2012 Dunn Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet 96 WA, 95+VM

The stunning 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is a 30-year wine. Loads of crème de cassis, blackberry liqueur, licorice, incense and oak jump from the glass of this huge, massive, concentrated and ripe wine that reminds me of some of the early vintages from Michael Dunn’s father, Randy, particularly the 1982 and 1984. This is a beauty of great intensity and purity that should age effortlessly for 25-30+ years. If you can find it, it will be certainly worth having, as it flirts with perfection. 96 WA

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is one of the most exotic, flamboyant young wines I have ever tasted from Randy and Mike Dunn. Graphite, cherry liqueur, smoke, licorice, plums and crème de cassis, open up in an alluring Cabernet Sauvignon that melds together ripeness and structure. The fruit is distinctly red-toned in 2012, with fewer of the darker notes that are often present in the Howell Cabernet. Pliant and expressive, but with plenty of underlying tannin, the 2012 is shaping up to be a beauty. Best of all, it won’t need decades in the cellar to start drinking well. 95+ VM