Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesAromas of blueberry, mulberry, spiced plum, walnut, tobacco and cigar box on the nose. It’s full-bodied with firm, silky tannins that frame a core of ripe blue and purple fruit. Polished and rich with wonderful depth. Better from 2024.
Barrel Sample: 93-95
This estate has a terrific terroir and lies next to Cheval Blanc and Ripeau. Their 2018 Château La Dominique offers a medium to full-bodied, beautifully elegant and refined style to go with complex aromatics of black raspberries, cassis, spring flowers, and exotic spices. It’s not the biggest or richest wine out there, but it has class, elegance, and purity. This beautiful wine will drink nicely in its youth due to its balance, but will also age gracefully. The blend is 85% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Barrel Sample: 93-95.
This wine doesn't always get the balance right for me, but in 2018 La Dominique manages to convey power and intensity without a trace of overly sweet fruit or oak. It's well balanced, elegant and fresh but with power, concentration and ageing potential. A hugely impressive effort, helped by a slight austerity to the tannins through the finish. The estate is located right next to Cheval Blanc and is currently in the middle of an ambitious replanting programme that will put the emphasis on Cabernet Franc. Michel Rolland consults. Drinking Window 2027 - 2040. Barrel Sample: 94
Barrel Sample: 90-92
Respect for the soil in order to bring out its potential at its best, disciplined and careful work in the vines throughout their life-cycle, greatest care for the grapes from their ripening until the crucial period of fermentation, and finally the closest attention that is paid during the ageing process and the bottling. The winery has 23 hectares and the soils are 25% deep gravel, 75% old sand mixes with gravel over a clay sub-layer. The vines average 30 years of age.
