Randy Dunn and Feather

by Daniel Hoey, Publisher

Randy Dunn is one of the world’s most celebrated makers of Cabernet. Dunn is known not only for his famous wines, but for his philosophy on how to make wine. He does it his way.

Dunn established his reputation at the Caymus Winery from 1975 to 1985, where his Cabernet Sauvignons became the envy of the industry. Caymus Special Selection, in fact, earned the distinction of California’s most expensive wine and is on most reviewers’ lists of top ten Napa wines.

Since 1979, Dunn has produced about 5,000 cases a year of his Dunn Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernets. 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 eschews the pretension so often encountered in the business. He lives with his wife, Lori, next to the winery on Howell Mountain. There are no road signs and 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, powerful yet elegant wines.

Dunn is the winemaker for Feather, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon produced by Long Shadow Vintners in Walla Walla, Washington.  Long Shadow's resident winemaker Gilles Nicault notes that the same oak barrels Dunn favors for his Napa wines are used for Feather.  Gilles and I tasted Feather together and it is simply a spectacular Cabernet; as Gilles remarked "Randy Dunn wants concentration in his wines, but also insists that they be civilized with moderate alcohol content . . . like an iron fist in a velvet glove."

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