Winemaker Notes
The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of Dunn's Howell Mountain fruit and a small quantity of valley floor fruit that they purchase. This valley floor fruit contributes to the wine's early approachability and soft tannic structure.
Blend: 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Bright and perfumed aromas of blackcurrants, blueberry bush, pencil shavings and dried herbs. The palate is full-bodied with seamlessly integrated tannins and bright acidity, giving notes of red currants, mocha and tobacco leaves. Very refined and pure, with a touch of class. It will age gracefully.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is based on 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in 72% new French oak. It has a vivid ruby plum hue as well as a great nose of cassis and framboise intermixed with sappy flowers, graphite, and some tobacco notes. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, with ripe tannins, and a great finish, it's a killer example of this cuvée.
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Vinous
Dunn’s 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) hits the palate with waves of inky dark fruit, mocha, leather and spice. This is an especially overt style for Dunn. Then again, the Napa Valley Cabernet is designed to offer more early approachability than the top wines here. All this needs is a bit of time in bottle for the French oak to integrate further. Readers will find a dense, almost shockingly rich wine from Randy and Mike Dunn. Hints of graphite, sage, menthol and licorice kick on the long, beautifully persistent finish. A dollop of Cabernet Franc adds aromatic presence, something Randy Dunn quietly did in this wine in the past. The Napa Valley Cabernet is mostly from the estate, with a bit of purchased fruit from sites in Yountville and Oakville.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Dunn's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon includes 23% Cabernet Franc. Sourced from Oak Knoll (45%), Howell Mountain (37%), Napa Valley (12%) and Yountville (6%), it was bottled in May 2024 after 30-plus months in 72% new French oak, and it offers up expressive aromas of cedar, cassis, blueberries, pine and sage. It's medium to full-bodied, silky textured and reasonably supple. Sure, it still shows some tannins on the finish, but this is one Dunn offering that seems almost approachable on release.
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Wine Spectator
An open-knit style, with punchy notes of red currant and black cherry preserves laced with an iris hint and backed by a licorice snap note on the finish. Drink now through 2035. 1,023 cases made.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.