2002 Napanook

Inclement weather during bloom and temperature fluctuations later in the season cut the crop level to 1.8 to 2.8 tons per acre and yielded wines with strong dry extract and tannic backbone in 2002, according to winemaker Boris Champy.Acid levels were also very high by Dominus standards, he added.Following a cold, rainy April and a very late budbreak, Champy added, the 2003 harvest was very late, with the estate picking into November.Although the merlot berries were large, the skins in 2003 were, on average, riper than those of the previous year.Still, Champy notes that the estate does not consider '02, '03 or '04 to be "fantastic" vintages in the quality league of 2001, 1997 and 1994.

Winemaker Boris Champy made it clear that Christian Moueix and his team at Dominus prefer the 2001 vintage to 2002. The small yield and warm harvest of 2001 gave very intense, tannic wines," said Champy. But the tannins are of very high quality, and the wine seems approachable already. A great wine is great from the beginning, and the 2001 Dominus should age a long time based on the nobility of its tannins."In comparison, Champy added, the 2002 offers excellent intensity, but not the same finesse of tannins. The fruit was picked after a heat wave, with higher potential alcohol than the 2001 but also slightly higher acidity. In fact, he added, it has the highest acidity of any vintage here since 1996. The finished 2001, on the other hand, features the lowest acids and highest pH ever recorded at Dominus. Following a relatively cool summer of '01, the fruit enjoyed protracted hang time. It's a classic, ripe, Right Bank style of vintage," said Champy. And yet we picked at 24 degrees brix, a level of potential alcohol that most people around here would consider low."