Vintage Dunn Napa Cab at Family Reunion Dinner

Vintage Dunn Napa Cab at Family Reunion Dinner 

Sister Jan and nieces Krysta and Jenna visited from Southern California for a holiday visit and mini-family reunion as part of Krysta traveling to the time zone for a wedding. 

Braving the cumulative seventeen inches of recent snowfall and single digit temperatures, we used the occasion to bring the kids/cousins together for a gala mini family reunion dinner.  

Linda prepared hearty comfort food including Sharko’s Beef Brisket, Mac-n-Cheese, Baked Beans and Scalloped Potatoes.

I pulled from the cellar some special, vintage aged wines from producers that we have visited together in Napa Valley over the years. 

We turned to another iconic producer and label of which we also have a long history, including estate visits with Sister Jan and Bro-in-law Bill. These visits prompted them to serve these wines at daughter Krysta’s wedding celebration - featured in these pages in this blogpost -  Diamond Creek, Dunn, Craig Napa Big Reds Highlight Gala Wedding Celebration Dinner.

Dunn Family Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

This Napa Cab is from legendary producer Randy Dunn. We visited theDunn Family Vineyards estate and vineyards during our Napa 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. 

We have been collecting their wines since the early ‘80’s  and hold two dozen vintages of this label spanning three decades. 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.

This is the Dunn's standard Napa Valley bottling which is supposedly more 'accessible' earlier on than their legendary Howell Mountain bottling. This is 85% estate Howell Mountain fruit, but blended with 15% Napa fruit for earlier drinking. 

Randy Dunn wines are notable for their long lives and this is certainly testament to that. At 13.8% alcohol, this is an old school style Cabernet. This was showing no signs of diminution from aging whatsoever. 

At twenty-four years, the label, foil and most importantly, the fill level were as to be expected for the age. The cork was intact but came upon upon opening, even when using an ahso - two pronged wine extractor. 

This was drinking very nicely, holding on at two decades, still very much within its prime drinking window, surely able to hold for a few more years.

This vintage release was rated  93 points by International Wine Cellar, 91 points by Connoisseurs Guide and 90 points by Wine Advocate.

Randy Dunn increased his percentage of new oak to 100% with this vintage.

Winemaker Notes -  “The Napa Valley wines are a blend of the Howell Mountain fruit from the estate and a small quantity of valley floor fruit that the winery purchased. This valley floor fruit contributes to the wine’s earlier approachability and softer tannic structure. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 32 months in 100% new French oak.”

Bright, dark ruby colored, full bodied, vibrant rich concentrated but elegant and balanced ripe black currant fruits with notes of cassis, mocha, licorice, tobacco, fresh herbs and graphite with a long lingering finish with full smooth palate-saturating tannins. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=22076

https://www.dunnvineyards.com/

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