2014 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
Community Tasting Note
englishman's claret wrote:
Monday, June 8, 2020 - Learning 2014 Napa from RockinCabs: I really liked this from the get-go (decanted for about 7 hours prior to tasting), but over the 2-3 hours we followed this in the decanter, it continued to unfold revealing layer after layer of progressively more typical (and more charming) cabernet sauvignon character. Beautiful curranty fruit and a wonderful herbal/veg profile with thyme, shishito, and a hint of eucalyptus. How nice it will be to watch this unfold.
I marked this 93-94, but I could very easily be a bit over-conservative here. This comes in at 13.9% and there's a little bit of heat that can be felt, but at least at this juncture the wine appears to carry it well and I suspect that the fresh mountain fruit has something to do with that. This is a style of Napa that I enjoy and would like to see more frequently.
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Comment posted by Alexander Smith:
6/8/2020 9:51:00 AM - Dunn is a great producer, and you were probably told this but these wines need a LONG time. I am hearing the wines from the 70s and 80s are drinking perfectly now.
Comment posted by englishman's claret:
6/8/2020 10:32:00 AM - Totally - I have more experience in Napa from the 70s-early 90s than I do in the modern era. Thus my request to RockinCabs to help bring me up to date. He very kindly selected these wines from his cellar, the goal being to see what's happening now(ish) rather than to taste mature wines.
Comment posted by TXRDW:
6/8/2020 6:31:00 PM - Great note, though most of the reviews I’ve read from you have been on Bordeaux wine. You just happened to review one of my favorite Napa vineyards. I’m just now starting to appreciate the lower ABV as the common denominator in my taste for wine as it evolves. I’d love to see more Napa vineyards try the Dunn approach by not going too far over 14% alcohol content, which to me really brings out the best in a wine like Dunn.