[Tasted Double Blind] This pours medium to light ruby with touches of purple, no bricking. The nose shows cassis, blackberry liquor, vanilla, raw lumber, hazelnut, plum brandy, blueberry jam, charcoal, and violets. The palate shows plum on entry with quite a woody mid-palate. Tannin is medium plus and acid is medium. The finish replays the very youthful purple/blue/black fruit with some touches of oak. I guessed that this was a 2004 St Emilion due to the plummy youthful fruit and noted oak, but lower levels of extract. I was quite surprised on reveal at how youthful this was. I have to admit, given the label I would have had higher expectations for this wine.
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sorta had a debate with whether flawed or simply 100%, unapologeticly over the hill, the nose was pretty much nothing and the palate was like drinking water with some acidity and alcohol... I would describe it as "no -- meaning zero -- body"... oh well, still love old Dunn Howell from the 90's but this bottle went down the drain after two days of trying
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From Magnum with 2 hour advance decant. Although drinkable and clearly a Dunn Howell, there was something off about this bottle that no once could quite put their finger upon. Not too much brett. Definitely not TCA as the wine remain unchanged from first opening to final taste 7 hours later.
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Drank from a magnum. Still plenty of life left. Took about an hour before it really started to show. Less fruit this time around with notes of soy sauce, brine, and olive. In a great drinking window with easily another 5-10 more years.
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From Magnum. Slightly protruding cork that cracked the wax capsule spelled trouble, which was a false alarm. Red fruits dominated with a slight tangy element to them that makes this wine more interesting with black fruits, vanilla Oak and dried herbs following thereafter. Near silky smooth after an hour decant.
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Last of 6, opened 3 hours ahead. The nose has beautiful red and black fruits, earth and just a touch of green pepper to start. Medium bodied with enough tannin and acid to keep this drinking well for several more years. Very pure cassis, earth and tobacco carry the wine through a nice finish. Solid 93 points
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Potentially the first “fully mature” bottle of Dunn I’ve had 😜👍🏻. Cork had me a touch nervous, but it opened up beautifully. All dusty cherry, tobacco and earth. Drink up
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Stunning. One of the finest mature California Cabernets I have enjoyed for many years. After an initial scare with the cork (and this being Dunn, we weren't expecting a smooth ride), my brilliant friend deployed The Durand and the cork emerged unscathed. Opened for about 90 minutes before dinner; not decanted; poured from bottle. The tannins were entirely resolved. Incredible concentration. Long finish. Just beautiful. Couldn't ask for anything more -- except another bottle, which I don't have.
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Last bottle. The cork crumbled.....like it did to the last two bottles. However, those bottle were drinkable. This bottle was awful.....had to be tossed. I see some other cellartracker.com tasters have had cork problems with this wine. There are a lot of bottles left in the system…..might be a good idea to check a bottle out if you have not had one in a while
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Drank for 30th birthday. Our bottle was alive, well, and drinking beautifully. On the nose we got leather, tobacco, and sage. On the palate it's got tobacco, juicy red and blue fruit, cinnamon, and well integrated tannin. This wine strikes the perfect balance between jam and acid. Perfect drinking window now but can hold it's own for another 5 years.
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** (except for the acidity, it would be three stars)
The top 3/4 of the cork was soft and crumbly, but an Ah-So loosened the sides so I could remove it with a corkscrew. The bottom held, so the cork come out cleanly. Decanted about 90 min. This wasn't enough, see below. Long, lovely black fruits melded into a harmonious flavor with great length. Marure and confident, this is a wine to relax and sooth you. The only downside was the acidity, this gradually decreased over the course of the meal, but never disappeared entirely.
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An impossible DRY cork that absolutely crumbled even with a wax seal. The CAB was rich and floral with a just a hint of juice, but not stunning like I had hoped. A perfect bottle for a wonderful evening. Great way to begin the 2020s looking back to 1990.
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P: Med body; RNDISH entry with NICE, ALMOST swtish BBQ tom sauce frt met by astringent pucker which evolves into a LONG, very, VERY slightly bitterish finish with a TANGY/swtness to the dusty tannins. I'd probably cellar this thru '20, poss '21, then drink for the ff 3-4 yrs. 13.0% ABV; My EXC-/EXC. 96 pts WA, 95+ Galloni, 91 ea WS & Jeannie Cho Lee, and 90+ RJonWine.
Note: The consensus was that this had rec'd LESS than "ideal" storage.
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Deep purple color. Nose of pencil shavings, wet earth, black raspberry, and a slight hint of licorice. Muted black fruits on the palate with a touch of white pepper and dark chocolate. Slight acidic bite on the backside with drying tannins. Past its peak now in my opinion. Drink em if you got em!
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P: Med body; NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by astringent pucker which fairly seamlessly transitions into a LONG, poss very, VERY slightly bitterish finish with a tangy/SWTNESS to the unoffensive, dusty tannins. Approachable now, but could CERTAINLY stand cellaring through '22, then making its 40th. 13% ABV; My EXC+/Exceptional-™. 96 pts WA, 95+ Galloni, 91 ea WS & Jeannie Cho Lee, and 90+ RJonWine. [Translates to 94-97 on the 100 pt scale.]
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This wine is probably still young, but there is a bit of greenness and herbaceous that I think will stop it from becoming a top wine. To be frank I don't really love Dunn Howell Mountain despite its reputation. The wines of the 1970s from California are still unsurpassed IMHO so it could be the vintage.
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Decanted and swrved. Surprisinhly high-toned and light-bodied although it kept putting on weight and improving over two hours. 1990 was an inconsistent year. I expected much more earthiness. Nevertheless I think this still has room for improvement.
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In the bouquet cherries and chocolate like in cherry liquor bonbons. On the palate a beautifully and mature wine with ripe fruits like cassis, cinnamon, earth and autumn impressions. Mild and soft acidity and tannin. The wine will not improve anymore, but there is no extreme hurry either.
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Dunn Howell Mountain Vertical B-day Dinner (Maple & Ash): A gorgeous ethereal nose here with fantastic layering of rich cassis, cedar, herb, tobacco and pine notes. The palate is muted and lighter in intensity. 94 point nose. 88 point palate. Perhaps just an awkward phase.
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Dunn Howell Mountain vertical (Chicago, IL): The nose on this is explosive, with the fruit and dust seeming to jump out of the glass. Psmith described this "like Christmas: a nice combo of red and green". Indeed, the nose showed more towards the red fruit; this was a bit more delicate than the other wines; perhaps on the cusp of developing secondary characteristics.
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This hit peak drinking about 60 mins after decanting, and started to fade after 2 hours. But peak was exceptional, still youthful, with Dunn flavors, balance, elegance.
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Tasted after being decanted over 1 hr and was surprised how tight it still was. Was better after getting closer to 2 hours of air, but still had some assertive tannins and tasted youthful even at 27 years of age. A concentrated, brooding profile of very dark fruit that drinks well with around 2 hrs of air right now, and will hold for many more years as many Dunns do, so no rush on this.
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Crumbly cork. Dark, blackish red, very dense. Rim barely paling. Large bq w cassis, smoke, licorice, bay leaf, dried flowers, minerals. Full bodied, with (still!) almost aggressive tannins, prominent acidity, fruit w cassis, cherries, licorice. Very long, complex aftertaste w herbs and dark fruit. Despite its age, still a dark, brooding wine. Will doubtless last longer (but then, why let it?)
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Even better than the last bottle. Dark crimson color. Potpourri, rose petals, mulberry, and shoe polish on the nose, which once again comes off as quite dark and brooding. On the palate this is vivacious, with tart nectarine flavors and a sweet hint of oak, as well as some stony nuances. The mouthfeel has an Old World elegance, with a Saint-Julien-like texture reminiscent of mid 1990's Leoville-Barton. The tannins on this are still tight and grainy despite this being halfway through its third decade in the bottle. My experience with this wine is that it lives forever in the good vintages, of which 1990 was undoubtedly one. I'll buy every bottle of this that I can find, as it will continue to evolve for a very long time.
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had at Sierra Mar in Big Sur (Post Ranch Inn), was enjoyable with food, bit of a conuundrum as it was alternatively soft and then acidic / lifted, had plenty of darkish, forest, brooding palate flavors but from time to time was too soft and then later nicely acidic / tannic... good wine but I would drink up (my instinct)
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Opaque crimson color. Brooding nose of shoe polish, crushed violets, green bell pepper, black licorice, and ashtray. Made to smell this blind, I would swear up-and-down that it was Pauillac. The palate has plush dark fruit flavors and a few hints of cedar wood. This finishes moderately tannic, with reprise of the nose's licorice note. Structurally, this wine comes across as middle-aged despite being more than a quarter century old. There is sufficient tannic support to make me think this will continue to improve for 5-10 more years, though it may be enjoyed today.
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Good color, decanted 1 hr and still developed in the glass with significant tannins still present. Good flavor, hint of wet newspaper, OK finish. Wife says sell.
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Hyper vegetal,piments confits sucrés,piment d'espelette. Semble être encore très vert...une finale avec des fruits rouges bien confiturés et un peu de piments brûlés.. J'aurais Presque pu caller Rougeard à l'aveugle ! Une superbe longueur en bouche. Un grand vin qui est sur un beau plateau. 18.5/20
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1990 Howell Mountain shines with velvet and focused aromatics of paprika, iodine, saltiness, some dark fruit and goji berries. A little edgy and tight on the palate - and in this way in line with a recently tasted 1990 Napa Valley Cabernet – with black fruits, gooseberry, some green notes, spices and a mix of herbs. Medium-long finish. Still, a beautiful wine of character, complexity and focus. Drink soon.
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- Garnet color - Cork crumbled with a regular corkscrew, but the ah-so came to the rescue. Decanted to remove sediment (there was quite a bit). Deep color, with no bricking. Dark fruit, leather, cedar, and graphite on the nose. Classic Bordeaux flavors on the palate, although this is clearly a Howell Mountain Cab. Tannins are still quite firm. One of the longest finishing wines I've had in a long time (2-3 minutes). Seems more like a ten year old wine than a twenty-four year old wine. It will hold for a decade or so, but I'm not sure it will improve. I always enjoy Dunn wines, and this one is no exception.
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KW Epic tasting/ mens best bottle (KW): Tasted blind blind notes - Thin in glass and on nose - lots of funk. Some acidity mildly harsh. oxidized quite a bit, but still enjoyable. Faded quickly. I guessed it was an old cab, 1980's This is done (dunn) - perhaps a somewhat flawed bottle
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Purchased at auction. The cork was pushed up about 1/8th of inch and had cracked the hard wax capsule. I was worried I acquired a cooked wine. After first opening, my fears seemed to be real as the nose has bit oxidation and the color had bricking and slight orange at the rim. But after 3 hours in a decatner it started to come to life and turned into a very nice wine, but I still couldn't help but feel we were not getting the best version of this wine. Sweet red and black fruits. A slight sour element to it. Long finish. Dunn makes a tough wine that can handle the heat, very impressed. I have other bottles of this wine that I'll open in the future given that it looks like a pristinely stored bottle of this wine should easily last to 2020.
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From Magnum - NOTE SAVED UNDER WRONG VINTAGE - The Note is for the '98. The cork was very soft and crumbly, but it was not soaked through. A modest film of sediment on only the shoulder of the bottle with no extra sediment. A real field blend of brussel sprouts, green peppers, and sage, but also some very sweet but not dense black fruits with hints of spice and a mouthfilling sweet Oak that is not overpowering. Could be the best '98 Napa I've had. It went over very well with the 8 I shared it with.
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I had such a great experience with this wine I had to make it my first public tasting note.
In a word, beautiful. Smooth and elegant.
The cork had rotted through, but it didn't spoil the wine. Cleaned it up and decanted for 3hours. Taste at the beginning, I didn't think it was going to need much of a decant, and it probably didn't, but reservations were a few hours a way. So in the end decanting didn't do much. Tannins were smooth. This is my first experience with an aged wine, most have been 10years or less.
The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow.
It tastes like Black Pepper, Cherry, and Plum. The body is Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Medium.
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50/70 Celebration for Marc and Bud (Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand): Extraordinary wine that has oodles of class but also a personality of great distinction. Tasted next to the Napa bottling, the Howell Mountain came across as the younger wine by a significant margin but also the more refined in terms of tannic texture, complexity and clarity and brightness of the fruit. Noticeable VA may be a problem for some, but for me and my guests, this added a wonderful sense of lift to the wine, While the wine can be enjoyed now - I can only imagine great upside potential over the next one to two decades. Beautiful Napa fruit but with a brighter acid structure than the Napa bottling. Quote of the night: "This wine has legs. Not human legs, but rather the legs of a single cell amoeba that will develop these in about a billion years." I think she was referring to the thick, coating nature of the wine. Next in 2020 or 2025...
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Dinner at Chez Walker with Debbie/Doug/Rebecca/Kevin: Dinner party at our place with Debbie/Doug/Rebecca/Kevin...I had to match the generosity of our guest bringing a 1980 Opus. Thought it would be fun to drink this next to the Opus.
I decanted this for about 90 minutes before dinner. Medium-dark red color. Nose of red cherry, mint/eucalyptus. Mountain fruit is evident on the palate, bright and deep red fruits, cigar box, licorice on the finish. Finish was smooth, 30 seconds+. Drank this next to a 1980 Opus (see notes) and before a Foley 99 Claret, it was my clear WOTN
Dunn is a wine that seems to hit stride after 10 years, older version I have had always seem younger than their actual age - causing some reluctance to open these for fear its too soon. No one in this group thought the wine tasted 23 years old, if tasted blind I would have guessed 7-10.
This wine is in a beautiful spot right now. Fruit is great, elegant and fresh, all the secondary characteristics are there, great example of an aged, very well made Howell Mountain wine. Truthfully, its hard to tell how much it will improve. It will clearly last a long time. This may be one of those examples of the Sideways philosophy - "don't wait for a special day to open that bottle, it will be a special day when you open the wine"
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The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Blackberry, and Red Currant. It tastes like and Coffee. The body is Medium. The wine has Linear texture. The wine finishes Medium.
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Tasted along side a 1990 Beringer Private Reserve. While the Beringer was excellent in a soft round way, the Dunn still had ample tannin and fruit. Perfect to consume now but has at least another 5+ prime years.
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This was drank as the final red wine of the night on my 39th anniversary, very rich, ripe, intense mountain cabernet fruit on the nose and palate, very rich and complete needs two more years to show its best. Touch hot on the nose, medium, long finish, very nice, typically Dunn, won't be much better as the fruit is not elgant or sophisticated, but enjoy as it is a great wine.
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Late Feb 2012, Dunn tasting (with Randy Dunn present) at the Rheingau Gourmet Festival: bottle opened approx. 75 min. before tasting, bottle to decanter back to bottle decanted, 15 min. before consumption poured into the glass (sommelier information); crimson color; red berries and black currant; mild Cabernet sweetness on the palate; medium/full body; smooth texture. 91-92 points.
Very nice mature wine.
Flight II: 1998 - 1993 - 1990 - 1989 - 1984
Randy Dunn information: approx. 450 cases/year, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 80-85% Nevers oak
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Crimson color; minty casis, earthy, very olive nose and palate; while the fruit seems to be fading its well balanced now, the structure is clearly still there with tannins resolved and soft but very much detectable; slightly drying medium finish.
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Finally. We have tried one bottle every year and always the answer is: "no, not ready to drink yet". But this time it was rich, sweet and elegant. Still quite structured but it does not hurt to drink it any more. Lovely!
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Medium-dark ruby. Nose of red cherry, anise, bay leaf, camphor. Medium tannin, medium acidity; good balance. Flavors of herbal cherry fruit are lively and mouth-filling. Finishes very long and with sustained fruit. We just had to enjoy this again, the last was in such good shape. Bottle #5 of six.
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Medium-dark red. Nose of minty, red cherry fruit with anise. Medium tannin, medium acidty. Sturdy in the mouth, with acids that grew a bit stronger with three hours air. Good fruit carries straight through to the finish, a long finish that also highlights some green bean and cigar tobacco notes. A little bit showier than the Cos D'Estournel served next to it. Bottle #4 of six.
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Two hours decant. Cork broke apart. More fruit on the nose than pallet. Bright Dunn cherry with solid structure that is still in balance but probably not going to evolve much more. Went well with dinner but really showed it's stuff with the chocolate dessert.
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This wine is about as fully resolved as it's going to get. The fruit is lovely and fully into its secondary characteristics. It has all of the stout Dunn Howell structure, but it's not overpowering with tannin; something I braced myself for when I opened it. Truth be told the fruit is never going to outlive the backbone of this wine, but it is in pretty good balance right now and time to drink up IMO. This is just a very different animal from most Napa area Cabernets, my advice is to enjoy it for what it is instead of waiting for it to turn into something it's not. -R
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After a big struggle opening the bottle (the red capsule is a pain) and the cork breaking and having to filter.......the wine was excellent - but CLEARLY could have used 2-4 hours of prior decanting. The structure, and fruit were balance - very well rounded - a bit lacking on the complexity side - not quite unidimetional but on the simpler side.
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Took about 15 min to bloom. Plenty of youthful aspects with deep Howell Mtn fruit. Well-knit and mature in the sense that the loss of this fruit would make the wine lesser. Lots of stone and peat and mossy soil. Lovely textures and still a deep brooding presence. Great stuff.
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Uncorked DK does mature Napa Bdx blends (Peter Solberg): Very dark red. The somewhat shy nose reveals dark berries, shoe polish and licorice. In the mouth it appears a bit closed with quite a lot of acid and some green notes and a somewhat metallic touch across midpalate. With additional air it fleshes out and becomes much more welcoming, but never quite sheds the metallic touch. (U93,4)
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Decanted one hour. Dark, opaque purple in glass. Nose of blue fruits, eucalyptus, mint and pipe tobacco. Lush boysenberry and cassis on the palate, with mint and cedar and firm tannins. Medium finish. Lots of fruit waiting on the tannins.
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Drank at dinner with friends. Decanted one hour before dinner, clearly not long enough. Tasted again the next afternoon. Opaque maroon-garnet color. Dense. Nose of peat, smoked tobacco/cigar box, mineral-earth and some spice below & tart cherry woven through. Tannin level & astringency are still huge & I didn't discern enough fruit to outlast the tannins. Maybe it's there there but those blistering tannins mostly obscured what fruit remained. Lean palate & tart flavors dominated by still lashing tannins with some acidic cherry-plum, minerals. Dry finish; no surprise. Had to work to appreciate this, even for me who appreciates healthy tannin levels in cabs. A cab-hound friend with a highly educated palette [who hates jammy wines & should have loved this] found it too "sour" to drink. My middle-of-the-road wine friends poured it out. The next day this wine was marginally more approachable, emphasis on marginal. My own bottle & only warranted 87 pts. Might have been better a few years with more evident fruit to balance the tannins?
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Dunn Cabernet Vertical '87 - '90 Blindtasted (Palo Alto, California): Group's #6 (my #6) – 52 pts; 0, 1, 3, 2 – Slightly cloudy dark red violet color; herbal, minty cassis nose; starting to mature, tart plum, earth mineral palate with a touch of shitake mushroom, very tannic, and fruit not likely to outlive the tannins; medium finish 90+ pts.
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Howell Mountain Cabernet (One Particular House, Tustin, CA): Some people at the tasting seemed to really enjoy this wine, but it was a little past peak maturity for me. Nose of cedar and asparagus followed by cassis, dried cherries, and dried herbs on the palate. A touch of green pepper on the finish. Resolved tannins, soft texture, and very easy to drink. Best with food, preferably something salty to help bring out the fruit.
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Cali Cabs w/Bryans Steaks (The Shaffers): Opaque black color with some lightening. Medium tight black fruit nose with coffee hints. Very tight acidic tannin black fruit. Do these ever come around?
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High-end Cali Cabs with Bryan's Steaks (The Shaffer's): Dark ruby opaque color. Soft, yet complex nose of currants, cedar, herbs and vanilla. Lean palate has terrific complexity with earth, green pepper and herbs intermixed with red fruits. Crushing tannins on the mid-palate - and not enough fruit to compensate. Dry finish loses intensity.
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Had for Thanksgiving dinner after a wonderful fruit-forward Oregonian Pinot. Solid effort, just starting to open up after more than an hour in the decanter. Still has the tannic backbone to suggest more aging is appropriate. Some at our table described it more as a Bordeaux quality than a powerhouse Cabernet.
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VC's Third Annual Cult Smackdown (Sunnyvale, CA www.lionandcompass.com): Cannot give this a rating because it was opened from a 5 liter 2 days prior to the event. Medicinal taste with little fruit left. Not my cup of tea or wine. People who had it on Thursday said it was great on Thursday. Not so great on Sat night.
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VC's Third Annual Cult Smackdown (San Jose, California): First a disclaimer, the note below should not be seen as representative of the wine. This wine was part of a 5 liter that wes opened and mostly consumed two nights earlier. It was brought to this tasting because there was some left over. I was not part of the tasting when it was originally opened. So view this tasting note as an anomaly.
Served as part of a blind tasting at the Lion & Compass as part of the VC Third Annual Cali Cult Smackdown: my brief notes were: "smokey, peaty, dark tastes; liquid smoke like a single malt whiskey". If you took a single malt and colored it with purple dye, this is what it would be. A very unusual and unique wine experience. Completely different from the rest of the flight (which were from the 2002 vintage). Did not show badly, but did not show well in comparison to the younger and fruitier wines.
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This wine is ridiculously "young" at this stage. Decanted and drank over 5 hours with, as we had predicted, the last sip some 5+ hours after opening being the best. The nose right after opening was fruit filled, but the first taste found the wine to be in pieces, disjointed almost. Hints of berries, mineral and a bit rough tannins later turned into a very well integrated wine, though I think had we left it overnight it would have been even better. Maybe 12 hours in the decanter next time?
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Steaks done Manlin style (Issaquah, WA): Lots of charcoal on the nose. Mineral on the palate. Fairly savage tannins. I had a lovely bottle of this a couple of years earlier, but this one lived up to the reputation. Impressive but not entirely enjoyable.
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The cork broke apart, so I had some real concerns. Luckily, it didn't seem to affect the wine that much. The nose shows cedar, rosemary, balsamic, and blackberry. The palate is the highlight of the wine. I really like the oily roundness that it shows. It also shows tastes that follow the nose. The only hint to me that the wine might not be in perfect shape is that the finish is a touch short. Though this can be enjoyed now the finish still shows some aggressive tannins.
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Seattle Tasting Group does 1990 & older Bordeaux (Seattle, WA, USA): Jason snuck this in as a ringer, and it did fantastically well. The nose shows tons of primary pleasure with mint and cassis. On the palate this shows just awesome, crushing tannins, long and silky, very powerful. Despite the mouthful of structure this is sweet, pure and lush, and very pleasurable. I know that people are very critical whether these wines ever come around, so I was stunned at how delicious and approachable this was.
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1990 Tasting of 7 Cabernet Sauvignons, intense plum color in the glass, nice, rich dusty nose, hints of tobacco and cedar, very rich, sweet fruit, big intense wine and body, well balanced, maybe 3 years to its peak, nice finish. Tasted this wine 3/3/2012 which is 18 years later and gave it the same score. My #2 and Group #3.
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4/22/2024 - Wine Canuck wrote: 91 Points
[Tasted Double Blind] This pours medium to light ruby with touches of purple, no bricking. The nose shows cassis, blackberry liquor, vanilla, raw lumber, hazelnut, plum brandy, blueberry jam, charcoal, and violets. The palate shows plum on entry with quite a woody mid-palate. Tannin is medium plus and acid is medium. The finish replays the very youthful purple/blue/black fruit with some touches of oak. I guessed that this was a 2004 St Emilion due to the plummy youthful fruit and noted oak, but lower levels of extract. I was quite surprised on reveal at how youthful this was. I have to admit, given the label I would have had higher expectations for this wine.
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3/5/2024 - poppagene Likes this wine: 94 Points
After 34 since harvest, this wine is ready to enjoy.
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1/9/2024 - WoodieBayArea wrote: flawed
sorta had a debate with whether flawed or simply 100%, unapologeticly over the hill, the nose was pretty much nothing and the palate was like drinking water with some acidity and alcohol... I would describe it as "no -- meaning zero -- body"... oh well, still love old Dunn Howell from the 90's but this bottle went down the drain after two days of trying
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7/1/2023 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 89 Points
From Magnum with 2 hour advance decant. Although drinkable and clearly a Dunn Howell, there was something off about this bottle that no once could quite put their finger upon. Not too much brett. Definitely not TCA as the wine remain unchanged from first opening to final taste 7 hours later.
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5/27/2023 - mark2eye Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank from a magnum. Still plenty of life left. Took about an hour before it really started to show. Less fruit this time around with notes of soy sauce, brine, and olive. In a great drinking window with easily another 5-10 more years.
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3/23/2023 - mowtod Likes this wine: 81 Points
Still deep color. Min nose , but good food wine ,absent tannins, pleasant finish. Drink up
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12/26/2022 - woody0198 wrote: 92 Points
Shattered cork, but wine was okay if a little tired but still delicious.
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9/4/2022 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 95 Points
From Magnum. Slightly protruding cork that cracked the wax capsule spelled trouble, which was a false alarm. Red fruits dominated with a slight tangy element to them that makes this wine more interesting with black fruits, vanilla Oak and dried herbs following thereafter. Near silky smooth after an hour decant.
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12/15/2021 - sastewart wrote: 93 Points
Last of 6, opened 3 hours ahead. The nose has beautiful red and black fruits, earth and just a touch of green pepper to start. Medium bodied with enough tannin and acid to keep this drinking well for several more years. Very pure cassis, earth and tobacco carry the wine through a nice finish. Solid 93 points
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11/27/2021 - rustyRudy wrote: 98 Points
Fantastic
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11/27/2021 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Potentially the first “fully mature” bottle of Dunn I’ve had 😜👍🏻. Cork had me a touch nervous, but it opened up beautifully. All dusty cherry, tobacco and earth. Drink up
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8/12/2021 - Valaprop Likes this wine: 96 Points
Stunning. One of the finest mature California Cabernets I have enjoyed for many years. After an initial scare with the cork (and this being Dunn, we weren't expecting a smooth ride), my brilliant friend deployed The Durand and the cork emerged unscathed. Opened for about 90 minutes before dinner; not decanted; poured from bottle. The tannins were entirely resolved. Incredible concentration. Long finish. Just beautiful. Couldn't ask for anything more -- except another bottle, which I don't have.
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7/7/2021 - Genghis88 Likes this wine: 92 Points
@Ancora restaurant
Rich, rust red, full bodied wine.
Pencil lead. Roses. Some meat characteristics.
Delicious full bodied wine! Long finish. Touch of eucalyptus.
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7/1/2020 - WineGuyFL wrote:
Last bottle. The cork crumbled.....like it did to the last two bottles. However, those bottle were drinkable. This bottle was awful.....had to be tossed. I see some other cellartracker.com tasters have had cork problems with this wine. There are a lot of bottles left in the system…..might be a good idea to check a bottle out if you have not had one in a while
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4/30/2020 - mark2eye Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drank for 30th birthday. Our bottle was alive, well, and drinking beautifully. On the nose we got leather, tobacco, and sage. On the palate it's got tobacco, juicy red and blue fruit, cinnamon, and well integrated tannin. This wine strikes the perfect balance between jam and acid. Perfect drinking window now but can hold it's own for another 5 years.
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1/18/2020 - Peter Kleban Likes this wine:
** (except for the acidity, it would be three stars)
The top 3/4 of the cork was soft and crumbly, but an Ah-So loosened the sides so I could remove it with a corkscrew. The bottom held, so the cork come out cleanly.
Decanted about 90 min. This wasn't enough, see below.
Long, lovely black fruits melded into a harmonious flavor with great length. Marure and confident, this is a wine to relax and sooth you. The only downside was the acidity, this gradually decreased over the course of the meal, but never disappeared entirely.
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12/25/2019 - Nerdy Earth Boy Likes this wine: 93 Points
An impossible DRY cork that absolutely crumbled even with a wax seal. The CAB was rich and floral with a just a hint of juice, but not stunning like I had hoped. A perfect bottle for a wonderful evening. Great way to begin the 2020s looking back to 1990.
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8/24/2019 - Amerique wrote: 92 Points
Aged, balanced, faded fruit
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6/28/2019 - srh Likes this wine:
Friday Tasting Group: "Killer Bar" (#03 for me): "New World" Theme (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): N: Intensely SMOKY (imagine a tom-based BBQ sauce) aromas atop RIPE berries, poss pyrazines; [budosyu noted poss molasses, but oxidative scents that I didn't get.]
P: Med body; RNDISH entry with NICE, ALMOST swtish BBQ tom sauce frt met by astringent pucker which evolves into a LONG, very, VERY slightly bitterish finish with a TANGY/swtness to the dusty tannins. I'd probably cellar this thru '20, poss '21, then drink for the ff 3-4 yrs. 13.0% ABV; My EXC-/EXC. 96 pts WA, 95+ Galloni, 91 ea WS & Jeannie Cho Lee, and 90+ RJonWine.
Note: The consensus was that this had rec'd LESS than "ideal" storage.
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5/17/2019 - K-Web24 wrote: 88 Points
Deep purple color. Nose of pencil shavings, wet earth, black raspberry, and a slight hint of licorice. Muted black fruits on the palate with a touch of white pepper and dark chocolate. Slight acidic bite on the backside with drying tannins. Past its peak now in my opinion. Drink em if you got em!
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5/10/2019 - srh Likes this wine:
Friday Tasting Group: In HONOR of 1 of the Group's Mentors (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): N: RIPE berries with some earthiness & poss undertones of pyrazines? But, tough to parse; Intensity lurking!
P: Med body; NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by astringent pucker which fairly seamlessly transitions into a LONG, poss very, VERY slightly bitterish finish with a tangy/SWTNESS to the unoffensive, dusty tannins. Approachable now, but could CERTAINLY stand cellaring through '22, then making its 40th. 13% ABV; My EXC+/Exceptional-™. 96 pts WA, 95+ Galloni, 91 ea WS & Jeannie Cho Lee, and 90+ RJonWine. [Translates to 94-97 on the 100 pt scale.]
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1/26/2019 - Bob23 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted of dirt and smoke - fascinating old school Napa cab.
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12/12/2018 - essconsults Likes this wine: 91 Points
This wine is probably still young, but there is a bit of greenness and herbaceous that I think will stop it from becoming a top wine. To be frank I don't really love Dunn Howell Mountain despite its reputation. The wines of the 1970s from California are still unsurpassed IMHO so it could be the vintage.
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8/23/2018 - Quiet Lion wrote: 93 Points
Decanted and swrved. Surprisinhly high-toned and light-bodied although it kept putting on weight and improving over two hours. 1990 was an inconsistent year. I expected much more earthiness. Nevertheless I think this still has room for improvement.
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9/30/2017 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
In the bouquet cherries and chocolate like in cherry liquor bonbons. On the palate a beautifully and mature wine with ripe fruits like cassis, cinnamon, earth and autumn impressions. Mild and soft acidity and tannin. The wine will not improve anymore, but there is no extreme hurry either.
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9/18/2017 - We Can Share the Wine wrote: 90 Points
A bit tough on the nose and pallet initially. Beautiful as it opened
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5/16/2017 - Nanda wrote: 91 Points
Dunn Howell Mountain Vertical B-day Dinner (Maple & Ash): A gorgeous ethereal nose here with fantastic layering of rich cassis, cedar, herb, tobacco and pine notes. The palate is muted and lighter in intensity. 94 point nose. 88 point palate. Perhaps just an awkward phase.
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5/16/2017 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Dunn Howell Mountain vertical (Chicago, IL): The nose on this is explosive, with the fruit and dust seeming to jump out of the glass. Psmith described this "like Christmas: a nice combo of red and green". Indeed, the nose showed more towards the red fruit; this was a bit more delicate than the other wines; perhaps on the cusp of developing secondary characteristics.
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3/20/2017 - paulst Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tight and austere with tannins still integrating; cedar, blackberry and cherry; narrow abrasive finish with tartness.
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3/3/2017 - JGinMO wrote: 94 Points
This hit peak drinking about 60 mins after decanting, and started to fade after 2 hours. But peak was exceptional, still youthful, with Dunn flavors, balance, elegance.
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2/24/2017 - flwino wrote: 92 Points
Decanted one hour
Great nose. Good color. Araoma of solid fruit
Low tannins
Pleasant finish
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2/23/2017 - vinole wrote: 92 Points
Tasted after being decanted over 1 hr and was surprised how tight it still was. Was better after getting closer to 2 hours of air, but still had some assertive tannins and tasted youthful even at 27 years of age. A concentrated, brooding profile of very dark fruit that drinks well with around 2 hrs of air right now, and will hold for many more years as many Dunns do, so no rush on this.
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12/17/2016 - Leto South wrote: 94 Points
Crumbly cork. Dark, blackish red, very dense. Rim barely paling. Large bq w cassis, smoke, licorice, bay leaf, dried flowers, minerals. Full bodied, with (still!) almost aggressive tannins, prominent acidity, fruit w cassis, cherries, licorice. Very long, complex aftertaste w herbs and dark fruit. Despite its age, still a dark, brooding wine. Will doubtless last longer (but then, why let it?)
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11/16/2016 - NineteenEightyTwo Likes this wine: 96 Points
Even better than the last bottle. Dark crimson color. Potpourri, rose petals, mulberry, and shoe polish on the nose, which once again comes off as quite dark and brooding. On the palate this is vivacious, with tart nectarine flavors and a sweet hint of oak, as well as some stony nuances. The mouthfeel has an Old World elegance, with a Saint-Julien-like texture reminiscent of mid 1990's Leoville-Barton. The tannins on this are still tight and grainy despite this being halfway through its third decade in the bottle. My experience with this wine is that it lives forever in the good vintages, of which 1990 was undoubtedly one. I'll buy every bottle of this that I can find, as it will continue to evolve for a very long time.
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11/5/2016 - Vinophiliac559 wrote: 93 Points
A Matter of Taste (Meritage Resort & Spa Napa, CA): 92-93
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10/27/2016 - WoodieBayArea wrote:
had at Sierra Mar in Big Sur (Post Ranch Inn), was enjoyable with food, bit of a conuundrum as it was alternatively soft and then acidic / lifted, had plenty of darkish, forest, brooding palate flavors but from time to time was too soft and then later nicely acidic / tannic... good wine but I would drink up (my instinct)
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9/16/2016 - NineteenEightyTwo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opaque crimson color. Brooding nose of shoe polish, crushed violets, green bell pepper, black licorice, and ashtray. Made to smell this blind, I would swear up-and-down that it was Pauillac. The palate has plush dark fruit flavors and a few hints of cedar wood. This finishes moderately tannic, with reprise of the nose's licorice note. Structurally, this wine comes across as middle-aged despite being more than a quarter century old. There is sufficient tannic support to make me think this will continue to improve for 5-10 more years, though it may be enjoyed today.
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5/29/2016 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 89 Points
Good color, decanted 1 hr and still developed in the glass with significant tannins still present. Good flavor, hint of wet newspaper, OK finish. Wife says sell.
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4/12/2016 - phil the agony wrote: 94 Points
Hyper vegetal,piments confits sucrés,piment d'espelette.
Semble être encore très vert...une finale avec des fruits rouges bien confiturés et un peu de piments brûlés..
J'aurais Presque pu caller Rougeard à l'aveugle ! Une superbe longueur en bouche.
Un grand vin qui est sur un beau plateau.
18.5/20
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3/26/2016 - WineCellarTV Likes this wine: 91 Points
1990 Howell Mountain shines with velvet and focused aromatics of paprika, iodine, saltiness, some dark fruit and goji berries.
A little edgy and tight on the palate - and in this way in line with a recently tasted 1990 Napa Valley Cabernet – with black fruits, gooseberry, some green notes, spices and a mix of herbs.
Medium-long finish. Still, a beautiful wine of character, complexity and focus. Drink soon.
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1/24/2016 - paulst Likes this wine: 92 Points
Mature with integrated tannins; blackberry with a nicely textured finish.
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9/13/2015 - Bordeauxman wrote: 94 Points
Deep dark color. Wonderful nose of dark fruit and saddle leather. Long classic taste. This wine has plenty of life ahead of it.
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10/19/2014 - Ricky99 wrote: 95 Points
WOTN against 86, 86, 89 and 91
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6/30/2014 - kkleg wrote: 94 Points
- Garnet color - Cork crumbled with a regular corkscrew, but the ah-so came to the rescue. Decanted to remove sediment (there was quite a bit). Deep color, with no bricking. Dark fruit, leather, cedar, and graphite on the nose. Classic Bordeaux flavors on the palate, although this is clearly a Howell Mountain Cab. Tannins are still quite firm. One of the longest finishing wines I've had in a long time (2-3 minutes). Seems more like a ten year old wine than a twenty-four year old wine. It will hold for a decade or so, but I'm not sure it will improve. I always enjoy Dunn wines, and this one is no exception.
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3/14/2014 - jlgnml wrote:
Gave to Samantha at Next restaurant
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2/9/2014 - WineGuyFL wrote: 93 Points
Cork crumbled, but the wine was OK. No bricking. My back end drinking year is 2018.
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12/7/2013 - jinks Likes this wine: 85 Points
KW Epic tasting/ mens best bottle (KW): Tasted blind
blind notes - Thin in glass and on nose - lots of funk.
Some acidity mildly harsh. oxidized quite a bit, but still enjoyable.
Faded quickly.
I guessed it was an old cab, 1980's
This is done (dunn) - perhaps a somewhat flawed bottle
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10/27/2013 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Purchased at auction. The cork was pushed up about 1/8th of inch and had cracked the hard wax capsule. I was worried I acquired a cooked wine. After first opening, my fears seemed to be real as the nose has bit oxidation and the color had bricking and slight orange at the rim. But after 3 hours in a decatner it started to come to life and turned into a very nice wine, but I still couldn't help but feel we were not getting the best version of this wine. Sweet red and black fruits. A slight sour element to it. Long finish. Dunn makes a tough wine that can handle the heat, very impressed. I have other bottles of this wine that I'll open in the future given that it looks like a pristinely stored bottle of this wine should easily last to 2020.
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10/25/2013 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 92 Points
From Magnum - NOTE SAVED UNDER WRONG VINTAGE - The Note is for the '98. The cork was very soft and crumbly, but it was not soaked through. A modest film of sediment on only the shoulder of the bottle with no extra sediment. A real field blend of brussel sprouts, green peppers, and sage, but also some very sweet but not dense black fruits with hints of spice and a mouthfilling sweet Oak that is not overpowering. Could be the best '98 Napa I've had. It went over very well with the 8 I shared it with.
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8/25/2013 - Spook16 Likes this wine: 96 Points
I had such a great experience with this wine I had to make it my first public tasting note.
In a word, beautiful. Smooth and elegant.
The cork had rotted through, but it didn't spoil the wine. Cleaned it up and decanted for 3hours. Taste at the beginning, I didn't think it was going to need much of a decant, and it probably didn't, but reservations were a few hours a way. So in the end decanting didn't do much. Tannins were smooth. This is my first experience with an aged wine, most have been 10years or less.
The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow.
It tastes like Black Pepper, Cherry, and Plum. The body is Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Medium.
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7/22/2013 - skurtz Likes this wine:
This was an excellent, mellow and well integrated wine. Served at an Italian restaurant in North Jersey. Four out of five stars.
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5/19/2013 - M DU VIN wrote: 93 Points
Deep ruby wine with no hint of bricking. Lots of fruit and seems to have many years of life in front of it.
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4/20/2013 - Marc wrote: 97 Points
50/70 Celebration for Marc and Bud (Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand): Extraordinary wine that has oodles of class but also a personality of great distinction. Tasted next to the Napa bottling, the Howell Mountain came across as the younger wine by a significant margin but also the more refined in terms of tannic texture, complexity and clarity and brightness of the fruit. Noticeable VA may be a problem for some, but for me and my guests, this added a wonderful sense of lift to the wine, While the wine can be enjoyed now - I can only imagine great upside potential over the next one to two decades. Beautiful Napa fruit but with a brighter acid structure than the Napa bottling. Quote of the night: "This wine has legs. Not human legs, but rather the legs of a single cell amoeba that will develop these in about a billion years." I think she was referring to the thick, coating nature of the wine. Next in 2020 or 2025...
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4/5/2013 - walkerjfw wrote: 95 Points
Dinner at Chez Walker with Debbie/Doug/Rebecca/Kevin: Dinner party at our place with Debbie/Doug/Rebecca/Kevin...I had to match the generosity of our guest bringing a 1980 Opus. Thought it would be fun to drink this next to the Opus.
I decanted this for about 90 minutes before dinner. Medium-dark red color. Nose of red cherry, mint/eucalyptus. Mountain fruit is evident on the palate, bright and deep red fruits, cigar box, licorice on the finish. Finish was smooth, 30 seconds+. Drank this next to a 1980 Opus (see notes) and before a Foley 99 Claret, it was my clear WOTN
Dunn is a wine that seems to hit stride after 10 years, older version I have had always seem younger than their actual age - causing some reluctance to open these for fear its too soon. No one in this group thought the wine tasted 23 years old, if tasted blind I would have guessed 7-10.
This wine is in a beautiful spot right now. Fruit is great, elegant and fresh, all the secondary characteristics are there, great example of an aged, very well made Howell Mountain wine. Truthfully, its hard to tell how much it will improve. It will clearly last a long time. This may be one of those examples of the Sideways philosophy - "don't wait for a special day to open that bottle, it will be a special day when you open the wine"
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1/1/2013 - Bordeauxman wrote: 93 Points
No formal notes taken but we did serve blind. It was called as an OLD WORLD 10yr old cabernet... Decanted for an hour + andit was a great wine.
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12/9/2012 - jlgnml wrote: 90 Points
The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Blackberry, and Red Currant. It tastes like and Coffee. The body is Medium. The wine has Linear texture. The wine finishes Medium.
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10/31/2012 - BPidgeon wrote: 95 Points
Tasted along side a 1990 Beringer Private Reserve. While the Beringer was excellent in a soft round way, the Dunn still had ample tannin and fruit. Perfect to consume now but has at least another 5+ prime years.
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7/18/2012 - RussK wrote: 91 Points
RussK WW KenB at LaBro. My 3RD WOTN. Great nose. 91+
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5/31/2012 - rhanke wrote: 94 Points
this was wonderful. earthy and wonderful aroma
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4/28/2012 - jinks wrote: 91 Points
Epic KW Blind Tasting of 16 of the best wines in the world: 10/16. classic cali cab.
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3/3/2012 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 93 Points
This was drank as the final red wine of the night on my 39th anniversary, very rich, ripe, intense mountain cabernet fruit on the nose and palate, very rich and complete needs two more years to show its best. Touch hot on the nose, medium, long finish, very nice, typically Dunn, won't be much better as the fruit is not elgant or sophisticated, but enjoy as it is a great wine.
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2/28/2012 - Fatty Cat wrote: 92 Points
Late Feb 2012, Dunn tasting (with Randy Dunn present) at the Rheingau Gourmet Festival: bottle opened approx. 75 min. before tasting, bottle to decanter back to bottle decanted, 15 min. before consumption poured into the glass (sommelier information); crimson color; red berries and black currant; mild Cabernet sweetness on the palate; medium/full body; smooth texture. 91-92 points.
Very nice mature wine.
Flight II: 1998 - 1993 - 1990 - 1989 - 1984
Randy Dunn information: approx. 450 cases/year, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 80-85% Nevers oak
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2/28/2012 - mwanasheria wrote: 93 Points
Dunn Howell Mountain Tasting (Eltville, Germany): Still quite youthful and tannic. Core of cassis, black fruit, complex and long finish.
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2/18/2012 - bullmrkt wrote: 91 Points
Crimson color; minty casis, earthy, very olive nose and palate; while the fruit seems to be fading its well balanced now, the structure is clearly still there with tannins resolved and soft but very much detectable; slightly drying medium finish.
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8/8/2011 - Ricky99 wrote: 95 Points
just an absolute beauty
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7/23/2011 - phenricsson wrote: 95 Points
Finally. We have tried one bottle every year and always the answer is: "no, not ready to drink yet". But this time it was rich, sweet and elegant. Still quite structured but it does not hurt to drink it any more. Lovely!
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5/15/2011 - dcasper wrote: 91 Points
A little muted, but opened up after an hour or so. Great musty low-tide nose and a silky finish.
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5/1/2011 - Hodby wrote: 92 Points
Medium-dark ruby. Nose of red cherry, anise, bay leaf, camphor. Medium tannin, medium acidity; good balance. Flavors of herbal cherry fruit are lively and mouth-filling. Finishes very long and with sustained fruit. We just had to enjoy this again, the last was in such good shape. Bottle #5 of six.
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4/11/2011 - Hodby wrote: 92 Points
Medium-dark red. Nose of minty, red cherry fruit with anise. Medium tannin, medium acidty. Sturdy in the mouth, with acids that grew a bit stronger with three hours air. Good fruit carries straight through to the finish, a long finish that also highlights some green bean and cigar tobacco notes. A little bit showier than the Cos D'Estournel served next to it. Bottle #4 of six.
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2/14/2011 - oishii wrote: 93 Points
Two hours decant. Cork broke apart. More fruit on the nose than pallet. Bright Dunn cherry with solid structure that is still in balance but probably not going to evolve much more. Went well with dinner but really showed it's stuff with the chocolate dessert.
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9/22/2010 - RSLyss wrote: 93 Points
This wine is about as fully resolved as it's going to get. The fruit is lovely and fully into its secondary characteristics. It has all of the stout Dunn Howell structure, but it's not overpowering with tannin; something I braced myself for when I opened it. Truth be told the fruit is never going to outlive the backbone of this wine, but it is in pretty good balance right now and time to drink up IMO. This is just a very different animal from most Napa area Cabernets, my advice is to enjoy it for what it is instead of waiting for it to turn into something it's not.
-R
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5/23/2010 - uberoh wrote: 92 Points
After a big struggle opening the bottle (the red capsule is a pain) and the cork breaking and having to filter.......the wine was excellent - but CLEARLY could have used 2-4 hours of prior decanting. The structure, and fruit were balance - very well rounded - a bit lacking on the complexity side - not quite unidimetional but on the simpler side.
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4/14/2010 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Took about 15 min to bloom. Plenty of youthful aspects with deep Howell Mtn fruit. Well-knit and mature in the sense that the loss of this fruit would make the wine lesser. Lots of stone and peat and mossy soil. Lovely textures and still a deep brooding presence. Great stuff.
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11/27/2009 - gorm wrote: 94 Points
Uncorked DK does mature Napa Bdx blends (Peter Solberg): Very dark red. The somewhat shy nose reveals dark berries, shoe polish and licorice. In the mouth it appears a bit closed with quite a lot of acid and some green notes and a somewhat metallic touch across midpalate. With additional air it fleshes out and becomes much more welcoming, but never quite sheds the metallic touch. (U93,4)
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10/24/2009 - Fielding wrote: 92 Points
Decanted one hour. Dark, opaque purple in glass. Nose of blue fruits, eucalyptus, mint and pipe tobacco. Lush boysenberry and cassis on the palate, with mint and cedar and firm tannins. Medium finish. Lots of fruit waiting on the tannins.
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1/3/2009 - clava wrote: 87 Points
Drank at dinner with friends. Decanted one hour before dinner, clearly not long enough. Tasted again the next afternoon. Opaque maroon-garnet color. Dense. Nose of peat, smoked tobacco/cigar box, mineral-earth and some spice below & tart cherry woven through. Tannin level & astringency are still huge & I didn't discern enough fruit to outlast the tannins. Maybe it's there there but those blistering tannins mostly obscured what fruit remained. Lean palate & tart flavors dominated by still lashing tannins with some acidic cherry-plum, minerals. Dry finish; no surprise. Had to work to appreciate this, even for me who appreciates healthy tannin levels in cabs. A cab-hound friend with a highly educated palette [who hates jammy wines & should have loved this] found it too "sour" to drink. My middle-of-the-road wine friends poured it out. The next day this wine was marginally more approachable, emphasis on marginal. My own bottle & only warranted 87 pts. Might have been better a few years with more evident fruit to balance the tannins?
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10/9/2008 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Dunn Cabernet Vertical '87 - '90 Blindtasted (Palo Alto, California): Group's #6 (my #6) – 52 pts; 0, 1, 3, 2 – Slightly cloudy dark red violet color; herbal, minty cassis nose; starting to mature, tart plum, earth mineral palate with a touch of shitake mushroom, very tannic, and fruit not likely to outlive the tannins; medium finish 90+ pts.
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11/24/2007 - Paul Lin wrote: 86 Points
Howell Mountain Cabernet (One Particular House, Tustin, CA): Some people at the tasting seemed to really enjoy this wine, but it was a little past peak maturity for me. Nose of cedar and asparagus followed by cassis, dried cherries, and dried herbs on the palate. A touch of green pepper on the finish. Resolved tannins, soft texture, and very easy to drink. Best with food, preferably something salty to help bring out the fruit.
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8/26/2007 - M DU VIN wrote: 94 Points
I found this wine to be balanced and absolutely delicious. It is still young wid good, firm tannins and great fruit.
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4/14/2007 - winefool wrote: 90 Points
Cali Cabs w/Bryans Steaks (The Shaffers): Opaque black color with some lightening. Medium tight black fruit nose with coffee hints. Very tight acidic tannin black fruit. Do these ever come around?
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4/14/2007 - Nanda wrote: 90 Points
High-end Cali Cabs with Bryan's Steaks (The Shaffer's): Dark ruby opaque color. Soft, yet complex nose of currants, cedar, herbs and vanilla. Lean palate has terrific complexity with earth, green pepper and herbs intermixed with red fruits. Crushing tannins on the mid-palate - and not enough fruit to compensate. Dry finish loses intensity.
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11/23/2006 - wineislife wrote: 93 Points
Had for Thanksgiving dinner after a wonderful fruit-forward Oregonian Pinot. Solid effort, just starting to open up after more than an hour in the decanter. Still has the tannic backbone to suggest more aging is appropriate. Some at our table described it more as a Bordeaux quality than a powerhouse Cabernet.
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11/4/2006 - Winetex wrote:
VC's Third Annual Cult Smackdown (Sunnyvale, CA www.lionandcompass.com): Tasted single blind and it was clear what it was. No rating as this wine seemed DOA, flat, peaty and un-alive. It was part of a 5 litre that was opened two days previously and was much better at the time.
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11/4/2006 - hudamang wrote:
VC's Third Annual Cult Smackdown (Sunnyvale, CA www.lionandcompass.com): Cannot give this a rating because it was opened from a 5 liter 2 days prior to the event. Medicinal taste with little fruit left. Not my cup of tea or wine. People who had it on Thursday said it was great on Thursday. Not so great on Sat night.
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11/4/2006 - tanglenet wrote:
VC's Third Annual Cult Smackdown (San Jose, California): First a disclaimer, the note below should not be seen as representative of the wine. This wine was part of a 5 liter that wes opened and mostly consumed two nights earlier. It was brought to this tasting because there was some left over. I was not part of the tasting when it was originally opened. So view this tasting note as an anomaly.
Served as part of a blind tasting at the Lion & Compass as part of the VC Third Annual Cali Cult Smackdown: my brief notes were: "smokey, peaty, dark tastes; liquid smoke like a single malt whiskey". If you took a single malt and colored it with purple dye, this is what it would be. A very unusual and unique wine experience. Completely different from the rest of the flight (which were from the 2002 vintage). Did not show badly, but did not show well in comparison to the younger and fruitier wines.
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10/25/2006 - carls_wines wrote: 95 Points
This wine is ridiculously "young" at this stage. Decanted and drank over 5 hours with, as we had predicted, the last sip some 5+ hours after opening being the best. The nose right after opening was fruit filled, but the first taste found the wine to be in pieces, disjointed almost. Hints of berries, mineral and a bit rough tannins later turned into a very well integrated wine, though I think had we left it overnight it would have been even better. Maybe 12 hours in the decanter next time?
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6/17/2006 - Eric wrote: 89 Points
Steaks done Manlin style (Issaquah, WA): Lots of charcoal on the nose. Mineral on the palate. Fairly savage tannins. I had a lovely bottle of this a couple of years earlier, but this one lived up to the reputation. Impressive but not entirely enjoyable.
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3/31/2006 - Jason wrote: 92 Points
The cork broke apart, so I had some real concerns. Luckily, it didn't seem to affect the wine that much. The nose shows cedar, rosemary, balsamic, and blackberry. The palate is the highlight of the wine. I really like the oily roundness that it shows. It also shows tastes that follow the nose. The only hint to me that the wine might not be in perfect shape is that the finish is a touch short. Though this can be enjoyed now the finish still shows some aggressive tannins.
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3/12/2004 - Eric wrote: 95 Points
Seattle Tasting Group does 1990 & older Bordeaux (Seattle, WA, USA): Jason snuck this in as a ringer, and it did fantastically well. The nose shows tons of primary pleasure with mint and cassis. On the palate this shows just awesome, crushing tannins, long and silky, very powerful. Despite the mouthful of structure this is sweet, pure and lush, and very pleasurable. I know that people are very critical whether these wines ever come around, so I was stunned at how delicious and approachable this was.
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2/6/2004 - buckeye76 wrote: 94 Points
RICH BLACK CHERRIES, BLACKBERRIES, AND CURRANTS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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12/3/1997 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dunn, Caymus, and Chimney Rock tasting 1979 to 1990 (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Very lovely, smooth, briary taste with a hint of heat, very young but pleasant, lots of tannins, needs time, long, long finish, needs years to peak.
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8/1/1996 - buckeye76 wrote: 93 Points
VERY RICH YOUNG WINE. TOOK 30 MINUTES FOR NOSE TO OPEN. NEEDS TIME BUT STILL QUITE NICE NOW.
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2/16/1994 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 93 Points
1990 Tasting of 7 Cabernet Sauvignons, intense plum color in the glass, nice, rich dusty nose, hints of tobacco and cedar, very rich, sweet fruit, big intense wine and body, well balanced, maybe 3 years to its peak, nice finish. Tasted this wine 3/3/2012 which is 18 years later and gave it the same score. My #2 and Group #3.
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