Dunn, Howell Mountain, Cabernet Sauvignon 1981 (1.5L)
Into neck; one slightly torn label edge, one nicked label
Dunn Trivia:
Vintages 1979, 1980 and 1981 were made at Caymus Vineyards and then each year, trucked up to their property to age. In 1981 Dunn Vineyards was bonded as a commercial winery.
97 Points CellarTracker Member
It doesn't get much better than this...the best looking 40 yo cork I've seen (~2mm penetration, firm), easily removed by the sommelier with just an ah so.
Bouquet was spectacular, leaping out of the glass from the very first moment. No funk to blow off; ready to go. Aromas of tomato vine, crushed/stewed blue and black fruit. Palate brings all of the above, plus a cornucopia of herbs and loamy earth. Plenty of fruit, good acid and almost but not fully integrated tannin (might this be even better at 50?). Decanted and over the course of the 2.5 hour meal the nose became less elegant and more grounded. Maybe treat this a bit more delicately than we did.
The versatility of this wine was stunning...it worked perfectly from steak tartare to seared foie gras with duck neck confit, veal sweetbreads, lamb meatballs, and beef strip loin. By the end of the meal, there was more pronounced sweetness on the palate, with notes of cedar and humidor on the nose. (9/25/2021)
95 Points CellarTracker Member
What an outstanding wine! Perfect condition. High shoulder/bottom neck fill. Cork was wet most of the way through but firm and was extracted in tact with a Durand opener. Visually the wine looks early to mid-90's. Noticeable color loss on the rim with a very small clear rim and a moderate lavender ring. Decanted for 30 minutes and then consumed over a few hours. Sweet spice nose, blueberry, cherry. Good acidity, structure and finish still. The wine has a cool tone with blue fruit, mineral, cedar, mint. Each taste is different and well balanced. If well cared for, these still have life left in them. There is not enough wine like this left in Napa...or anywhere. (4/7/2020)
Couldn't load pickup availability
Mixed Format Shipping
- Only same formats can ship in same container (750ml with 750ml).
- Marie-Jeanne (2.5L), Jeroboam and larger format require manual shipping invoicing - INQUIRE for pre-purchase Quote
- Supplemental shipping charge may apply for mixed format orders after checkout.
- Best Practice: purchase in separate orders
Shipping Services Available
- Ground | ships Monday - Tuesday.
- 2DAY | ships Monday - Wednesday.
- Nextday | ships Monday-Thursday.
- Some Expedited Services are invoiced separately depending on destination.
- UPS pre-paid shipping rate good for 7 days. Pre-paid rates that ship after 7 days from purchase may be subject to supplemental charges and/or storage fees.
Most economical quantity to ship
- 6 standard bottles or 12 standard bottles
➡️ LEARN MORE
- PRE-ARRIVAL offers are products that we source from either our large network of North American private collections or our partnerships with European suppliers or Domaines.
- ESTIMATED TIME of ARRIVAL: Unless otherwise stated in the individual product page our Pre-Arrivals are estimated to land in Los Angeles within 30-50 days or so from upload date. Inquire for specific dates for the item you are interested in.
- BOTTLE CONDITIONS: as these are pre-arrivals our final label and ullage descriptions are not yet included. If you have concerns inquire and we will do our best to get answers.
- PRICES: published prices are commensurate with bottles in good condition for their kind and age. Most will be in "excellent" to "pristine" based on how we select wines to represent in our store.
- Custodial chain for our Pre-Arrival wines are temperature controlled professional logistics carriers, licensed or bonded warehouses.
- Pre-arrival wines not eligible for promotional shipping rates
- Pre-arrival wines not eligible for promotional discounting
- We will contact you when your order is ready to ship. You will also be notified via email when you will need to select a shipping date. Shipping will be FOB Chapter 4 Venice, CA.
- ALL SALES FINAL
- NON-REFUNDABLE
- We reserve the right to cancel and refund in full any pre-arrival order at any time for any reason.
