1994 Dunn Howell Mountain

Had an impromptu get-together with a wine buddy tonight and we decided to bust this guy out! This is one of those bottles I’ve heard a lot about over my short time in wine and, getting it off of WineBid, I wasn’t quite sure how this particular bottle was going to be…

…well it was quite something! Cork came out beautifully with a durand and I decanted it to remove any sediment (of which there was very little, primarily a bit of powder at the very end). We started to drink it right away. Color was excellent, showing some light bricking on the edges but overall a deep, concentrated purple throughout the glass.

The initial nose hits like a train and had a bunch of cherry but quickly resolved into dark cherry and dark bramble fruit. All the aromas were quite concentrated, wafting easily through the nostrils and our brains. There was a strong brushstroke of floral violet floral notes, some mint, and light background tertiary hints of tobacco and cedar. As the glass sits for a while the fruit still holds its power, primarily as dark cherry and plum/plum skin, but the tertiary notes increased in balance with forest floor adding to the tobac/cedar and perhaps a twinge of funk that added nicely to the complexity.

Oak was more apparent on the tongue and there was quite a backing of minerality to the entire drink, ending with a fine acidity and a lengthy finish. The mouth waters at the end of this glass. With the powerful aromas and flavors the body was still only slightly the bigger side of medium, making a supremely drinkable wine for us. Tannins were silky and well integrated. Oddly enough we were getting a bit more red-berry type fruit on the lingering finish than we had anywhere else in the glass. There was also a touch of green on the very last sips of each glass but was not noticeable until then.

Overall this performed way beyond my expectations. I am not well versed in older Napa, even less so in higher altitude stuff. A couple weeks ago we opened a 2000 Leoville Barton that, while delicious, was quite a bit more tertiary and showing its age (fruit character had diminished, body was lighter too). I wouldn’t have wanted to drink that ‘00 LB much later than we did but I feel like this Dunn could continue for another 5 years or more if properly cellared. Kinda wish I had another bottle…