Dominus Estate 2013
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Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, and 4% Cabernet Franc.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Dominus is, to my way of thinking, one of the most profound wines Christian Moueix has yet made in his rather brilliant winemaking history, both in France and in Napa Valley. This wine, with very low yields of only 3,500 cases and a final blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc, offers up notes of cedar wood, forest floor, loamy soil and oodles of blackberry and blackcurrant fruit. Very opaque purple in color, super-pure and intense, this wine has low acidity, but ripe, noticeable tannins. This is a 30- to 40-year wine and a profound effort from this famous vineyard in Yountville. Drink it over the next 40+ years.
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James Suckling
The aromas to this are multidimensional and fascinating with black truffles, bark, cloves, black currants and citrus - even ginseng. Full-bodied, yet reserved, even austere, with chewy and powerful tannins that remain polished and refined. The flavors are more umami and savory. Then there's forest fruits and red orange undertones. It lasts for minutes. A wine to age for a lifetime. It's an experience to taste this. A new classic showing its history and tradition as a source of the greatest wines ever from Napa. A wine to always enjoy.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
When I first met Christian Moueix—shortly after the release of the Dominus Estate 1983—I was just a bit anxious and excited to meet someone who has made some of the greatest wines on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. Here I was in the company of Christian, owner of Dominus Estate, as well as Jean-Pierre Moueix, the President of Etablissements— the leading wine company of Bordeaux’s Right Bank. This group included the prestigious estates Pétrus, Trotanoy, Hosanna, and Belair-Monange. I have tasted most, if not all, of the Dominus Estate and Napanook wines and have seen their significant evolution over time—initially it was more about what a Frenchman could do in the Napa Valley, but now the story line has shifted to one about a local vintner understanding what makes his adopted land so special. The 2013 Dominus Estate could very well be the most important wine Christian Moueix has directed and brought into the marketplace. The wine shows power, finesse, and the beauty of the Napa Valley—black fruits, dried herbs, expansive textures, and a demonstrative finish. Few Napa Valley Cabernet blends have been able to corral the wide array of potential nuances that this variety is capable of, but in this case they range from the entire spectrum of berries to savory earth tones without losing finesse or elegance. Mr. Moueix once told me, "Wilfred, I am just a gentleman farmer and a resident of the Napa Valley." Well, this man of the land has done well in our backyard. (Tasted: October 24, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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Decanter
A captivating bouquet of violets, lilac, black fruit, blood orange and meaty soil tones is striking for its extravagent range and amplitude; and on the palate, the wine is three-dimensional, sophisticatedly savoury, and massive but refined. Tod Mostero remarks that, having crafted the 2013 Dominus, he can die happy as a winemaker. Selection here was especially rigorous, as the team wanted to realise the vintage's unparalleled potential as fully as possible, so only 3,500 cases were produced. A special label commemorates the 30th anniversary of Dominus Estate.
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Wine Spectator
Dense and earthy, with a submerged core of rich blackberry, currant, anise and sage flavors. The dusty, loamy earth character lends balance and definition. Ends with cedary tannins and good length. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2032.
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In the late 1960s, while attending the University of California at Davis, Christian Moueix fell in love with the Napa Valley and its wines. Son of Jean-Pierre Moueix, the famed wine merchant and producer from Libourne, France, Moueix returned home in 1970 to manage the family vineyards, including Chateaux Petrus, La Fleur-Petrus, Trotanoy in Pomerol and Magdelaine in Saint Emilion.
His love of Napa Valley lingered and in 1981, he discovered the historic Napanook vineyard, a 124-acre site west of Yountville that had been the source of fruit for some of the finest Napa Valley wines of the 1940s and 1950s. In 1982, Moueix entered into a partnership to develop the vineyard and, in 1995, became its sole owner. He chose the name 'Dominus' or 'Lord of the Estate' in Latin to underscore his longstanding commitment to stewardship of the land.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
One of Napa Valley's most historic sub-appellations, Yountville spreads through some of the valley's ideal cooler sites and enjoys success with a handful of different and significant grape varieties.
Syrah competes strongly with Cabernet Sauvignon here for optimal vineyard real estate followed by Pinot noir, Pinot blanc and Sauvignon blanc.
This sub-AVA of Napa Valley is rich in the history that makes Napa Valley what it is today, and not just for red wines. Moët & Chandon entered the California winemaking business via Yountville in 1973 with the establishment Domaine Chandon. Their goal has always been to produce top quality méthode champenoise sparkling wines.
Christian Moueix, originally responsible for managing Chateau Petrus and La Fleur-Petrus in Pomerol, arrived in Yountville in the early 1980s. He formed a partnership with Rohin Lail and Marcia Smith, inheritors of Napanook vineyard from their father John Daniel of Inglenook in Rutherford. In 1995 Moueix became sole owner of Napanook and chose the name Dominus, which today produces some of Napa’s highest scoring, age-worthy Bordeaux Blends.