United States · California

Dunn

Dunn Vineyards is one of the defining estates of Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, founded by Randy Dunn in 1979 after his tenure as winemaker at Caymus. The estate produces two wines: a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and a Napa Valley Cabernet, both distinguished by extreme longevity and resolutely austere, tannic style. The Howell Mountain bottling, grown from old volcanic ash soils at 1,800–2,200 feet elevation, typically requires 10–15 years before showing its character — black cherry, iron, graphite, and dried herbs resolving into silky complexity. Parker awarded the 1985 Howell Mountain 100 points retroactively, and multiple vintages from the late 1980s and 1990s — 1987, 1990, 1994 — score 96–98 points after extended cellaring. At auction, Dunn trades at $162 average across 737 lots with a ceiling exceeding $2,000 for large-format or multi-bottle older lots. The Napa Valley bottling averages somewhat less than the Howell Mountain but offers similar structure at a lower price point. Annual production across both wines is small — typically 3,500–4,500 cases total — keeping Dunn firmly in the tightly allocated, cellar-worthy tier of Napa collectibles. Few California Cabernets have matched Dunn's 35-year track record of exceptional ageability, and the estate's intentional resistance to modern stylistic pressure — no new oak dominance, no destemming for softness — has given it a unique identity.