2001 Dominus
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Tasting notes
The 2001 Dominus is one of the most backward wines of the vintage. Readers who own it will have to be patient, as the 2001 needs a few years to still be at its best! Time in the glass brings out huge dark fruit along with hints of iron, gravel, spice and leather that add to its brooding, imposing personality. The 2001 is approachable with a few hours of air, but is very much a powerhouse. Boris Champy was the winemaker, while Jean-Claude Berrouet was the consulting winemaker
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Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Bright, full ruby-red. Dark, reticent scents of blackberry, cassis, licorice, mocha, toffee and minerals. Broad, dense, dark and savory on entry, then thick and vibrant in the middle palate, and still quite youthful in spite of its breadth and richness. Shows little easy sweetness but really spreads out to saturate the palate without leaving any impression of dryness. There's something Old World about this. The highly concentrated, slightly medicinal dark berry and cocoa powder flavors may yet gain in sweetness as the wine unwinds. Finishes with firm, broad, dusty tannins and sneaky persistence and breadth, with slowly emerging sweetness. I reported in 2004 that this savory wine was bottled with a very high pH of 4.01, but it hardly lacks for energy or structure. In fact, this youthfully dense, rather powerful Bordeaux blend is just approaching what is likely to be an extended period of peak drinkability.
Christian Moueix knew it was a great vintage straightaway. ‘The biggest problem for a winemaker in a great vintage with lots of sugar is that it can be difficult to finish the fermentation. The poor yeast are suffering to transform the sugars into alcohol so the danger of stuck fermentation and VA is there. It can be an element of complexity.’ He is always aware of raised VA in this wine. Very bright crimson with some blue still evident. Very rich start and really luscious but with structure. Lots of fine tannins still hidden. Complex and still quite youthful. (JR)
A brilliant showing for Christian Moueix’s well-known Napanook Vineyard, the 2001 Dominus is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot. A classic in the making, this is a flawless, seamless example of elegant, complex Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that possesses a Bordeaux-like personality. This gorgeous, sexy, opulent, dense ruby/purple-colored wine reveals sweet caramel, mocha, creme de cassis and kirsch notes intermixed with a hint of espresso roast as well as underbrush. Ripe, long and full-bodied with well-integrated tannin, acidity, alcohol and wood, this prodigious 2001 is drinkable now and over the next 25+ years given this estate’s longevity track record. A virtually perfect wine, it is one of the most complex 2001s at present. Tel. (707) 944-8954; Fax (707) 944-0547
About the producer
Dominus Estate – the Napa property owned by Christian Moueix of Pétrus and La Fleur-Pétrus – has rapidly earned cult status.