2002 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
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Tasting notes
Bright, dark red; not hugely saturated. Briary blueberry, black raspberry, menthol, bitter chocolate and herbs on the nose, with a warmer note of strawberry liqueur emerging with air. Very dense, thick and sweet; the most liqueur-like Dunn Howell Mountain to this point, reflecting the wine's highest alcohol to date. With its rich, deep flavors of plum, raspberry, tobacco and toffee, this is the most Pomerol-like of these vintages, finishing very long, with broad, substantial, palate-saturating tannins but no hard edges. Approachable now owing to its sweet, smooth tannins but dense enough to go on for another 15 to 20 years in bottle. In its flesh and palate presence this is very much a creature of its vintage. My original note on this wine says that Randy Dunn increased his percentage of new oak from 50% to 67% with this vintage, and that may partly explain the wine's sweetness. I suspect Dunn views this vintage as an outlier. (13.8% alcohol)
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
I liked the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain slightly more when I tasted it from barrel. It appears to be fully mature, which is atypical of Dunn Cabernet Sauvignons. I even purchased another bottle at a local wine shop in St. Helena, and it was no different. As a huge fan of Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, I have reviewed over two dozen with many meriting ratings in the high nineties. The 2002 exhibits a deep ruby/purple color, medium body, and a shallow, superficial style without the concentration and intensity one would expect from this producer. It needs to be consumed over the next 5-10 years. (Amazingly, I recently had a bottle of the 1982 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, which tastes younger than the 2002. Go figure?) Tel. (707) 965-3642; Fax (707) 965-3805
Looks pretty old. Strange note of chlorine on the nose. Or is this Michael Broadbent's 'oyster shells'? Drying out on the palate. At least the wine is distinctive but perhaps not in the ideal way... Blind guess: mountain. Revealed location: mountain. (JR)
Bright, saturated ruby-red. Vibrant nose offers cassis, minerals, gunpowder and spices. Densely packed but nicely delineated, with primary, fruit-driven flavors of blackcurrant and spices. Very juicy and suave but still quite youthfully unevolved. Finishes with firm but smooth tannins. This calls for considerably more patience than the Napa Valley bottling, but even today there's a pleasing pliancy of texture. This held up extremely well in the recorked bottle.