom and tart plum nose; tart plum and tobacco palate, nicely structured with firm underlying tannins; medium-plus finish 92+ pts.

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• 1984 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #2 (my #1) – 36 pts; 3 1st place votes, 3 2nd place votes, 0 thirds, 0 last places – Medium red violet color with pale meniscus; lovely cassis, currant nose with a hint of mint; tangy, tart cassis, tart berry palate with lively acidity and sparkle; medium-plus finish

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• 1982 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  Group's #3 (my #2) – 42 pts; 0, 4, 3, 1 – Dark red violet with clear meniscus; nice, more youthful cassis and tart plum nose with white pepper arising after 25 minutes in the glass; big, tannic, tart cassis and white pepper youthful paalte; medium-plus finish

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• 1984 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  Group's #4 (my #5) – 45 pts; 2, 2, 1, 0 – Medium red violet with pale meniscus; tea nose that blew off after 20 minutes or so; tart cassis, tart plum and tannic palate; medium-plus finish

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• 1986 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 83 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  Group's #5 (my #7) – 51 pts; 2, 2, 0, 2 – Dark red violet color; odd, narrow, dank, earthy and VA nose, with a little mercaptan, possibly faulty; pinched, muted berry palate with fine grained tannins, chlorine and a sense of char; medium finish

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• 1985 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  Group's #6 (my #4) – 51 pts.; 1, 0, 1, 0 – Dark red violet color with pale meniscus; mushroom, bacon, shitake and VA nose; tart cassis, tart plum, tobacco and iron palate with firm tannins, high acidity and green notes showing up after 40 minutes; medium finish

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• 1982 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 84 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #7 (my #6) – 78 pts; 0, 0, 1, 9 – Bricking dark red violet color with pale meniscus; redolent, mature, earthy and savory beef gravy nose; very mature, over the hill, beef gravy palate with a sweet port note; medium finish

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