2014 La Dominique

The 2014 La Dominique is a disappointing wine for the vintage, simply because it lacks fruit and joie-de-vivre . It just seems very conservative, timid even. The palate is medium-bodied with fine definition but there is a lack of personality and character. Where is the terroir here? This just needs more presence. Tasted at the vertical tasting at La Dominique.

Dark crimson. Some real freshness and angularity. Not quite enough sweet fruit in the middle but at least it’s not sweet and overdone… (JR)

The 2014 La Dominique was tasted on numerous occasions (in fact, a total of five in total—nothing like a bit of rigor). This was a wine I wanted to like, but the fruit felt disjointed and a little green on four out of five occasions. Initially, I put that down to atmospheric pressure, but I discerned the same on all bottles apart from one. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and a fine line of acidity on the entry, although again there was a jarring herbaceous tincture that persisted. This showed better out of barrel and indeed, the best bottle I tasted was actually at the London Union de Grand Cru tasting instead of those in Bordeaux. It was a perplexing showing, so I will give it another year and let's see what happens. Maybe I will taste it five times again!