Dunn Vineyards — Purity and patience on Howell Mountain

Founded in 1979 by Randy Dunn, Dunn Vineyards is a benchmark estate on Howell Mountain, Napa Valley’s rugged, high-altitude AVA. Known for its powerful, structured Cabernet Sauvignon, the winery has stayed true to a low-intervention, terroir-first philosophy, far from the opulent trends that once dominated Napa.

Today, Randy and his son Mike Dunn continue to produce wines with discipline, restraint, and remarkable aging potential.

Philosophy and winemaking

Vineyards lie over 1,600 feet (500m) above sea level, on volcanic, rocky soils. The cooler mountain climate yields slow, balanced ripening, with naturally high acidity and depth.

Fermentations use native yeasts in stainless steel. The wines are aged for around 32 months in mostly neutral oak barrels, with minimal manipulation. There’s no over-extraction, no excessive oak, just honest winemaking that highlights place.

Dunn’s style emphasizes structure, purity, and longevity over flashiness or sweetness.

Wine style

Dunn Cabernets are known for being firm, mineral-driven, and cellar-worthy. Tannins are bold yet fine, the palate is precise and vertical, and the aromatic profile evolves from dark fruit and graphite to cedar, herbs, and earthy complexity with age.

Often tight in youth, they blossom with time into wines of great character and harmony.

Signature cuvées

• Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon – The flagship wine; structured, intense, and deeply age-worthy.

• Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – Slightly more accessible, but still serious and complex.

• Randy’s Vineyard (limited) – Rare, more fruit-forward bottling when made.

A Napa classic of restraint and precision

Dunn Vineyards remains a pillar of authenticity and discipline in Napa Valley. For those who seek Cabernet Sauvignon with soul, backbone, and longevity, Dunn offers a timeless standard few can match.