We had invited a friend & her dog over for dinner last night. Then on
weekend my brother called that he would be in area for business, so he
could come to dinner. Betsy did 2 small chickens, with roasted veggies
(parsnips, carrots, turnips, and shallot) and a bok choy salad with
walnuts. Dana is solely a white winer, my brother prefers red. So we
opened two bottles:

2006 Paul Pernot Bourgogne Blanc
Generally one of my favorite Bourgognes annually. Really ripe Bosc
pear fruit, bigger than most years, maybe just a touch blowsy. Really
pleased the CalChard drinker, for my tastes a bit more acidity and
definition would be welcome. B-

1991 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
OK, Dunn might be a bit much for roast chicken. But I wanted to open
something a little special for my brother, and thought 17 years would
be enough to tame some of the tannins for the basic Napa bottling.
Nope. I was shocked how tannic and stern this was at opening. Big and
leathery. With some time, pretty good black plum and cassis fruit
started peeking out. This was way too much for the chicken, and I
ended up grabbing remaining half of a bottle of Morgon. A taste of the
Dunn as I finished loading dishwasher was best, solid dark fruit with
cedar and leather, the tannins still there but less dominating. We'll
see how this fares overnight. A C- with the chicken, this needs a
steak, but overall I'd give this a B counting potential. Let it rest.

Good to see my brother, our friend, and to watch the dogs romp
together.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

On Oct 21, 9:15*am, DaleW > wrote:
>
>
> 1991 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
> OK, Dunn might be a bit much for roast chicken. But I wanted to open
> something a little special for my brother, and thought 17 years would
> be enough to tame some of the tannins for the basic Napa bottling.
> Nope. I was shocked how tannic and stern this was at opening. Big and
> leathery. With some time, pretty good black plum and cassis fruit
> started peeking out. This was way too much for the chicken, and I
> ended up grabbing remaining half of a bottle of Morgon. A taste of the
> Dunn as I finished loading dishwasher was best, solid dark fruit with
> cedar and leather, the tannins still there but less dominating. We'll
> see how this fares overnight. A C- with the chicken, this needs a
> steak, but overall I'd give this a B counting potential. Let it rest.
>
Thanks for the notes Dale.

Those Dunn Cabs sure take a long time to come around. I tried the '82
and '87 Dunn Howell Mountain Cabs a couple of years ago and even after
a 6 hour decant they showed very young and tannic. Great wine but
still a decade away.

Andy

Andy Jepeal wrote:

> Those Dunn Cabs sure take a long time to come around. I tried the '82
> and '87 Dunn Howell Mountain Cabs a couple of years ago and even after
> a 6 hour decant they showed very young and tannic. Great wine but
> still a decade away.

True, but the Dunn Howell Mtn and Napa bottlings are two very different
beasts. I opened a '90 Napa last year and it was fully mature and a
pleasure to drink. OTOH, most of the Howells from the '80s are still
quite young, as you note.

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

In article
>,
DaleW > wrote:

> We had invited a friend & her dog over for dinner last night. Then on
> weekend my brother called that he would be in area for business, so he
> could come to dinner. Betsy did 2 small chickens, with roasted veggies
> (parsnips, carrots, turnips, and shallot) and a bok choy salad with
> walnuts. Dana is solely a white winer, my brother prefers red. So we
> opened two bottles:
>
> 2006 Paul Pernot Bourgogne Blanc
> Generally one of my favorite Bourgognes annually. Really ripe Bosc
> pear fruit, bigger than most years, maybe just a touch blowsy. Really
> pleased the CalChard drinker, for my tastes a bit more acidity and
> definition would be welcome. B-
>
> 1991 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
> OK, Dunn might be a bit much for roast chicken. But I wanted to open
> something a little special for my brother, and thought 17 years would
> be enough to tame some of the tannins for the basic Napa bottling.
> Nope. I was shocked how tannic and stern this was at opening. Big and
> leathery. With some time, pretty good black plum and cassis fruit
> started peeking out. This was way too much for the chicken, and I
> ended up grabbing remaining half of a bottle of Morgon. A taste of the
> Dunn as I finished loading dishwasher was best, solid dark fruit with
> cedar and leather, the tannins still there but less dominating. We'll
> see how this fares overnight. A C- with the chicken, this needs a
> steak, but overall I'd give this a B counting potential. Let it rest.
>
> Good to see my brother, our friend, and to watch the dogs romp
> together.
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Still waiting for my '88 and 89 Dunn to lighten up. Was this the Howell
Mountain vineyard?

On Oct 21, 3:19�pm, Lawrence Leichtman > wrote:
> In article
> >,
>
>
>
>
>
> �DaleW > wrote:
> > We had invited a friend & her dog over for dinner last night. Then on
> > weekend my brother called that he would be in area for business, so he
> > could come to dinner. Betsy did 2 small chickens, with roasted veggies
> > (parsnips, carrots, turnips, and shallot) and a bok choy salad with
> > walnuts. Dana is solely a white winer, my brother prefers red. So we
> > opened two bottles:
>
> > 2006 Paul Pernot Bourgogne Blanc
> > Generally one of my favorite Bourgognes annually. Really ripe Bosc
> > pear fruit, bigger than most years, maybe just a touch blowsy. Really
> > pleased the CalChard drinker, for my tastes a bit more acidity and
> > definition would be welcome. B-
>
> > 1991 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
> > OK, Dunn might be a bit much for roast chicken. But I wanted to open
> > something a little special for my brother, and thought 17 years would
> > be enough to tame some of the tannins for the basic Napa bottling.
> > Nope. I was shocked how tannic and stern this was at opening. Big and
> > leathery. With some time, pretty good black plum and cassis fruit
> > started peeking out. This was way too much for the chicken, and I
> > ended up grabbing remaining half of a bottle of Morgon. A taste of the
> > Dunn as I finished loading dishwasher was best, solid dark fruit with
> > cedar and leather, the tannins still there but less dominating. We'll
> > see how this fares overnight. A C- with the chicken, this needs a
> > steak, but overall I'd give this a B counting potential. Let it rest.
>
> > Good to see my brother, our friend, and to watch the dogs romp
> > together.
>
> > Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> > wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> > drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> > promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
>
> Still waiting for my '88 and 89 Dunn to lighten up. Was this the Howell
> Mountain vineyard?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

No, the basic Napa bottling (I'd know better than to open the HM). On
day 2 it's got a good dark fruit core, but still tannic, with a
leathery edge. Reminds me a bit of some of the better-fruited '75
Bordeaux a few years ago.