2011 Dunn cabs. Pobega'd and filtered /not filtered.

WINE TALK
1

Received the 2011 Dunn Nappa and Howell Mountain last week, and decided to follow the example of Mr. Pobega and kill one of each.

Since we have had some filtering debate here, of late, we also filtered half of each bottle and compared…

2011 Napa: The winner right after “pop and pour.” Tremendous structure and restrained fruit. One of those “iron fist in a velvet glove” kind of cabs - by which I mean that all the classic cabernet flavor was there, but not fruit forward at all. It had depth of flavor and a tight (no d’uh) over-all presentation that remained through the evening. Opened way too early, of course, but tasting a Dunn wine early makes for good future fun when tasting it again in 20 years. This style of wine is right up my alley, but others may opine its lack of “smoothness” or “mellowness.” It tasted “authoritative.” Compared to many other new style cabernets, an analogy might be that newer style wines are like a Cadillac or Lincoln, and this is like a Lotus.

Sorry for the silly vocabulary.

2011 Howell Mountain: In a close race through the night, the Howell Mountain, I think, ended up the winner. It actually evolved more in the decanter than the Napa, with more vanilla and oak tones. I would call it the ‘softer’ of the two. No, that’s crazy talk, not ‘softer,’ but it’s (pardon the term) massiveness integrated with the wood notes really nicely through the night. The fruit and wood worked very well together.

Both wines are going to be great in the long haul!

As for the filter debate - we used a paper coffee filter, about 20 micron, and the wine did not change in appearance after filtering vs. not filtered. No residual on the filter - and nobody was able to discern a difference between the filtered and unfiltered wines. No “stripping of the fruit” and no accumulation of all the fruitiness in the filters.

No noticeable difference between filtered vs. unfiltered over the course of about 4 hours.

For these wines, I’d say “no difference,” and no significant residue in the filters, either.

As to value: These wine offer tremendous QPR for how great they are. If you are a fan of “structure,” perhaps one of the AFWE, these wines are the epitome of what I hope for in Cali cabs.

2

I opened an '05 Napa Valley this weekend, even though Marshall Gelb will yell at me for opening the Dunn too soon, and it was KILLING! Absolutely gorgeous nose, one that I’d gladly just smell all night, and not even take a sip. Many might prefer Dunn in a more advanced stage, but for me, it was in the perfect spot.

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Nice job, Anton. Interesting data points on a strong wine in a less than strong vintage. But then again, it is Howell Mountain (at least one of them).

4

You are an inspiration.

If you ever hit the Chico area, we will pop of bottle of our freshest wine for you!

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and me a 1986 Napa Valley at the weekend. After thinking on the evening that it was a little past peak, the remnants surprised after arguably tasting better the next day despite sitting in an open decanter overnight. The nose was certainly more expressive.

Quite a journey that bottle had made, as I drank it in UK, but bought it in Italy - quite what they were doing with that bottle I have no idea.

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Funny thing, I was strolling through Total Wine and stumble across the '11 Dunn Napa and snickered to myself “see you in 2031.” Didn’t purchase, but now reconsidering.

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Out of curiosity, how did you get the cork through the wax capsule on the Howell mountain? I’ve failed on multiple bottles. Chipping the wax is futile, and sticking the corkscrew through has always ended up with the cork in fragments…

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I go outside and put the corkscrew through the wax, then blow on it as I pull the cork. ( I also use a “waiter’s friend” corkscrew that chips the wax where the lever pushes on the rim of the bottle to get things started.)

Then, right before the cork comes out, I give a good round of blowing on it and flick off any loose wax.

I used to try to ‘pre-scrape’ the wax, but always got leftover wax. With the above method, I am very happy!

I guess our guests just have to be comfortable with me blowing on the bottle as I open it!

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I have an '87 and an’88 Howell Mountain. Might be time to check in on them.

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Silly price for the 11 HM on WHWC.com

40% off. Flyer just went out

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Video of Kristina dunn showing how they deal with the wax

As for the 2011s, I believe 100% of the napa was from HM this year. That is a year by year decision based on yield

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I heard (I think from Kristina Dunn at the Taste of Howell Mtn event?) that the '11 Napa is sourced from neighboring vineyards on Howell Mountain.

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I have a 1988 Napa that I promised to share with Mr. Daner the next time he visits. I’ll invite some other folks, too.

14

Damn!

Gone already.

I would’ve liked to grab that Dominus, too! Oh, well.

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Anton- sorry, I posted a separate thread on the sale. Knew it would go fast.

Merrill- is that an 88 Heitz or Dunn ? [img]. We’re eying first week of November if we can pull it off.

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1988 Dunn Napa. It is in one of my cellar units with a light blue sticky note on it that says Fred Daner. So it must be true.