1998 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
Ironically, the 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain from a much weaker vintage than 1997 on paper, is a much more interesting wine. Huge and explosive on the palate, the 1998 boasts serious depth and concentration. Iron, smoke, anise and dark red/blackish fruit all swirl around in the glass in a striking, nuanced Cabernet that is among the wines of the year in Napa Valley. If there is a dark horse in this tasting, the 1998 is it. Beautiful.
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Robert Parker
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
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Dunn's normal policy is to select the Napa Cabernet Sauvignon from his barrels right before bottling. Hence what I tasted was a trial blend of this wine. This year produced extremely small crops characterized by extremely cool growing seasons as well as unusually late harvests. Randy Dunn dropped 40% of his crop in 1998 in order to attain ripeness. Consequently, this wine does not possess the herbaceousness or weediness found in many 1998 Howell Mountain Cabernets. The wine reveals plenty of sweet black currant fruit infused with minerals. While light, it is a successful effort. It may last only 20-25 years, rather than fifty! The 1998 displays excellent intensity along with pure black currant/cassis notes intermixed with earth, spice, and smoke. Tel. (707) 965-3642; fax (707) 965-3805
The 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is another fine choice for drinking today. It is a touch slender relative to the other wines in this tasting, a reflection of a year marked by cold weather and rain that required dropping nearly half the crop to get the fruit ripe. Dried herbs, flowers and mocha open in the bouquet in this especially aromatic, mid-weight Cabernet Sauvignon from Dunn. All things considered, the 1998 has aged impeccably.