1985 Dunn, Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain, Bottle (750ml) [Slightly Cracked Wax Capsule]

AG97 "I went through my Dunn phase 6-7 years ago, just when we were getting Vinous started. I tasted the wines often, bought maybe more than I should have for my own cellar, and really tried to get inside these powerful mountain Cabernets. A recent bottle of the 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain took me back to those days. I don’t know why – I have had the 1985 a number of times – and yet I was shocked by its concentration, its aromatic intensity, and its sheer youthfulness. Dark, deep and beautifully resonant, but not at all heavy, the 1985 still possesses extraordinary richness while remaining very much classic in feel. Graphite, cured meats, smoke, licorice, incense and grilled herbs add tons of Howell Mountain savoriness. Dunn sourced fruit from four vineyards for the 1985: Trailer, Harry Frank, Beatty Ranch and La Jota. The 1985 spent 30 months in French oak. Production was 3,000 cases. Readers lucky enough to own it can look forward to another 15-20 years of glorious drinking. What a wine!" AG for VM Sep 2019

Robert Parker writes, "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.
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." Published: Dec 22, 1994