2009 Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Dunn's 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is loaded with blue and black fruit, grilled herbs, asphalt, melted road tar and smoke. A dark, juicy wine, the 2009 is surprisingly open for a young Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon. In this vintage, Dunn's Lake Vineyard, the last parcel on the property to ripen, accounts for nearly 50% of the blend. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2029. Randy Dunn's two 2009s are quite different from each other in this vintage, something that isn't always the case. That's good news for Dunn fans, as the 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the estate's few recent releases that won't take ages to be accessible. (12/ 2012)

Following the success of the 2008 vintage, which received off-the-charts praise from all the major critics, the 2009 Dunn Napa Valley Cabernet is now available. From Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "These are some of the most powerful, age worthy Cabernets being made in Napa Valley today. Dunn is very much an iconoclast who follows his own convictions. Picking is a bit earlier here than elsewhere throughout the valley. Dunn isn't too concerned if stems occasionally make it into the fermenter. A fervent advocate of lower-alcohol wines, Dunn makes no apologies for removing alcohol from his wines if they come in above 14%. Personally, that strikes me as a totally unnecessary intervention, but it's hard to argue with the quality of what is in the bottle, and ultimately that is what counts most. The Napa Valley bottling includes purchased fruit from the valley floor and is typically a slightly more accessible wine, while the Howell Mountain is a much tougher wine that typically demands 20 years to enter its early peak." (Antonio Galloni, 12/11)