48 Hours: Randy Dunn of Dunn Vineyards

Editors Note- The following is an installment in our weekend series 48 hours

California Cabernet has taken on a reputation as a luxury good. But not long ago it was just a grape that made fermented grape juice. Life sure used to be simpler.

California wine country has apparently been overrun by people with too much money and little common sense. Poseurs in pick-up trucks.  Randy Dunn of Dunn Vineyards is not one of them.

Dunn established his reputation at the Caymus Winery from 1975 to 1985, where his Cabernet Sauvignons became the high water mark for the industry. Caymus Special Selection, in fact, earned the distinction of California’s most expensive wine and is on most critical reviewers’ list of top ten Napa wines.

Randy Dunn is a no-nonsense wine maker who doesn’t cotton to the pretensions so often encountered in the business. He lives with his wife, Lori, next to the winery on Howell Mountain. There are no road signs; no retail sales. And don’t look for him in a Valley tour guide. No time for that, as Randy spends his quiet hours making those wonderful heirloom wines. Long Shadows

His estate wines from Howell Mountain are a throw back to to days when Napa Cabs maintained a leaner, less manipulated style. These are still big wines, no doubt about it. But there is no mistaking them for the oaky, over-extracted wines that characterize far too many California cabernets these days. Dunn also bottles a “Napa” version that includes grapes he purchases from the valley floor.

Do yourself a favor and try one, preferably with a porterhouse.  You will have good company. Joe Montana is said to be Dunn’s biggest fan.

Dunn’s wines have treated us well over the years. You can go here and find them trading in a very liquid market.

But be careful, these wines will stain your teeth red.  We have included tasting notes below…

1997 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Howell Mountain
Saturated ruby. Vibrant aromas of spicy blackberry, cassis, espresso and bitter chocolate. Dense, thick, lush and sweet; this is more like it. Extremely primary but pliant and accessible. Lush, fine tannins build with aeration and saturate the palate. A second component: Licorice and black raspberry on the nose. Sappy, sweet black cherry flavor. Thoroughly ripe, sweet tannins.

1996 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Howell Mountain
Very primary aromas of black fruits, minerals, mint and tar. Very concentrated, cool and bright on the palate, with sharply delineated but youthfully tough flavors of black cherry, dark berries, licorice and cinnamon. Very long, ripely tannic finish throws off notes of spicy oak and eucalyptus. This powerfully extracted wine’s robust structure calls for extended bottle aging.

1987 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Howell Mountain
Blackberry, cassis, cracked pepper, minerals, maple syrup and tar on the nose. Smooth but powerful in the mouth, with dark berry and mineral flavors enlivened by excellent vinosity. A dense, highly aromatic wine with terrific verve. Finishes with powerful but sweet tannins and palate-staining dark berry flavors.

2001 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Napa Valley
Deep ruby-red. Vibrant aromas of cassis, black cherry, licorice and violet. Juicy, supple and sweet, with an intense cassis and tart red berry fruitiness complicated by cocoa powder, licorice, fresh herbs and tree bark. Bright acids give this highly concentrated, very pure cabernet a lovely light touch. Finishes with firm but suave tannins and excellent length.

1995 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Napa Valley
Dark ruby-red. Wild, perfumed aromas of cassis, blackberry, minerals, tobacco, iron and mocha. Juicy, very intensely flavored and sharply delineated, but tightly wound; flavors of raw dark berries and licorice in the middle palate. Strong framing acidity gives the fruit a juicy quality. Finishes firmly tannic and long, with the notes of mocha and iron repeating.

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