Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

With the remote family in from both coasts for a wedding and a funeral this week, we're having some fun pulling from the cellar different labels from producers that we have visited together during various trips to Napa Valley. This Napa Cab is from legendary producer Randy Dunn whom we visited together with Sister Jan and Bro-in-law Bill during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience back in 2008. We were hosted by Kristina Dunn that day but we had the privilege to meet winemaker, producer, patriarch and Napa Valley pioneer Randy Dunn. 

Randy started his wine career working for Charlie Wagner as the first enologist for Caymus. He was  instrumental in establishing Howell Mountain as a sub-AVA of Napa Valley. He is hands on from the vineyards to the cellars.

While not one of the larger holdings in our cellar in terms of number of bottles, it may be one of our broadest holdings in terms of number of vintages in our vertical collection of this label, and the flagship premium label Dunn Howell Mtn Cab.  We also collect Randy Dunn's "Feather" label that he produces for the Long Shadows Vintners Collection Series in Washington State.

Our Cellartracker records indicate we have a vertical collection of several mixed cases of each label from almost two dozen vintages dating back to 1981. 

Selections from Vertical Collection of Dunn Napa Valley Cabernets

This label release got 90 points from Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar. It has a Cellartracker average rating of 92.1 from 81 user reviews. I acquired this ten years ago when it was already ten years of age.  

With Randy Dunn at Dunn estate high atop Howell Mountain.

Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

Dunn is known for age-worthy Napa Cabernets, especially the premium Howell Mtn label. At 21 years, this label is still holding its own although past both its prime and projected drinking windows. While at this stage, many wines lose their fruit flavors to non-fruit tones, the fruits in this bottle are still holding their own, while also showing pronounced complementary and tertiary flavor tones.

We hold another bottle of this release and we'll note it needs to be consumed in the next year or so before it begins to diminish beyond enjoyable drinking. 

This was garnet colored, medium-full bodied, muscular, full forward rustic blackberry and black cherry fruits with notes of tobacco, graphite, leather and expresso, moderate acidity with firm lingering tannins on the long finish. 

I had trouble characterizing an underlying lingering flavor in the profile - Wine Spectator mentions mineral, iodine and dill - Tanzer speaks of raw meat ... 

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=7962

http://www.dunnvineyards.com/

@dunn_vineyards 

 The following evening we did a gala beefsteak dinner and opened another Dunn Cabernet, Howell Mountain 1987.