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 A California Vintner
described a dream he once had. “There was this mountain. It was rumored far and
wide that a wise guru who lived up there knew the secret to a long and fruitful
life. So I climbed the mountain. Sitting at the top was Randy Dunn.”
Wine aficionados everywhere would argue that this is no dream. Randy Dunn is
one of the world’s most celebrated makers of heirloom Cabernets. Dunn is known
not only for his famous wines, but for his philosophy on how to make wine. He
does it his way. Leaving the floor of Napa Valley “to corn and melon farmers,”
he tends his vines in the red stony soil of Howell Mountain. Today the luxury
wine market would beat a well-worn foot path to his doorstep if he let it. (He
doesn’t.)
Dunn established his reputation at the Caymus Winery from 1975 to 1985, where
his Cabernet Sauvignons became the high water mark for the industry. Caymus
Special Selection, in fact, earned the distinction of California’s most
expensive wine and is on most critical reviewers’ list of top ten Napa wines.
His legacy continues to grow, and his artistry shaped other premium wineries
that now enjoy an acclaimed place in the sun. These include Pahlmeyer,
Livingston, La Jota and others. Since 1979, Dunn has produced about 5,000 cases
a year of his Howell Mountain Cabernets (Dunn
Vineyards). Critical reviewers use words such as, “powerful,” “complex”
and “concentrated” to describe them. Many of his vintages are ranked by price
as simply some of the greatest wines on earth.
Randy Dunn is a no-nonsense winemaker who doesn’t cotton to the pretensions so
often encountered in the business. He lives with his wife, Lori, next to the
winery on Howell Mountain. There are no road signs; no retail sales. And don’t
look for him in a Valley tour guide. No time for that, as Randy spends his
quiet hours making those wonderful heirloom wines.
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