Dominus Estate 2006

"Very deep garnet-purple colour. A wonderfully perfumed nose of violets, crushed blackberries, black cherries, mace and cloves leading into some smoked meat and mocha aromas with swirling. Very structured on the palate with high acidity, a medium to high level of fine tannins and a full body providing plenty of flesh in the mid-palate. Very long layered finish."

96 Points

The Wine Advocate

"Bright red-ruby. Lovely floral lift contributes precision to the aromas of raspberry, rose petal and licorice. Sweet, high-pitched and sharply delineated; velvety but not thick. There's a juicy quality to the ripe red fruit, mineral and graphite flavors, not to mention a firm underlying spine, that promises a long and positive evolution in bottle. Quite young but not austere, finishing with building tannins and lovely lift. The lingering perfume of red fruits, pepper, flowers and licorice is unusually complex. A really superb 2006, seemingly every bit as good as the sensational 2005.
Rating: 94(+?)"

94 Points

International Wine Cellar

"Unless you knew that this was Dominus and had tasted older vintages, you might not be impressed. In its youth the wine is tannic and dry and linear. However, it is Dominus and it does need cellaring. Right now it shows blackberry, black currant, cedar and baker's chocolate flavors. Will slowly open and reach maturity after 2011, and could easily develop for far longer."

93 Points

Wine Enthusiast

"Youthfully floral and tight, this vintage of Dominus is a big wine that holds all of its weight behind a powerful structure. And it's the power of that structure that is front and center-red apple-skin acidity and walnut-skin tannin-needing a ribeye with plenty of fat to bring the fruit out of its cage. Stay with it and the wine's earthiness begins to meld with the blueberry and chocolate richness. But it's all completely primary. Put this away for ten years, and drink the Napanook while it matures."

93 Points

Wine & Spirits