Alex Lallos, JJ Buckley, August 2011

Deep red color with a medium blood red rim. Aromas of sea breeze, bright red cherry, ripe boysenberry, and leather. Supple and soft on the palate with fine grained tannins in beautiful balance. The wine has evolved nicely over the past 9 years and I suspect a further 10-20 years of development is not a stretch in the least bit.

89 points,

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, June 2012

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?)

93 points,

Stephen Tanzer's IWC, February 2006

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. 93 points

91 points,

Wine Spectator, July 2012

Notably elegant and refined, this shows good density. The core of mixed flavors includes dried currant, savory herb, cedar and mineral. Firm in body and tannins, ending with a cigar box-cedar-tobacco allure.-2002 California Cabernet blind retrospective (May 2012). Drink now through 2018. 4,600 cases made. -JL

About Winery

Randy Dunn is a celebrated maker of heirloom California Cabernets.  Dunn began his career with Caymus Winery where he produced some of Caymus' most distinguished Cabernets. He purchased his own land in Howell Mountain in 1979 and he currently produces about 5,000 cases of his Howell Mountain Cabernets. They also produce a second label from the surrounding Napa Valley appellations and he acquires the grapes for this wine from John Caldwell's vineyard. Dunn devotes himself to his property and to the Dunn label but still remains one of the valley's most esteemed consultants.  He has been extremely influential on the stylistic development of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

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