2018 Dunn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Region | |
| Appellation | |
| Winery | |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Grape | |
| Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (14%) |
| Drink window | 2025 - 2045 |
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Description
The Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a beauty. What a wine. It shows off enormous richness, power and depth. Fluffy dark fruit, grit, dried herbs and spices. Well endowed, with waves of lightly warmed plum sauce, blackberry preserves and molten black licorice framed by a toasted applewood note. Bay leaf aromas add an appealing range to the muscular finish. Give it a few years to melt away the baby fat and this is an impressive wine that will be drinking beautifully around 2023/2024, but can certainly cellar for 15 years. The Dunn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that has been matured for 32 months in 100% new French oak.
Antonio Galloni writes about the 2018 Dunn Cabernets: "The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a gorgeous wine, especially for Dunn fans who want a wine to drink that won't take forever to come around."
FACT: The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you come to pick up the wine you will also receive a nice discount. You will see your discount immediately when you choose Pick up in Checkout page. We are located almost next to the Rijksweg with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.
Nothing is easygoing about Randy Dunn's Cabernets, whether it's the dense red wax atop the bottle you need to soften to access the cork, or the uncompromising style that has become his trademark. … The quietly fierce nature of Dunn's wines has never been for all comers. But Dunn has always prided himself on being different.
— JON BONNÉ
“Randy Dunn's Cabernet Crusade,” SF Gate
The mountain really determined the style of the wine. It became obvious right away that the grapes up here were much more powerful than down on the valley floor. I just made the wine itself the same way we did at Caymus, it just was a more tannic wine due to the place.
— RANDY DUNN
Specifications
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Region | Californie |
| Appellation | Napa Valley |
| Winery | Dunn |
| Grape | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Drinking as of | 2025 |
| Drinking till | 2045 |
| Alcohol % | 14 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Parker rating | 94 |
| Vinous rating | 94 |
| Tasting Profiles | Complex, Donker fruit, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Tannines, Vol |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe |
Professional Reviews
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP 94
Reviewed by:
Joe Czerwinski
Release Price:
$90
Drink Date:
2025 - 2040
Dunn's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon shows terrific purity and focus in its aromas of cassis and pencil shavings and on the medium to full-bodied palate, where it's streamlined and smooth. There's intensity and concentration, but they sort of slide past almost unnoticed, lubricated by fine-grained tannins and lingering notes of cassis and graphite on the finish.
Somehow, Dunn fell off the radar of my predecessor after the 2015 vintage. While I didn't have time to backtrack through all of the missed years, I was able to taste the 2017s and 2018s during my visit to the family compound on Howell Mountain. Mike Dunn has taken over most of the winemaking responsibilities from his stepfather, Randy Dunn, but Randy is still around and constantly tinkering. "I end up spending a lot of my time in the barn, fixing stuff," he said.
Randy got his start as a crush hand at Caymus, working for Chuck Wagner in 1975. "I learned a lot at Caymus," he said. "At the time, they had a German winemaker who specialized in Riesling. He didn't know much about red winemaking." Dunn's first vintage under his own label was in 1979—the first few vintages were bottled at Caymus—and in 1985 he left to devote his full time to Dunn.
Back in 1982, Randy purchased bulk wine for his first Napa Valley bottling, "I paid $12.50 per gallon and sold it for $12.50 per bottle," said Dunn. But the supply of good bulk wine dried up around 1990, and he started to purchase grapes.
Mike Dunn describes himself as a bicycle geek rather than a wine nerd, but he came back to help Randy with the wine business in 1999, after his sister, Jennifer Dunn, died of bacterial meningitis while attending Chico State. Younger sister, Kristina Dunn-Buchanan, helps manage the office and hospitality side of things.
These remain stubbornly backward, classic renderings of Napa Cabernet, always reined in—sometimes through the use of technology—and always age-worthy, starting to really show their true value after a decade (sometimes more) of aging. I still have the 1996s, bought to commemorate our oldest son's birth year, hidden away in my cellar, with no worries about how they're developing.
Published: May 31, 2022
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Wine Spectator
Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018
Well-endowed, with waves of lightly warmed plum sauce, blackberry preserves and melted black licorice framed by a roasted apple wood note. Flashes of sassafras and sweet bay leaf add alluring range through the muscular finish. Best from 2023 through 2035. 1,814 cases made.
James Molesworth - Senior Editor and Special Projects Director, New York
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
94
Drinking Window
2026 - 2038
From: The 2019 Napa Valley Cabernets: A Deep Dive (Jan 2022)
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a gorgeous wine, especially for Dunn fans who want a wine to drink that won't take forever to come around. Dark and savory, with terrific depth, the 2018 is full of character. Black cherry, lavender, chocolate, sage, mint and cloves all open in the glass. The 2018 has just enough grip to have a good amount of classic structure, but not to the point of being forbidding. The Napa Cabernet is about 55% Howell Mountain and 45% Coombsville fruit. The 2018 is beautifully done and an absolute delight.
- By Antonio Galloni on October 2021
The years go by, but Dunn is still a Napa Valley classic. Dunn fans will find a lot to like in the 2018s. The Napa Valley Cabernet is a terrific wine to cellar or drink over the medium-term, while the Howell Mountain is definitely a wine to forget about for a while. In recent years, Dunn has occasionally released small bottlings from single blocks, usually just as they are about to be torn out. The latest is the 2018 El Camino, which was made from a three-acre parcel in Park Muscatine, one of the historic Dunn parcels.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Exclusive Content
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Wijnhuis
Dunn Vineyards is a respected and iconic wine producer based in the Napa Valley, California. The winery is known for its exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon wines and its dedication to producing wines that express the character of the Napa Valley.
History of Dunn
Dunn Vineyards was founded in 1978 by Randy Dunn. He was driven by a vision to produce world-class Cabernet Sauvignon wines in the Napa Valley. Dunn Vineyards is best known for its Cabernet Sauvignon wines. They produce both Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. The Howell Mountain appellation, where a significant portion of Dunn grapes are grown, is known for its high elevation and unique terroir. The volcanic soil and cooler climate contribute to the production of intensely flavored, structured and long-lived Cabernet Sauvignons.
Traditional wine making
Randy Dunn is known for his traditional winemaking techniques. This involves using a longer maceration period and aging the wines in large, neutral oak barrels. The aim is to produce wines that showcase the inherent qualities of the fruit without an overt influence of oak. Dunn's Cabernet Sauvignons are known for their aging potential. They are structured wines with firm tannins and acidity, which allow them to evolve and improve with long-term cellaring. Dunn's wines are known to continue to develop and improve over decades.
Dunn Family
The winery remains a family business, with a strong commitment to maintaining tradition and quality standards. Dunn Vineyards has maintained a reputation for producing some of the most iconic and long-lived Cabernet Sauvignon wines in the Napa Valley. Their wines are prized by collectors, connoisseurs and wine enthusiasts for their depth, complexity and ability to age gracefully.
The Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a beauty. What a wine. It shows off enormous richness, power and depth. Fluffy dark fruit, grit, dried herbs and spices. Well endowed, with waves of lightly warmed plum sauce, blackberry preserves and molten black licorice framed by a toasted applewood note. Bay leaf aromas add an appealing range to the muscular finish. Give it a few years to melt away the baby fat and this is an impressive wine that will be drinking beautifully around 2023/2024, but can certainly cellar for 15 years. The Dunn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that has been matured for 32 months in 100% new French oak.
Antonio Galloni writes about the 2018 Dunn Cabernets: "The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a gorgeous wine, especially for Dunn fans who want a wine to drink that won't take forever to come around."
FACT: The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you come to pick up the wine you will also receive a nice discount. You will see your discount immediately when you choose Pick up in Checkout page. We are located almost next to the Rijksweg with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.
Nothing is easygoing about Randy Dunn's Cabernets, whether it's the dense red wax atop the bottle you need to soften to access the cork, or the uncompromising style that has become his trademark. … The quietly fierce nature of Dunn's wines has never been for all comers. But Dunn has always prided himself on being different.
— JON BONNÉ
“Randy Dunn's Cabernet Crusade,” SF Gate
The mountain really determined the style of the wine. It became obvious right away that the grapes up here were much more powerful than down on the valley floor. I just made the wine itself the same way we did at Caymus, it just was a more tannic wine due to the place.
— RANDY DUNN
| Type of Wine | Red |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Region | Californie |
| Appellation | Napa Valley |
| Winery | Dunn |
| Grape | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Drinking as of | 2025 |
| Drinking till | 2045 |
| Alcohol % | 14 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Parker rating | 94 |
| Vinous rating | 94 |
| Tasting Profiles | Complex, Donker fruit, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Tannines, Vol |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe |
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP 94
Reviewed by:
Joe Czerwinski
Release Price:
$90
Drink Date:
2025 - 2040
Dunn's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon shows terrific purity and focus in its aromas of cassis and pencil shavings and on the medium to full-bodied palate, where it's streamlined and smooth. There's intensity and concentration, but they sort of slide past almost unnoticed, lubricated by fine-grained tannins and lingering notes of cassis and graphite on the finish.
Somehow, Dunn fell off the radar of my predecessor after the 2015 vintage. While I didn't have time to backtrack through all of the missed years, I was able to taste the 2017s and 2018s during my visit to the family compound on Howell Mountain. Mike Dunn has taken over most of the winemaking responsibilities from his stepfather, Randy Dunn, but Randy is still around and constantly tinkering. "I end up spending a lot of my time in the barn, fixing stuff," he said.
Randy got his start as a crush hand at Caymus, working for Chuck Wagner in 1975. "I learned a lot at Caymus," he said. "At the time, they had a German winemaker who specialized in Riesling. He didn't know much about red winemaking." Dunn's first vintage under his own label was in 1979—the first few vintages were bottled at Caymus—and in 1985 he left to devote his full time to Dunn.
Back in 1982, Randy purchased bulk wine for his first Napa Valley bottling, "I paid $12.50 per gallon and sold it for $12.50 per bottle," said Dunn. But the supply of good bulk wine dried up around 1990, and he started to purchase grapes.
Mike Dunn describes himself as a bicycle geek rather than a wine nerd, but he came back to help Randy with the wine business in 1999, after his sister, Jennifer Dunn, died of bacterial meningitis while attending Chico State. Younger sister, Kristina Dunn-Buchanan, helps manage the office and hospitality side of things.
These remain stubbornly backward, classic renderings of Napa Cabernet, always reined in—sometimes through the use of technology—and always age-worthy, starting to really show their true value after a decade (sometimes more) of aging. I still have the 1996s, bought to commemorate our oldest son's birth year, hidden away in my cellar, with no worries about how they're developing.
Published: May 31, 2022
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Wine Spectator
Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018
Well-endowed, with waves of lightly warmed plum sauce, blackberry preserves and melted black licorice framed by a roasted apple wood note. Flashes of sassafras and sweet bay leaf add alluring range through the muscular finish. Best from 2023 through 2035. 1,814 cases made.
James Molesworth - Senior Editor and Special Projects Director, New York
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
94
Drinking Window
2026 - 2038
From: The 2019 Napa Valley Cabernets: A Deep Dive (Jan 2022)
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a gorgeous wine, especially for Dunn fans who want a wine to drink that won't take forever to come around. Dark and savory, with terrific depth, the 2018 is full of character. Black cherry, lavender, chocolate, sage, mint and cloves all open in the glass. The 2018 has just enough grip to have a good amount of classic structure, but not to the point of being forbidding. The Napa Cabernet is about 55% Howell Mountain and 45% Coombsville fruit. The 2018 is beautifully done and an absolute delight.
- By Antonio Galloni on October 2021
The years go by, but Dunn is still a Napa Valley classic. Dunn fans will find a lot to like in the 2018s. The Napa Valley Cabernet is a terrific wine to cellar or drink over the medium-term, while the Howell Mountain is definitely a wine to forget about for a while. In recent years, Dunn has occasionally released small bottlings from single blocks, usually just as they are about to be torn out. The latest is the 2018 El Camino, which was made from a three-acre parcel in Park Muscatine, one of the historic Dunn parcels.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Exclusive Content
Sign in to unlock professional wine reviews from world-renowned critics
Dunn Vineyards is a respected and iconic wine producer based in the Napa Valley, California. The winery is known for its exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon wines and its dedication to producing wines that express the character of the Napa Valley.
History of Dunn
Dunn Vineyards was founded in 1978 by Randy Dunn. He was driven by a vision to produce world-class Cabernet Sauvignon wines in the Napa Valley. Dunn Vineyards is best known for its Cabernet Sauvignon wines. They produce both Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. The Howell Mountain appellation, where a significant portion of Dunn grapes are grown, is known for its high elevation and unique terroir. The volcanic soil and cooler climate contribute to the production of intensely flavored, structured and long-lived Cabernet Sauvignons.
Traditional wine making
Randy Dunn is known for his traditional winemaking techniques. This involves using a longer maceration period and aging the wines in large, neutral oak barrels. The aim is to produce wines that showcase the inherent qualities of the fruit without an overt influence of oak. Dunn's Cabernet Sauvignons are known for their aging potential. They are structured wines with firm tannins and acidity, which allow them to evolve and improve with long-term cellaring. Dunn's wines are known to continue to develop and improve over decades.
Dunn Family
The winery remains a family business, with a strong commitment to maintaining tradition and quality standards. Dunn Vineyards has maintained a reputation for producing some of the most iconic and long-lived Cabernet Sauvignon wines in the Napa Valley. Their wines are prized by collectors, connoisseurs and wine enthusiasts for their depth, complexity and ability to age gracefully.