1996 Dominus
00
Subscriber Access Only
or Sign Up
You'll Find The Article Name Here
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.
- By Author Name on Month Date, Year
Christian Moueix California adventure was not always as excellent as it is today. In fact, Moueix, who is his own toughest critic, is remarkably candid on the early vintages of Dominus, made from the Napanook Vineyard on the western side of Napa Valley outside Yountville: "1983 and 1984 don't count. In '85 we used some press wine and made some mistakes. 1986 I don't like too much. 1987 was the first very good vintage. 1988 wasn't ripe enough. 1989 was a September with rain, and we made a rather Bordeaux-styled wine. 1990 was the second turning point; here is where we started making richer and riper wine." Beginning with the 1990, a favored new parcel of young vines went into the grand vin, and the fruit was generally harvested riper to minimize vegetal character and to get more thoroughly ripe tannins. Another new block was introduced in '94, and this parcel has helped to further soften and enrich the wine.x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D While the wines of the '80s are a mixed bag, especially the vintages prior to 1987, there have been spectacular successes here during the decade of the '90s. The '91 and '94 are among the great cabernet-based wines produced to date in California and simply must be tasted by Bordeaux lovers outside the U.S.x000D x000D x000D x000D In 1995, more convinced than ever about the quality of his site, Moueix bought out his original partners in the venture, Robin Lail and Robin Smith (the daughters of John Daniel, whose Inglenook Vineyard made a string of legendary "cask cabernets" in the 1940s and '50s partly or mostly from Napanook Vineyard fruit). In '97 Moueix constructed a state-of-the-art winery on the 140-acre property (122 acres are under vine) that has enabled Dominus to vinify more of its own fruit, and to introduce a second wine, Napanook. Moueix is intimately involved in operations at Dominus, flying over from his base in Libourne every three months or so. Moueix's Bordeaux enologist Jean-Claude Berrouet visits Dominus every winter to help Napa-based enologist Boris Champy create the final blend for the new wine.x000D x000D x000D x000D x000D In recent vintages, Dominus has generally featured about 80% cabernet sauvignon, 10% cabernet franc, 5% merlot and 5% petit verdot. Since 1996, much of the declassified material has gone into the Napanook bottling. About 6,000 to 8,000 cases of Dominus are made each year; 2,000 cases of Napanook were bottled in '96, and production rose to 4,000 in '97. I tasted the following vintages of Dominus with Moueix at the estate in early March.
00
Subscriber Access Only
or Sign Up
You'll Find The Article Name Here
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.
- By Author Name on Month Date, Year
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.
00
Subscriber Access Only
or Sign Up
You'll Find The Article Name Here
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.
- By Author Name on Month Date, Year
"In Bordeaux," says general manager Jean-Marie Maureze, "when we get to 13% our fruit is ripe. But here, at 13% potential alcohol you still have a green taste." Still, he adds, overmaturity of fruit in Napa Valley is a big problem: "We normally have no more than two days to pick perfectly ripe fruit before it begins to become overripe." Now that the spacious new winery is in operation, Dominus will be able to offer a second wine, based on cabernet sauvignon, beginning with the '97 vintage.