2016 Dominus Estate Bordeaux Blend Napa Valley 750 ml

“If I could give more than 100 for this one, I would.”

Dominus has stood at the pinnacle of Bordeaux-style winemaking in California for nearly 40 years, and no bottle has ever stood taller than the 2016. It is one of the most stirring California wines we’ve ever tasted, and in the estimation of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, it lies somewhere beyond perfection. 

We’re thrilled to bring our members our first-ever allocation from Dominus Estate, a bottle that proudly displays the DNA it shares with Bordeaux’s Château Petrus and Napa Valley’s legendary Inglenook. Hypnotic in its aromas of concentrated red fruit accented by new leather and florals, utterly engrossing on the palate with its mountains of berries, mint, and graphite, and striking in its structure, this is the type of towering, regal wine that made Dominus a legend. It will thrive in your cellar for the next quarter-century and beyond.

We recommend anchoring your collection with the flawless 2016 Dominus now, and then coming back for the story behind this singular wine.

In the 1960s Christian Moueix, son of the legendary wine merchant Jean-Pierre Moueix, went to California to study at UC Davis. He returned to Bordeaux in 1970 to work for the family company, and while he was there, revolutionized vineyard techniques by introducing crop-thinning as a way to improve grape quality.

But the singular terroir of Napa Valley still called to him, and one of the Valley’s most storied pieces of land pulled him back: the 124-acre Napanook Vineyard, which as part of the Hopper Ranch, was originally planted in the 1850s. Marked by well-drained gravelly loam, the mid-valley parcel was purchased in 1943 by Inglenook proprietor John Daniel to contribute to his Cabernet Sauvignon, which stood for years as one of the finest wines in the New World. 

In 1982, Christian entered into a partnership with Robin Lail and Marcia Smith, John Daniel’s daughters, and began farming the vineyard to his specifications. He dry-farms the grapes, relying on their deep root system for water and using cover crops to maintain the moisture in the ground. He thins the clusters (as he pioneered in Bordeaux) in order to regulate the yield and optimize quality, and even rinses the grapes of dust 10-15 days before harvest to enhance the purity of the fruit. The hand-harvested bunches—cut with small shears rather than harvest knives to minimize bruising and vine damage—are gathered in small baskets to maintain their integrity.

This meticulous work yields a wine that was excellent from the start. Robert Parker called the inaugural 1983 vintage “unquestionably among the finest” Cabernets of the year, and by the second bottling, was mistaking Dominus for a top Bordeaux. By the 1990s, Dominus had distinguished itself with a handful of perfection-pushing scores, and it has now taken up permanent residence in the many critics’ 98-100 point zone. 

Crafted at a true atelier—there is no visitor tasting room at Dominus—from one of the finest sites in Napa Valley, Dominus is one of the most coveted and collectible wines in California. We are thrilled to bring you their best, and know you’ll enjoy it for the next two decades.