Dominus Napanook Vineyard (375ML half-bottle) 2017
-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
This is so drinkable now. Savory and yummy. Lots of blackberries, blueberries and currants. Full-to medium-bodied, tight and silky with beautiful freshness and finesse. So long and caressing, yet tightly grained tannins give it tension. Lovely drinkability. Available April 2020. Drink or hold.
-
Wine Enthusiast
This spectacular wine is a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon with 9% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. It delivers seamless intensity in a mix of cedar and dried herb, with length and depth balanced by polished tannins.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Napanook checks in 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot. It offers classy notes of cassis, black currants, toasted spices, and hints of flowers. With lots of chocolately richness, medium to full body, and beautifully ripe tannins, it's layered and has impressive depth of fruit, followed by a great finish. It's going to evolve for 15-20 years. It's an incredible value in classic, impeccably made Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There was about 40% of a normal crop this year due to strict selection. Grapes were harvested from September 21 to October 3 and the wine was bottled in May 2019. The 2017 Napanook is made up of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot and was aged in 20% new French oak barrels. Deep purple-black in color, it springs from the glass with vivacious notions of warm black cherries, blackberry compote and crushed black currants with touches of dark chocolate, licorice, fertile loam, underbrush, camphor and cinnamon stick plus a waft of lilacs. Full-bodied with a firm level of grainy tannins and seamless freshness supporting the bold, spicy black fruit layers, it finishes on a lingering perfumed note. With further time, it begins to reveal the mineral signature of the estate, delivering a glimpse at the gravitas to come with 5-7 years in the cellar.
Other Vintages
2020-
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Suckling
James -
Wong
Wilfred -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James -
Panel
Tasting -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Wong
Wilfred -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Suckling
James -
Panel
Tasting -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Parker
Robert
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Spirits
Wine &
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
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.