Mark Flesher

9.1

This tasted like whole cluster fermented Howell Mountain juice. I could have believed that this was 100% Cabernet Franc or 50/50 Franc/Sangiovese even. Rose petal perfume on the nose. Herbal raspberry preserves on the front. Almost had a black cherry bubblegum note in the middle. Finished a little wonky. As I was trying to find something about the makeup of this wine, for which I really found nothing, I came across the $200+/bottle price tag on numerous occasions.....umm....OK. Enjoyable wine, but QPR is a bit crazy. — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.0

For a 2009 Howell Mountain Cab from Steinhauer Ranch, I expected more. The last bottle of this wine was bigger, dense, more "in your face" blackberry and blueberry cassis with some complexity. This one lacked in this department. The front still had black and blueberry influences, but not as intense and seemed be a little bit red influenced now. Middle is where fig and date notes kick in. Rather simplistic. Finishes with well integrated and soft tannin. Worthy of 90, but barely. — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Opened tonight. And, I feel like a broken record saying that here is ANOTHER great 2011 considering the "damned vintage" that this one received press for being. I have 43 more 2011 Napa wines and I have a feeling that I'm going to be writing the same thing another 43 times. Not powerful, but these wines truly show the complexity that Napa cab CAN be. Nose of iodine, black licorice. Very front of this wine is sweeter black cherry giving way to an herbal infused middle (getting more dried basil with a hint of oregano and cumin). The red clay terroir is unmistakably present here through the middle and finish, which is usually more present for Ponente only at the very finish. The wine finishes with black cherry and black licorice dominated notes. I have a feeling that this wine is still on the way up. Has a few more years until it is at the top of the hill, but drinking OH SO WELL right now. — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.3

This wine was accessed about a year and a half ago. Forgot completely about it. Rest of the bottle was opened today. Although the Coravin definitely kept the bottle, this one shows characteristics that are more of a 2004/5/6, but definitely still pretty darn good. This wine has a great nose of blackberry and cassis. Sweeter fruit up front, acidic as well. Middle that is a little herbal, a little bit of plum and cocoa powder. The finish is still a little tannic. Pretty nice, although I would never have guessed this was a 2010 if drinking blind, but still a very enjoyable wine. I would say that the 2017-2030 window for a non-accessed bottle is right on the money. — 7 years ago

with Benjamin, Keith and 2 others

DAL 9000

8.9

Aroma of dusty cherries. Middle taste of tannins and dusty cherries and a spiced raspberry. Medium tannin finish. — 7 years ago

Edmond Bordelon

9.2

Ryan said it had a heavy tobacco taste. I agree but it was not overpowering. Good balance of dark fruit and tanin. So the bone in filets were perfect combo with this light spice and long finish. — 8 years ago

with Katherine and Ryan

Mark Flesher

9.4

Has been 3 years since I opened one of these and this is really coming into a nice spot right now. This wine is dark, deep, and full bodied. Black cork with tartrate on every square mm. Poured black, inky to the glass. Nose of spice cookie, cinnamon, nutmeg, blackberry cassis. Entry mimicked the same with a graphite and shale note to the middle. This wine finished with good acidity, softened but toasted cedar tannins. Now wishing that I had kept this one another year or two, but drinking at the very top of the hill right now in my opinion. I think this one will have another 5-7 years before it needs to be consumed, but I'd say that if you want to be treated, open this now! — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.3

This was actually my first Napa Valley Dunn as I’ve normally enjoyed their Howell Mountain. Definitely more approachable...blackberry, fig and pipe tobacco aromatics with a darker/charcoal like streak down the middle of the palate. Finish has some dark cocoa dusted dates and a touch of bayleaf. — 6 years ago

with Dan and Weston

Mark Flesher

9.6

Wow. This wine is READY. Pours very dark into the glass. Thick meniscus. Nose that is intense: blackberry, blueberry, pencil shavings, roasted almonds, oregano. Enters with ripe blackberries and blueberry pie immediately up front. Middle of roasted coffee bean, herbs, roasted almonds, mint, black tea. Very eclectic and powerful. Finishes with a graphite chalkiness and powerful and mostly blueberry finish with black pepper. Tannins are still quite grippy, although I imagine the edges were more jagged on this one 5 years ago. WOW. Drink. Now. !! — 6 years ago

Jake Hajer

8.9

Muddy truck tire. Baked blueberries and blackberries. Green peppercorn. Opaque almost black in the middle with a mm of dried blood red at the edge. Dirty. Huge. Full bodied. The densest 2011 I've had. low acid, really high alc (16.1%!). Extracted, astringent and tannic. A little Brett and a little VA. Note: I tasted with 5 other professionals and none of them came close to liking it. The in-your-face and rustic-ness gives the wine an unmistakable charm. — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

A great way to end a 6-day vacation. Bottle enjoyed with family over a great meal. I will preface this by saying this bottle is extremely young. Will do much better in about 5 years. After an hour of oxidation, this one had a lot of candied black cherry, wildflowers on the nose. Entry of black cherry, cola, middle which is a combination of sweeter yet more ripe black cherry with a hint of bacon fat. Finishes acidic, even after 2 hours. This wine is great structure, but still extremely young. Will develop very nicely. — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.3

Last time visiting this wine was 1/31/15 and I remarked it wasn't ready to go yet. Thankfully I let the others sit because this wine is now officially ready to GO! This wine has a nose that is a lot of brambly raspberry and even a bit meaty. Palate was silky, soft, black cherry, bacon fat. Middle is where this one actually seems to gain some tannin. The finish is a little acidic, but still some rather grippy tannins finish this one out. JUST in balance to drink just now. Amazed how much this one has improved yet still has to go, which is really quite amazing for a mountain Nebb. One thing is for sure: the 2010 and 2011 vintages are still nowhere near ready. Might bring an 07 home to see how it stacks up! — 8 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.6

Tasted alongside a 2010 Cimarossa and was rather similar in structure and character. The nose is raspberry licorice and a hint of herb. The start of this one is darker, has a similar volcanic note. Dark blackberry. The middle is where the dirty raspberry licorice starts to take over. This wine on the finish is a little more tart. Has a raspberry bread finish. Still has a TON of life left in it. This wine was really good. I will be trying to find some of this current vintage wine. This wine, to me, was WOTN. Incredible complexity. Had a nice density to it, but it had more than just being a young fruit bomb. Cheers! (apologies for the label...zoomed in way too much!) — 8 years ago

with Shay and Keith

Mark Flesher

9.2

He really nice interpretation of this vineyard's fruit. Didn't really know much about this but saw that it was from one of my favorite vineyards. The nose was more of a roasted fig, blackberry, blueberry. Entry was definitely dark. A little more brambly, with hints of dark chocolate and baking spices to the middle. started to show some of the red clay towards the finish. The tannins on this wine or not nearly as stiff as I had imagined. Definitely toasted, good fruit backbone, and definitely feel that this wine will continue to evolve over the next five to seven years. Overall, still prefer Mia Klein's interpretation (IMO of course). — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.6

Incredible bottle. In its PRIME right now. Youthful nose and front palate of blueberry, blackberry, cassis, cinnamon. The middle is black fruit dominated, showing a tiny hint of age but is quite integrated and soft. Finish is powerful blackberry, blueberry, hint of bramble. Toasted, sweet cedar tannin with quite a youthful finish. In 750, this bottle is both youthful yet integrated, shy yet powerful. Dang. Still have 1 more of these left! 96 easy...almost a 97. Cheers! — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Thanksgiving wine number 3. The first wine of the meal, decanted about 3 hours ahead of time. This is a blackberry and black licorice monster, with hints of blueberry and pie spice. Even despite decanting, the amount of tannin here is incredible. Young oak tannicity is very present on this wine. Turns dark and smoky to the middle and finish. Full bodied and definitely complemented a majority of foods here. But.... along comes Dyer to steal the show. I believe this wine will be a lot better in about five years. But, still not a bad showing whatsoever with a solid 94 presentation today. — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

Nice wine but wow this one doesn't seem to have six years of age on it. This wine is thick, dense. The nose is blackberry and spice. Entry is sweet, blackberry, iodine, red clay. Middle is spice, black licorice, again sweeter fruit with perhaps a sweet blueberry(?). Finish is toasted cedar tannin and a lot of pepper. The sweeter notes of this wine give it a more youthful profile. But I wouldn't say that it really contributes positively. Didn't get much of the classic Rutherford dust on this one. If I was served this blind, I would have guessed this was mountain fruit. Still QUITE a nice wine. — 7 years ago

Jordan Gianelli

9.1

Happy to find this wine when I did. Showing tons of “other than fruit” characteristics on the nose, this wine smells older than it is. Little bit of bret, but the good kind! Dark black fruit and olive tapenade waft out of the glass while blackberry seed, tobacco and black cherry leaf the way on the palate. The body is full in the middle but lean on the edges because of the bright acidity which lifts the wine throughout. Drink now through 7-13 years! — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.5

REALLY nice bottle of wine. This wine has a lot going on. Sourced from a 2.2 acre plot that is right across the street from Diamond Creek, the Dyers put love into everything they make. And it shows. This wine has a blackberry and floral perfume that is intoxicating. The nose was very reminiscent of Cab Franc and in a blind tasting that would have been my guess. The entry of this wine is delicately powerful. It has the blackberry power, the cassis of a younger wine, but the finesse in the middle with notes of graham cracker, grilled meats, herbs, pie spice, cola, and BRAMBLE....just a LOT going on here!! This wine is still very locked up, and takes a BUNCH of coaxing to get it out of its shell. Once it does, it does NOT disappoint. Very pumped about being able to spend some time with Dawnine and Bill in the next couple of weeks! — 8 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

In a blind tasting, there is NO WAY I would have guessed this one was a 97. Tastes like an 08 or 09. Very youthful fruit. Diamond Mountain fruit, very dark, smoky almost, with a nice leathery note. This wine in the middle is good black fruit with a hint of age towards the back. This is the only indication that this wine is aging. The finish is still stiff tannin, youthful oak. Nice and balanced wine. Great structure. This one will hold another 5-10 years. — 8 years ago

with Shay and Keith