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One of the first Napa wines that I fell in love with and still going strong at almost 30 years old, with a good long while ahead of it still. This is delicate yet powerful, a wine that just gets better and better in the glass, showing off the black truffle and undergrowth flavours of a fully mature wine with melted tannins, leather, saffron and rich blackberries. It’s intense and balanced, still opulent and sexy. 40% new oak. Harvest in 1991 was October 6 to 18, but even so they harvested a little earlier in those days than they do today. Dominus is in the Yountville AVA (which was granted in 1999) but in 1991 still Napa Valley AVA. Drinking Window 2019 - 2040.Decanter | 100 DECAs for the 1991, 6,500 cases were produced of this potentially perfect wine. While this vintage of Dominus contains no Merlot in the blend, every time I taste it I am reminded of a great vintage of Petrus such as 1982, 1989 or 1990. Although different, the 1991 Dominus possesses extraordinary intensity, remarkable opulence, and amazing fruit extraction, all welded to a full-bodied structure. The wine’s sensational purity and inner-core of depth must be tasted to be believed. The 1991 will be approachable young because of its sweet tannin, yet it exhibits the potential to last for 25 years. Perhaps 1994 will rival it, but for now, the 1991 is unquestionably the greatest Dominus, as well as a potential legend in the making.Robert Parker | 99 RPThis set the benchmark for the estate early on and is still a stunner today, with a still-youthful core of cassis and plum puree notes coursing through, flanked with mature hints of warm earth, paving stone and tobacco. Shows a sparkle of savory in the background, with a long, subtle iron spine holding the finish together. While rich, this is a very piercing, persistent wine overall. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. -- Non-blind Dominus retrospective (August 2022). Drink now through 2031. 6,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThis 1991 Dominus was poured blind in Meursault and had me guessing Right Bank, perchance Cheval Blanc! Showing light signs of bricking on the rim, the bouquet unfurls gracefully with melted red fruit, cooked meat, ash and very subtle hints of hung game, all exquisitely defined. Mercurial in the glass, the aromatics seem to broaden out. The palate is beautifully balanced, with a perfect marriage of acidity, fruit concentration and harmony—a wine at that liminal point between primary and secondary phases. Quite savory, I suspected there was more Cabernet Franc in the blend than there actually is (around 10%, to the best of my knowledge). Red fruit, cigar box, touches of rosemary and sage open on long and sensual finish. With one foot in Bordeaux and the other in Napa, the 1991 captures the best of both and is at its absolute peak now.Vinous Media | 96 VM(Dominus (Napa Valley)) It had been more than six years since I last had the pleasure to drink a bottle of the 1991 Dominus, but this bottle popped up at a mixed lineup of wines that included such items as 1978 Trapet Chambertin and 1975 Latour à Pomerol and the wine held its own very well indeed. The bouquet is deep, refined and very polished, wafting from the glass in a blend of black cherries, cassis, salty soil tones, cigar wrapper and new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and fairly complex, with a ripe core of fruit, melting tannin and fine length and grip on the wide open and à point finish. This is a very high quality vintage of Dominus. (Drink between 2016-2040)John Gilman | 94 JG

There are 6,500 cases of the superb 2006 Dominus (91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot). Its dark plum/purple color is accompanied by aromas and flavors of truffles, forest floor, black cherries, black currants, and Asian spices. One of the finest wines of the vintage, it is complete, full-bodied, and seamlessly built with beautiful ripe tannins, low acidity, and a luscious, layered mouthfeel. The aromatics are even more evolved and complex than the 2005’s. The 2006 should drink well for 20-25 years.Christian Moueix, Dominus’ owner, has purchased the 35-acre Swanson Vineyard, which is situated between the well-known California bistros, Brix and Mustard’s. I suspect that will result in a third label from Dominus. At present, the production from these large holdings in Yountville is approximately 10,000-12,000 cases, with the second wine, Napanook, representing 3,500-4,000 cases, depending on the vintage. It is ironic that Christian Moueix, the great Merlot specialist at his flagship chateaux in Pomerol, especially Petrus, prefers the other Bordeaux varietals at his Napa property. Interestingly, when I visit Dominus, they always open a fresh bottle and serve it alongside a bottle that has been decanted for 24 hours. On each occasion, the more complex, open wine is the one that has had 24 hours of aeration, something buyers of this wine should take into consideration. These are the two strongest back to back vintages for Dominus since 1990-1991 and 2001-2002.Robert Parker | 96 RPStarting to take on the tertiary character of ripe fruit and savory components with dusty tannins. Full and round with a lovely texture and a light salty, meaty and tobacco character. Forest floor. Sweet and sour. Just opening.James Suckling | 96 JSBright red-ruby. Lovely floral lift contributes precision to the aromas of raspberry, rose petal and licorice. Sweet, high-pitched and sharply delineated; velvety but not thick. There’s a juicy quality to the ripe red fruit, mineral and graphite flavors, not to mention a firm underlying spine, that promises a long and positive evolution in bottle. Quite young but not austere, finishing with building tannins and lovely lift. The lingering perfume of red fruits, pepper, flowers and licorice is unusually complex. A really superb 2006, seemingly every bit as good as the sensational 2005.Vinous Media | 94+ VMUnless you knew that this was Dominus and had tasted older vintages, you might not be impressed. In its youth the wine is tannic and dry and linear. However, it is Dominus and it does need cellaring. Right now it shows blackberry, black currant, cedar and baker’s chocolate flavors. Will slowly open and reach maturity after 2011, and could easily develop for far longer.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEYouthfully floral and tight, this vintage of Dominus is a big wine that holds all of its weight behind a powerful structure. And it’s the power of that structure that is front and center-red apple-skin acidity and walnut-skin tannin-needing a ribeye with plenty of fat to bring the fruit out of its cage. Stay with it and the wine’s earthiness begins to meld with the blueberry and chocolate richness. But it’s all completely primary. Put this away for ten years, and drink the Napanook while it matures.Wine & Spirits | 93 W&S

Deep garnet in color with a touch of purple, the 2007 Proprietary Red Wine flaunts wonderfully expressive, vibrant blackberries and black cherries scents to begin, giving way to black raspberries and redcurrants with touches of Indian spices, potpourri, chargrill, sage, espresso, unsmoked cigars and tilled soil plus a waft of cloves. Medium to full-bodied, the elegantly styled palate offers tantalizing restraint with a firm frame of very fine, pixelated tannins and compelling freshness, finishing very long with an invigorating lift. Although this wine will handsomely reward a further 5-7 years in cellar, it can offer a lot of pleasure now but will need a couple of hours of decanting.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPThis mature wine remains dark black-red in colour. Dark chocolate, roast meat and forest resins haunt the blackberry and plum fruits, but it’s surprisingly vital too, with ringing, resonant, ripe acidity in orbit with the flesh, soft textures and overall amplitude. Pure Napa class. Drinking Window 2018 - 2028.Decanter | 97 DECEasily the greatest Dominus in memory. Comes down on the drier, lower alcohol and less ripe side than many Cabs in its league, yet lacks for nothing in complexity and sheer deliciousness. Tantalizes with blackberry tart, cherry, carob bean and a Pinot Noir-esque cola-rhubarb richness that retreats behind rich tannins and an earthiness suggesting sweet blond tobacco and dried sage. Clearly ageable, it will develop bottle complexity over the next 12 years, at least. It’s 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, with a few drops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEPure Cabernet in its curranty blackness, this is a top vintage of Dominus: It has the precision and elegance of a wine from a great vineyard. The aromas of currants and black figs meld with the mineral tightness of the tannin; there’s suppleness to the tannin that points up red tones in the fruit, seeming to glow from within. The wine is comforting and challenging at once, holding its freshness and bearing as it evolves over the course of several days. This should thrive in the cellar for two decades or more.Wine and Spirits | 96 W&S((14.1% alcohol): Saturated dark red with ruby tones. Bordeaux-like scents of currant, black cherry, blackberry, cedar, mocha and spicecake, with a cool medicinal note adding interest. This very suave, fine-grained wine starts closed but juicy, then builds steadily along its length (like a good Cuban cigar!), with flavors of dark berries, licorice and sweet spices continuing through a juicy, rising finish that leaves the palate vibrating. A very subtle wine of great finesse and insidious intensity, though not particularly Napa-like in its texture or weight. The tannins really dust the palate and linger. This very distinctive wine has a long life ahead of it.Vinous Media | 95 VMLots of forest berries and flowers in the nose. On the palate, it is thick and very rich, with big plummy fruit and a light raisin aftertaste. Chewy, round, and very generous on the palate. This still needs some time to come together. Leave this alone for another three to four years. 14+24+23+32. Find the wineJames Suckling | 93 JS

Made in a more masculine style, the 2008 Dominus has all of that along with bigger body and more structure, fat, density and texture. Both are brilliant wines and they represent the finest back-to-back vintages for Dominus since 2001 and 2002 or 1990 and 1991. Both the 2007 and 2008 Dominus should drink well for 25-30 years.This estate, owned by Christian Moueix, includes the famed Napanook Vineyard that was the base of so many of the historic Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignons of the 1950s and 1960s. Interestingly, they have completely eliminated Merlot from the bottling. The 2007 Dominus is a 5,400-case blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. There are 4,200 cases of the 2008 Dominus which is composed of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Lower yields resulted in a denser, more concentrated wine. The remarkable thing about these cuvees is that they smell like a hypothetical blend of a top Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and a serious Bordeaux, possibly a cross blend of a Pomerol and Pauillac. Both wines possess silky sweet tannins, which is the big difference between Dominus post-1990 and the first seven vintages, where the tannin content was relatively high. About 40% new oak is used in their upbringing.P.S. In a couple of years, readers should be on the look-out for a new estate wine from Christian Moueix. One mile north of the Napanook Vineyard, Moueix has purchased a 36-acre, already planted parcel known as the Schmidt Ranch. I tasted some of the 2009 barrel samples and this appears to be another promising venture with a completely different personality a more obviously Napa Valley/Cabernet Sauvignon, ripe style of wine than the more elegant, complex Dominus. I’m not sure what the name will be, but it will definitely not be called the Schmidt Ranch.Robert Parker | 99 RPNow 30 years old, this venture is a Californian classic. But the real success is how Christian Moueix, proprietor of Pétrus, so fine-tuned his approach with Cabernet while turning his back on Merlot. The 2008 is 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. While oak may be Napa’s mainstay, Dominus sees just 40% new barrels, leaving its fate more to a relentless focus on sorting and the Napanook vineyard’s sublime soils. A sweet floral edge enlivens creamy blackberry, sandalwood and gravelly mineral, with wellrobed tannins that only appear at the finish. For all the flesh, this has long-lived savoury nuance. Drinking Window 2013 - 2028Decanter | 97 DECThis is very pure fruit for Dominus. This will be interesting to see how it develops in the future. 2008 was a very small crop. Very perfumed and beautiful, with currants, flowers, and notes of mint. Full-bodied, with round velvety tannins that lead up to a chocolate and ripe berry finish. This is showing great fruit, and a great finish. Structurally this is like a 2005 La Mission. Best after 2014.James Suckling | 95 JSVery Bordeaux-like in its makeup and structure, this firm wine offers good acidity and tight tannins, delivering complex flavors of loamy earth, vivid dried currant and berry, with anise and mineral notes sprinkled in. My favorite young Dominus of late. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2022. 4,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(a blend of 83% cabernet sauvignon, 13% cabernet franc and 4% petit verdot): Good full red-ruby. Fresher on the nose than the Napanook, showing raspberry, plum, mocha and tobacco aromas. Round and plummy in the mouth, with a restrained sweetness to the flavors of milk chocolate, mocha and licorice. A wine of moderate ripeness for the vintage, and in a shell today. Finishes with substantial dusty tannins and notes of plum, mocha and chocolate. I don’t find quite the structure or grip of the best years.Vinous Media | 93 VMA short crop of concentrated berries produced this grand vintage of Dominus, one that will need long aging to show its best. Decant it if you open the bottle now, allowing the initial cabernet franc scent of green herbs to integrate—Josiah Baldivino of Michael Mina in San Francisco described it as “adding a fine detail, like a pocket square in a suit.” Air brings out the full stature of the wine, its black cherry richness, violet scents and silken texture. For provençal lamb.Wine & Spirits | 93 W&SAnother fine Dominus, dry, well-structured and ageworthy. Lacks the flashiness of the dramatic 2007, but is still ripe and rich enough to drink now, and should develop over the next six years. Rewards for the depth of blackberries, cassis, blueberries and cedar, wrapped into plush tannins.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

Bright full ruby. Very dark nose combines black fruits, violet, graphite and river rock, plus subtle hints of molasses, tobacco and leather; less relentlessly primary than more recent vintages, but then 2010 widely produced explosive, complex, soil-driven aromas. This wine, too, shows a slightly liqueur-like quality yet seems less evolved than the Roberta’s. Stunningly silky yet penetrating too, with its dark fruit, mineral and floral flavors conveying terrific vinosity and cut. A firm tannic spine gives this savory wine terrific grip on the palate-staining back end. A distinctly European style in the context of Napa Valley, with its outstanding flavor complexity aided by alcohol below 14%. (100% new French oak).Vinous Media | 98 VMThe 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard is a 275-case blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot. It reveals intense red and black currant fruit, good acidity, hints of camphor and graphite, superb purity, a full-bodied texture and an extremely youthful (almost like a barrel sample) freshness and focus. This is a remarkably young yet promising, full throttle, beautifully made Cabernet Sauvignon that should be cellared for 5-7 years and drunk over the following two to three decades.Robert Parker | 96 RPA classy, Bordeaux-like red from Napa, with ripe, rich fruit and tiers of currant, spice, cigar box and tobacco leaf. Well-built, showing a measure of restraint, this delivers fine-grained tannins and a long, tapered finish. Best from 2014 through 2026. 275 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Loads of dark tobacco aromas with blackcurrants and black olives. Boysenberries, too. Full to medium body, ultra-fine tannins and lots of flavors of smoke, dried roasted chillis, black truffles, mushrooms and fruit. Bright acidity on the finish. Sexy and subtle austerity. Alluring. Very approachable now but better in 2021.James Suckling | 98 JSComing from their valley floor site in Yountville, the 2014 Dominus is a rich, concentrated red, especially in 2014. A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot, it sports a deep ruby/plum color as well as a ripe nose of blackcurrants, unsmoked tobacco, lead pencil, licorice and smoked earth. With a ripe, full-bodied, concentrated style, sweet tannin, and a great finish, it has some similarities to the 1990 and will evolve for three decades or more. There’s 4,300 cases of this beauty.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2014s, where the production of Napanook was only 2,200 cases and Dominus slightly more than the 2015 at 4,000 cases, was another early harvest, although somewhat later than 2015. The 2014 Dominus, which is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot really struts its stuff. Moueix’s belief in dry farming seems to be paying off with stronger and stronger vintages, each successive year, and the 2014 is a sexy, opulent, layered, multidimensional wine with notes of red and blackcurrant, cedar wood, tobacco leaf , spice box and licorice. The color is a dense plum/ruby/purple, much like the Napanook. This is a beauty that is already drinking gorgeously – as most 2014s are – and will continue to evolve for 25 or so years.Robert Parker | 97 RPThe 2014 Dominus is endowed with tons of depth, power and muscle. Black cherry, plum, smoke, menthol, licorice, chocolate, dried herbs and dark spices are all pushed forward. Deep, pliant and exquisitely layered, the 2014 possesses tons of concentration and mid-palate depth. Like so many wines in this vintage, the 2014 comes across as a hybrid of 2013 and 2012. I very much like the energy and focus in this wine. This is a fabulous wine in every way. With time in the glass, the flavors gain in brightness and focus. There is certainly much to look forward to.Vinous Media | 96 VMAn initially reticent bouquet opens in the decanter and glass to reveal notes of blackberry, rich spice, tobacco leaf, elderberry and lily pollen. On the palate, fine, powdery tannins frame an elegant, deep wine with a lovely core of cool fruit. This will require some time in the cellar to reveal all its potential. Drinking Window 2022 - 2042.Decanter | 95 DECCedar, herb and savory sage open into a strong element of forest floor and rose garden. Tight firm tannin wrap around a robust ripeness that finds balance in accompanying acidity.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot and 8% Cabernet Franc aged in 40% new oak, the 2016 Proprietary Red Wine is deep purple-black in color and quite reticent at this youthful stage to begin, offering up subtle notions of potpourri, Indian spices, cigar box and iron ore over a core of crushed blackberries and black cherries with intermittent wafts of black and red currants, new leather and smoked meats. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a densely packed mid-palate and oodles of freshness framed by very ripe, finely grained tannins and laced with compelling earthy accents. It offers incredible vibrancy with tons of black and red fruit sparkle in the mid-palate leading to a provocative mineral element on the very long finish. If I could give more than 100 for this one, I would. To be released in May 2019.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPAnother possible legend in the making is the 2016 Dominus, a classic blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot and the rest Cabernet Franc brought up in 40% new French oak. Pure, pristine notes of charcoal, cold fireplace, smoke tobacco, and both blue and black fruits all flow to a full-bodied 2016 that has incredible elegance and finesse, yet also depth and density. It’s more backward and reserved than the 2015 and needs 4-5 years of cellaring. It will unquestionably live for 25-30 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDThe opulence of fresh flowers and dark fruit is so impressive. There’s so much going on, from flowers to currants. The palate is full and powerful, but what impresses most are the ripe tannins and the amazing poise at the finish. Tightens down at the end. A blend of 84 per cent cabernet sauvignon, eight per cent petit verdot and eight per cent cabernet franc. Drink in 2021.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2016 Dominus is a dark, somber wine. I don’t quite see the explosive energy of the 2013 or 2010, not the seductiveness of the 2012, but the 2016 has a distinct charm that is all its own. Quite frankly, I can’t remember a young Dominus with this combination of fruit density, freshness and polished tannins. A huge center of fruit emerge with time in the glass in a big, large-scaled Dominus that should provide readers with a long drinking window of pure pleasure once some of the baby fat wears off.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGThis marries a range of old-school savory, tobacco, chestnut and bay leaf notes with a dense and muscular core of dark currant and blackberry fruit, all backed by a loam-swaddled finish. Long and dense, but defined, with the fruit steadily emerging to win out in the end. Patience is required. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2040. 5,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS