Winemaker Notes
Blend: 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Attractive ripe dark berries and some darker chocolate, no to mention sweet earth and violets. The palate has impressive density and depth, not to mention great length and weight. Mulberry and dark-cherry flavors hold fresh. Best from 2022.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Represented by American merchant Jeffrey Davies and made with consulting advice from Michel Rolland, the 2015 Château La Dominique checks in as 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 60% new barrels. This deep, inky-colored beauty got a few expletives in the notes and offers killer notes of black cherries, plums, spice-box, and incense. Deep, full-bodied, concentrated, and yet still elegant and fresh, with sweet tannin, there’s a little over 5,000 cases produced and it’s a gem to hunt down. It will keep for two decades. Tasted twice.
-
Wine Enthusiast
This rich, balanced wine comes from an estate that is performing in top gear. It is a generous wine, showing the luscious fruit of the vintage along with a good structure of dense tannins and layers of wood aging. Drink this ripe wine from 2024.
Cellar Selection -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Composed of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged for 16 months in 60% new and 40% one-year-old barrels, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 La Dominique is earthy on the nose with notions of red and black currants, blueberry compote, spice cake and potpourri. Full-bodied, rich and opulent with beautiful purity, it's soft and seductive in the mouth, finishing long and perfumed, displaying wonderful energy.
-
Wine Spectator
This has an intense beam of raspberry, red currant and blackberry confiture flavors, carried by a racy graphite edge from start to finish. Very solid. Best from 2020 through 2035.
-
Decanter
Dense, ripe and full. Dark fruit and spice notes with a touch of creamy oak. Generous fruit on the mid-palate. Powerful and driving on the finish. Good length and tension. Harmonious.
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.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.