The saturated black/purple-colored 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon possesses a promising yet backward nose of minerals, lead pencil, and blackberries/cassis. The wine was bottled in June, but it is showing no ill effects. This mammoth offering displays extraordinary concentration and purity, as well as a thick, unctuous texture with high tannin levels. It will evolve for 30-50 years. When will it reach its plateau of maturity? My best guess is 10-15 years ... minimum.1995 appears to be a fabulous vintage. I doubt there will be much difference in quality between the 1995s and Randy Dunn's spectacular 1994s.I have been buying Randy Dunn's wines since he first began producing them in 1979. I have worried about whether they ever become drinkable given their massive personalities and huge tannic structures. I am not sure I know the answer, but a blind tasting with my wine group in late September was a revelation since one of the group served over a dozen vintages of Dunn's Cabernet Sauvignons. What was so striking was that in the first flight, which included vintages from the early eighties, the wines were thought to be from the early nineties! Undoubtedly, these wines age at a glacial pace. While I have been consistently advising readers that they will last for 25-30 years, they may be 40-50 year wines, possibly needing 25-30 years just to reach their plateau of maturity! No vintage from the eighties or nineties was revealing much age. All the wines were relatively stunning in quality, with some of the lighter years, such as 1983 and 1988, surprisingly impressive, but not as phenomenal as Randy Dunn's greatest vintages (1982, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996). One of the interesting findings from this vertical tasting is that the fruit levels remain incredibly fresh and concentrated, yet the tannin levels do soften. Because the wine is sterile filtered, I am not sure it will ever develop aromatic complexity, but who really knows? The remarkable aspect is that at 15-18 years of age, the wine tastes as if it is only 3-5 years old. Furthermore, there are no signs of fruit degradation or oxidation, always positive attributes when measuring a wine's ageability.I saw a composite blend that will represent 75% of the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. It also appears to be a terrific wine from Dunn. Randy Dunn feels 1997 is one of the most successful vintages of the nineties, so fasten your seat belts!Tel. (707) 965-3642; Fax (707) 965-3805
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