The 2013 Dominus is, to my way of thinking, one of the most profound wines Christian Moueix has yet made in his rather brilliant winemaking history, both in France and in Napa Valley. This wine, with very low yields of only 3,500 cases and a final blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc, offers up notes of cedar wood, forest floor, loamy soil and oodles of blackberry and blackcurrant fruit. Very opaque purple in color, super-pure and intense, this wine has low acidity, but ripe, noticeable tannins. This is a 30- to 40-year wine and a profound effort from this famous vineyard in Yountville. Drink it over the next 40+ years. (30th Anniversary bottle)
The aromas to this are multidimensional and fascinating with black truffles, bark, cloves, black currants and citrus - even ginseng. Full-bodied, yet reserved, even austere, with chewy and powerful tannins that remain polished and refined. The flavors are more umami and savory. Then there's forest fruits and red orange undertones. It lasts for minutes. A wine to age for a lifetime. It's an experience to taste this. A new classic showing its history and tradition as a source of the greatest wines ever from Napa. A wine to always enjoy.
The 2013 Dominus overwhelms all the senses with its magnificent overall balance and towering intensity. Deep and nearly impenetrable in the glass, the 2013 boasts off the charts dry extract and overall power. Violets, smoke, black cherries, menthol, incense, crème de cassis and dark spices are some of the many signatures that take shape in the glass. Even better in bottle than it was in barrel, the 2013 is utterly magnificent. This is a remarkably vivid, nuanced wine considering its sheer size.
This is a beautifully balanced wine with an international appeal in a class of its own with undeniable quality. A wine so great hits you in the soul and supersedes any contextual notion of your own personal reaction. Pure and precise red and black currants aromas with fantastic earthy intensity and dried wildflower notes. Medium to full-bodied and plentiful, the range of expressive fruit shows a wine still holding onto its youth but finally inching into secondary territory, beginning to show what is in store for the long haul. Plenty of primary red and black fruit and a tremendous sense of its earthy-mineral expression imbued with a spine of racy, tart acidity with blood orange quality. The finish is exceedingly long and refined, balanced, balletic, mineral-driven, and floral, and resolves with crushed cocoa nibs and a kiss of minty freshness. Spectacular.
TWI
100pts
The Wine Independent
A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Petit Verdot, the 2013 Dominus is deep garnet in color. It needs a fair bit of swirling to bring out notes of black cherry preserves, crème de cassis, and blueberry jam, plus suggestions of mocha, cardamom, and fertile loam, with a hint of truffles. Full-bodied, the palate is still so, so tight, revealing tightly wound layers of black fruit, minerals, and spices, supported by a firm, grainy backbone, finishing with epic length. It still needs a good 5 years!
Dense for sure but sleek, racy even, with cassis, bitter plum and dark cherry reduction notes allied to a cool cast iron spine, while flashes of licorice root, alder and apple wood blossom through the finish. Reveals lots of coiled energy, lots of grip and lots of fruit -- and everything is in proportion. A brick house wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. -- Non-blind Dominus retrospective (August 2022). Best from 2028 through 2040. 3,500 cases made.