1997 Napanook

Among the developments here in the last year: the replanting to cabernet of the old chardonnay vines between the winery and Highway 29, and the installation of an electronic gate to stop the constant flow of walk-in visitors. According to enologist Boris Champy, both '99 and '98 brought difficult conditions for Dominus, although '99 was the drier year. It took substantial crop thinning to ripen the fruit, including a second thinning (what Champy called a toilettage or cleaning) at the end of August. The '98 harvest extended from September 20 to October 22, with a big gap in harvest dates between the merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Ultimately, nearly half of the estate's production was sold off; my early look at the '98, tasted just after an egg white fining, suggests that all these sacrifices have resulted in a very strong wine for the vintage. The '97 has turned out superbly; the estate ranks it just behind the '91 and '94.

The selection for the grand vin is essentially by vineyard block, with a few favored sites regularly making up the core of the blend. Each year a virtual yes/no decision is made on the estate capricious merlot (in for '97, almost completely out in '96); the cabernet franc, says Christian Moueix, usually makes the cut. "The petit verdot is a major plus in small quantities in a big year," Moueix adds, "while in a small year a fairly large portion of cabernet franc contributes body and flesh." Production of Dominus's second wine, labeled as Napanook, will rise to 6,000 cases in the '97 vintage, but the estate is still a seller of fruit and bulk wine. On my most recent visit to the estate, Moueix hosted a vertical tasting of all Dominus vintages back to 1987, the year he describes as "our first very good vintage." I will publish complete tasting notes on these wines in an upcoming issue.