Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is initially closed, only allowing the fruit to show more strongly as it develops in the glass. However, there is fruit here along with some firm tannins. The aftertaste is juicy and fruity.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Decanter
Character and brambly bilberry fruit on the attack but it trails off quicker than it should. Tasted in London and again at the estate, and each time it showed a Cabernet Franc dominance, with clear floral edges along with blackcurrant bud and hedgerow. The frost meant they had yields of just 18hl/ha. The oak is extremely carefully measured, with the fruit in focus and a good clean finish. Impressive working of a tough vintage. Drinking Window 2024 - 2040
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the northwest part of Saint-Emilion, next to Cheval Blanc, the 2017 Château La Dominique is a beautiful, nicely concentrated, complex 2017 that should easily be an outstanding wine. A blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, brought up in 30% new French oak, it offers loads of ripe black cherry and black raspberry fruit, tobacco leaf, and damp earth-like aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, nicely textured, concentrated, and with terrific polish and elegance, it’s a rocking effort that will drink nicely for 10-15 years. Tasted twice.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
James Suckling
There’s a rich thread of dark berries, as well as blood-orange, spicy and leafy notes. The palate has a supple and succulent core of quite ripe, fleshy fruit in the darker-berry spectrum. Good depth here. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Lively, with loganberry, damson plum and red currant fruit forming the core. A racy mineral streak runs through the middle, while fresh savory and floral nuances emerge along the edges. Focused, lengthy and elegant. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2021 through 2031.
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.