If you want to drink a Dunn that you will really enjoy, try the 2011 (no, not a typo) Howell Mountain.
Disagree. Ridge’s signature involves the American oaks they use. The Montebello ridge has a definite terroir, which you get in the wines from most of the other producers who do or have made wine from there. Not sure if any of the others have used American oak. It’s geologically distinct from the rest of the SCM. MARISA FINETTI | Ridge Monte Bello: On the edge of North America
In addition to the change in barrels that Mike Dunn made, IIRC he said that as he took over from his dad, he cleaned things up in the cellar & winemaking process which made a difference to the wines.
I’ve had the fortune of drinking many dozens of Dunn HM from 1985 through 1995 (I haven’t yet touched any of my post-1995 Dunns), as well as a dozen or so Ridge MB from the same period, and Rich’s assessment of the differences is spot on.
I would happily drink either wine any day, but if I had to pick one it would be a no-brainer: Dunn HM all day long. And if I had to pick one vintage, it would be 1987. I’ve gone through a dozen bottles of the 1987 and every one has been stunning. A well stored bottle of 1987 Dunn HM is an epiphany wine. Unfortunately the price of the 1987 has nearly doubled in the last eight years.
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Love both wines but to my mind they are apples and oranges. Is Dunn still using reverse osmosis to keep the alcohol level down?.. Lower Alcohol Question Dunn and Dusted | Wine-Searcher News & Features
Well the discussion seems to have centered on the only modern Cabernets I go out of my way to buy. Of the three, for me Dunn is in third place. The tannins are brutal, and take forever to turn, but when they do, it makes for a beautiful if fairly linear wine. Think Chateau Latour junior.
Togni also needs time, but the wine has more complexity, and the finish can be breathtaking. Two favorites, the 1997, which I had last year, was just about perfect, the balance, aromatics and finish extraordinary. The 1993 is a lovely if slightly self effacing. I have learned never to serve it with other wines. It is shy and disappears. But on its own, over the course of an evening, it evolves, and transforms with the food. And slowly that finish that you overlooked originally, lengthens and widens. A beautiful wine.
But the Ridge. Now, we are on a different plateau. I have been lucky enough to do two major verticals, and we marveled at the consistency of the wine. But as well as the consistency, the wines were magnificent, and occasionally you are taken by a wine so extraordinary that you do a double take, and all you want to do is bury your nose in a glass.
The American oak adds spice, but if the underlying material was not so fine, it would overwhelm. It does not. Here are some notes from the first tasting, sadly I cannot find any from the second.
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Love the avatar; who is the artist?
I remember my first trip to Napa in the late eighties and the wine stores all had signs saying that they were out of Dunn’s. Five years later on another trip, when people realized how long they took to come around, there were plenty! MB more my style. To each his own!
A nice article. I think the points that Baugher make with regards to maintenance of acidity, minerality, etc are true and salient. Monte Bello is a special wine, made with great care from exceptional source material.
But American Oak is such a profound aromatic giveaway, young or old, that I have been able to pick MB out of a blind lineup at least a half dozen times in the last 3-4 years alone. There’s a reason people call it “Draper spice” and it is unmistakeable. It is noticeable in old school Rioja as well.
I am not such a good taster that I can routinely tell you an Oakville from a Calistoga cab, nor even Howell Mountain from Pritchard Hill. But you put MB in a blind tasting with cabs from anywhere in either Napa or SCM, or Bordeaux, and I will pick it out every time. And it ain’t the limestone.
I have noticed more recent Dunn HM being more accessible young but I find the MB not very accessible young due to the American oak, Both pay dividends with patience but the “return” now is faster with Dunn. To my taste they are very different wines with a well earned spot for each in any Cab lover’s cellar.
I drank the 91 MB last January and it was my co-WOY. It’s in great shape to drink now. I’d bet the Dunn is a little more backward, so if you taste them side by side, please report back.
I’ve been through 8 bottles of the 1991 Dunn HM over the past five years. I don’t think there’s any need to wait on it. It should make an interesting side-by-side tasting. My most recent bottles were fully resolved, with lots of pencil lead, sweet tobacco leaf and a hint of pyrazine. Very Pauillac.
You seem to have missed both of my points: 1) The Ridge signature “Draper perfume” is in all of their reeds. 2) There are and have been many other producers making Cab from the Montebello ridge. The distinctive terroir is in all of them, despite the French oak, ripeness level, cropping level, etc. Arnot-Roberts, I. Brand, Naumann, Fellom Ranch, Pichetti, Vidovich, Relyea-Wood, Dorcich, Big Basin, etc. It’s quite distinct from the nearby Saratoga area Cabs.
I think that one of the reasons old MB isn’t cheap is because people trust it. MB has a long and consistent history of aging very well, just like the super-seconds.
I don’t go as far back as some of the wines you tasted, but for me, highlights have included 84, 85, 91 and 96 MB and 78 Geyserville.
Ridge MB never disappoints. I’ve rarely had a Dunn that hasn’t disappointed. Doesn’t seem close from my experience.
It doesn’t do us much good now (unless via auction) as Ridge stopped making these wines decades ago, but I have always far preferred the Ridge cabs from Jimsomare and especially York Creek to Monte Bello and the Estate bottlings. And my preference is mainly because these two are/were much less oaky than MB/Estate. Maybe they used a different or less oak or barrel source for these wines or maybe these bottlings handled the oak better? Not sure.
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Btw, Jimsomare = Klein, as part of their Historic Vineyard Series. That series highlights a single vineyard, single variety from Monte Bello, when they decide it’s distinct enough to bottle on its own, after not making the Monte Bello blend. The names are the original planters of the parcel. Jimsomare being a later name for Pierre Klein’s vineyard. Confusingly, the Zin from there is still called Jimsomare. Much of that Cab does regularly make it as a Monte Bello component. They also have a good portion of their Chard rowing there.
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It has always seems strange to me how many California wine lovers ignore the classics and jump for the latest thing. Wineries like Dunn and Ridge, etc., are really consistent and their wines are really well priced compared with the in wines of the day. This seems to be the opposite of most classic wine regions where for the most part the classics are priced higher than are any newbies. The closest I see to this is German wines.
I do drink mostly new classic wines but have a special spot for Ridge MB and Geyserville. Mayacamas is also something that jumps out as classic and good. Dunn is typically cheaper than Mb so I wish it was as good.