1997 Dunnewood Signature Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

[newsguy]

7,800 cases made. reddish purple in color. aromas of vanilla, ripe plum, sweet oak, cassis jump from the glass. tastes of same, with touches of berry (blackberry?) and mocha thrown in. solid mouthfeel, good finish with slight drying tannins. simply put, this is a nice california cab at a very nice price ($13 per by the case).

the head chef at a gourmet food/wine shop i frequent in gainesville had me try this a while back. my wife and i were there for a tasting, and although this wasn't one of the wines being tasted that night, he opened a bottle and insisted i try it. i tasted it without knowing what it was, and guessed this was a CA cab that was easily fetching more than $20 per bottle.

forget the dunnewood name on the label. what you really need to know is: this reserve bottling spent 30 months in oak barrels, and it's a '97 cab from napa valley. if you can find it, consider buying it by the case. i did, and will be enjoying them over the next 2 years or so.

[winoweenie]

Hi newfeller and rack up anoffer success for a GREAT vintage. WW

[bermie]

a friend gave us a bottle of this a few months ago....tried it over thanksgiving...OUTSTANDING!!! i have been desperately searching ever since to find but no luck yet...can you guide me in the right direction or recommend another of the same great taste

[newsguy]

hi bermie, and welcome to the wine board. i can't really tell you where you can find this wine to buy more. i never saw this bottling in any stores. some california cabs that you might enjoy (and that are on shelves now) include the 1998 cypress ($8-10), or for $10-11, 1999 gallo sonoma county or 1999 beringer founders estate. if you want to step up in price for some outstanding california cabs, i would suggest for $20 the 1999 sebastiani alexander valley or the 1999 simi alexander valley, or for $20-25, any of the 1997 gallo of sonoma single vineyard cab bottlings are great wines and great values. the barrelli creek is my perennial favorite, but the stefani vineyard and frei ranch are also very tasty.

and when looking for a particular wine online for purchase, i frequently use http://www.wine-searcher.com/

hope this helps.

[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 12-10-2002).]

[newsguy]

an update: had another bottle of the 97 dunnewood signature NV cab the other night with a steak and this wine is doing just fine. i'd guess at least two more years of improvement still ahead.

and although the 97 has been long gone from the shelves, i asked dunnewood and they said the 99 signature cab has been released. i'm having my regular shop check on availability and pricing.