Dominus Estate 1999
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Winemaker Notes
#11 on Wine Spectators Top 100 Wines of 2002
The last vintage of the century will be remembered for its exceptional quality. This vintage was characterized by its extremely long growing season - a season where patience eventually paid dividends in the form of wine with outstanding character and complexity.
The 1999 vintage is beautifully harmonious with an inviting color and a very full body. This wine starts with a delicate entry of black cherry aromas, evolving toward impressively structured tannins. The long, fragrant finish reveals spicy notes and a hint of cedar.
The 1999 blend includes 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc, 9% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot.
This wine is built to age. Christian Moueix recommends decanting this wine prior to serving, to allow it to develop its full potential. This is especially important when serving young wines.
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesOpens with herbal aromas of sage, dill and tobacco, with a vanilla, oaky note, so it's surprising how rich it drinks. Sweet cassis is on the palate, framed in soft but intricate tannins. The wine is young and needs decanting or mid-term aging.
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.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.