By: AJ McClellan
There are classicGrialeys tastings and then there are epic Graileys tastings. Wednesdays tasting was one of epic proportion. The focus of the night was on Dominus and the exceptional line up we had in front of us comprised of the 2005, 2006, and famed 1994 vintages.
Dominus is produced by Christian Moueix who recently stepped down from the lofty position of winemaker for Petrus. Christian came to the states looking for a challenge, something that he could call his own without his family’s name hanging over it. He enlisted Robert Mondovi’s help to find a suitable vineyard that was capable of producing world class wines. In the end Christian was introduced to the old Inglenook winery in a small vineyard called Napanook.
Inglenook, which is Scottish for “A cozy place by the fire, was one of the first great wineries in California with a gentile 5 degree slope coming off the Mayacamas Mountains the Napanook vineyard is perfect for growing one of the most noble of grape varieties – Cabernet Sauvignon. After Christian found the vineyard he entered into a partnership with John Daniels daughters and created Dominus in 1981. The first vintage of Dominus was in 1983 and they have continued to produce world class wine ever since.
An interesting fact regarding Dominus is that although they use almost all the noble grape varietals from Bordeaux, since 2003 they have omitted Merlot…
The tasting started off with a bang, the first flight consisting of wines from all over the world – Domaine Ott Rose from Bandol with its soft texture and light nuance of strawberries and cream this is a perfect summer wine for the patio. Also of note was the invigorating 2007 Querciabella Batar Chardonnay / Semillon blend from Tuscany with a sharp crispness and tropical fruits of pineapple, mango, and papaya. We finished with the 2006 Napanook an easy drinking soft Cab with ripe fruit and soft tannins hitting all the good spots.
The second flight is what everyone has been waiting for with vertical of Dominus capped off with Cristal.
2005 Dominus – Rich fruit with tight tannins, the 05 was a great way to start the second flight. We had decanted the wines seven hours prior to service but I had the feeling that they could use another day in the decanter and continue to improve…
2006 Dominus – 96 points Parker and showing every bit of it. The 06 Dominus was soft and supple with a rich chocolate mocha nose and dark ripe plums and cherries on the palate this was the deal of the night for me. I saved this in my glass till the end of the night and it continued to get better and better revealing smoked meats and exotic spices.
1994 Dominus Magnum – This bottle was amazing with a very Bordeaux-esque nose of forest floor, dried leaves, white pepper, and cigar box. The palate was beautiful with soft well developed tannins and macerated bing cherries followed by black currants and dark plums.
1993 Cristal Magnum – This was by far the best bottle of Cristal that I have ever had. Creme Brulee with crushed vanilla beans topped off with caramelized pears and apricots. The effervescence was soft and pleasant on the palate with a light yeastiness on the finish.