1991 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

It all comes together in the 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. A huge, powerful wine, the 1991 is beautifully expressive today. An exotic melange of dark red/blackish fruit melds into smoke, incense and spices as the wine opens up. Air softens some of the contours nicely, making the 1991 hugely appealing today. This is a very pretty Cabernet Sauvignon to drink over the near and medium-term.

The 1991 Howell Mountain Cabernet is noticeably thicker and more highly extracted than the 1992 and 1993 vintages. It is a huge, rich, powerful wine with great depth, as well as a boat-load of tannin. Do not touch a bottle for at least 5-6 years. Having closely followed Dunn's Cabernet Sauvignons since the debut 1979 vintage, it is remarkable how consistent these wines have been. Dunn's great early successes, especially the 1982s, were followed by a succession of rich, tannic wines in 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1987, two tough years in 1988 and 1989, and, as with most northern California wineries, an unprecedented run of great years starting in 1990. The wines are always impressive for their strength, massive body, and highly extracted blackcurrant fruit. Dunn, who believes in filtering but not fining, tends to use the former technique as a way of bringing a measure of refinement to the brute strength and power his wines possess. It is too early to say, but if there is any weakness to Dunn's Cabernets it would be the surprising lack of bottle bouquet. Dunn vehemently believes that filtration has nothing to do with this, and that it is only a matter of time before his Cabernets exhibit more aromatic evolution. Despite his success, Dunn has kept his operation modest in size. Approximately 5,000 cases are produced and this is generally evenly split between the Napa and Howell Mountain bottlings. The two cuvees are similar in personality and quality, with the Napa sometimes revealing less astringent tannin. However, blind tastings reveal both wines to have similar aromatic and flavor profiles. Of these three vintages, the 1992 appears to be the greatest recent vintage for Dunn, rivaling what he achieved in 1990, 1984, and 1982. The 1991s are backward and tannic, but frightfully powerful and highly extracted. The 1993s appear slightly lighter by Dunn's standards. That is not to say they will be wimpish wines as they are rich and concentrated. Dunn remains one of California's superstar Cabernet Sauvignon producers, yet it is interesting to note that many other top producers appear to be getting more integrated tannin and bottle bouquet at an earlier age. With Dunn's wines, it is just a question of waiting 15 or more years for the bottle bouquet to develop. Tel. (707) 965-3642; Fax (707) 965-3805