75 cl, 14.5% Alc.

Dominus
2016

2016
  • 75 cl, 14.5% Alc.
  • Aging potential: 2054 y.
  • Red

Starting price

ÂŁ 248
Napa Valley, CA, USA
This is a rare opportunity to taste a 100 Parker Point wine. The 2016 Dominus has opulent and impressive aromas of dark chocolate, cigar, and black fruits with a muscular core of blackcurrant. This complex and structured wine is already showing a strong character and still has potential for long-term cellaring.
Aging potential: 2054 y.
  • 75 cl, 14.5% Alc.
  • Aging potential: 2054 y.
  • Red
RP 100/100
WS 95/100
JS 98/100
Robert Parker
A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot and 8% Cabernet Franc aged in 40% new oak, the 2016 Proprietary Red Wine is deep purple-black in color and quite reticent at this youthful stage to begin, offering up subtle notions of potpourri, Indian spices, cigar box and iron ore over a core of crushed blackberries and black cherries with intermittent wafts of black and red currants, new leather and smoked meats. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a densely packed mid-palate and oodles of freshness framed by very ripe, finely grained tannins and laced with compelling earthy accents. It offers incredible vibrancy with tons of black and red fruit sparkle in the mid-palate leading to a provocative mineral element on the very long finish. If I could give more than 100 for this one, I would.

Dominus Estate

History

Son of legendary wine producer Jean-Pierre Moueix, Christian Moueix followed in his father’s footsteps. Originally from Libourne, France, Christian Moueix n attended University of California at Davis in the late 1960s However, his love for vineyards and winemaking led him back home by 1970. He began managing the family vineyards, including: Château Pétrus, La Fleur-Pétrus, Trotanoy in Pomerol and Magdelaine in Saint Emilion. But his time in California was not forgotten. He was extremely taken with Napa Valley and in 1981, he began exploring the historic Napanook vineyard, which had been the source of grapes for some of the finest wines from Napa valley in the 1940s and 1950s.

In 1995, became its sole owner. He decided to rename the vineyard “Dominus” or “Lord of the estate” in latin to highlight his longstanding commitment to maintenance of the land.

Technology

Dominus estate combines old traditions of vine growing and winemaking with innovative practices to transform the high-quality grapes into great wines with a cellaring potential.

Only hand-picking with small french shears, they minimise bruising and vine damage wherever possible. The sunny side of the vines is also picked a few days before the shady side, to ensure all the bunches have time to ripen fully. After picking, the grapes are sent to the winery in small baskets to preserve the integrity of the clusters.

All grapes undergo two stages of selection: manual and an optical berry sorting system.

At all stages – pressing, fermentation, fining – this gentle approach is vital in producing fine wines. When choosing a barrel, delicacy is also important, as French oak barrels help to uncover the best characteristics of Dominus wines.

Napa Valley

Napa Valley is perhaps the most famous wine region in the United States. In 1976, this Californian vineyard gained fame and attention, after the famous bling-tasting Judgement of Paris, where France’s greatest wine experts were carrying out a blind taste test. Organised by British wine merchant, Steven Spurrier, the experts compared Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay from France and Napa Valley. The Californian wines won in both the red and white categories, beating legendary chateaux and domaines from Bordeaux and Burgundy. The results became a sensation.

Wine connoisseurs across the world turned their attention to wines from California, including the Napa Valley. Over the next 40 years, the small handful of Napa Valley wineries turned into hundreds. Now, producing 4% of all Californian wines, Napa Valley is the first agricultural preserve of its kind in the USA.

California wines are amongst the most awarded wines in the New World. Highly sought after, critics and collectors alike are chasing rare and outstanding bottles.

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