France

Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot

Cabernet Franc

Chateau La Dominique

Chateau La Dominique Grand Cru Classe Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Bordeaux

Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Sleek dark cocoa bean, liqourice, violet, cassis, damson and black cherry fruit, with succulent edges of grilled cedar and tobacco. This is a great wine in the vintage, one of the real stars of St Emilion. Tasted twice, thoroughly impressed with the quality, texture, weight and lift of this wine. Director Gwendaline Lucas, Julien Viaud consultant, 25ha estate. An upscore from En Primeur

Inside Bordeaux

Sommelier

Medium intensity ruby, good quality, carefully measured cedar and sandalwood smoke on the nose, not overpowering but adding depth through the mid-palate, which is not always the case in 2024. Acidity kicks up a little high on the finish, but there is real charm here, and chewy tannins on the finish that suggest this can soften further over ageing. Gwendeline Lucas director. Tasted twice. 3.56 pH. 50% new oak. Harvest 18 to 30 September. 31hl/ha

La Dominique 2023 has a deep garnet-purple color. It jumps from the glass with notes of juicy plums, strawberry preserves, and wild thyme notes, plus hints of tar and licorice. The medium to full-bodied palate is velvety and generous, with bags of freshness and a mineral-laced finish.

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2022 La Dominique needs a swirl or two to unlock notes of juicy blueberries, blackberry pie, and kirsch, giving way to underlying wafts of pencil shavings and tar. The full-bodied palate is plush and juicy, with bags of expressive black and blue fruits, finishing with a red berry lift. The blend this year is 88% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Precise and perky, blueberry and raspberry fruits, well balanced and topped with grilled peppercorn spice and liqourice root. Tasted twice, this is a sculpted and enjoyable 2021. 38hl/h yield, 50% new oak, 10% amphoras and wine globes. Yann Monties technical director.

The 2019 La Dominique is made from 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out with bold notions of black cherry compote, fruitcake, and juicy plums, leading to suggestions of dried herbs and pencil lead. The full-bodied palate has bags of bright crunchy black fruit with firm, grainy tannins and a lively lift to the finish.

Amatør

This is extremely juicy, has a delicate and buoyant feel to the tannins that makes it a standout in the vertical, clear texture to the raspberry fruits, touch of raspberry leaf, and a saline kick on the finish. First vintage for Gwendeline Lucas as director where she was making all the decisions, and it is a good one. 40% new oak, 10% amphora and in vegetal polymer eggs. Just 16hl/h yield, and yet delivers a juicy feel overall.

Rich and round through the mid palate, silky texture, this has power and handles it well. Chocolate and liqourice, blueberry fruit, enjoyable overall, trace of heat on the finish. 45hl/h yield, 60% new oak. This is the first vintage with Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, with grapes that had been planted in 2008, right opposite L'Evangile on a plot of gravel over clay soils.

Amateur

Touch of caramel on the nose, gently smoked, well handled and carefully expressed. This is soft through the mid palate, but they have not tried to overly push what was a difficult vintage, and the overall feel here is of unfussy fruit, gentle blackberries and raspberries, fading to tobacco leaf and campfire smoke. No need to wait. 31hl/h yield, 50% new oak, 3.6ph.

Dyp rubinrød farge. Lukter røde, modne plommer, kirsebær, eik, mørk sjokolade. 
Smaker av solbær, plumme, eik, lær og vanilje.
Bløt munnfølelse, lett, men fyldig. 

An excellent moment to begin drinking this wine, well-integrated with fine melted tannins, raspberry puree and plum fruits, a touch of crème de mure, and a restrained elegant feel overall, sappy and fresh lick of acidity on the finish. 50% new oak. Michel Rolland consultant, Yannick Evenou director.

The structure of 2010 allows the highly extracted fruit and oak a frame to build out around, and this has impact and character, but it struggles to really deliver a mouthwatering freshness. 50% new oak for ageing. Michel Rolland consultant, 37hl/h yield.

These were the years where I struggled with the over-concentration in La Dominique, and tasting it at 15 years old underlines the progress that has been made at this property by the recent team. Exuberant in style, with grilled blueberries, fig and raspberries, sandalwood and incense. 50% new oak for ageing. Yannick Evenou director, arriving in 2009 and staying until 2015. 48hl/h yield.

Fairly clear, medium garnet with a brown tint.
Clean and fresh. Medium intense with tertiary aroma characteristics. Smells of black currants, plums, blueberries, strawberries, liquorice, eucalyptus and oak spices. Developed nose. Tertiary taste characteristics. Tastes of mature blackcurrants, figs, herbs, cedar three, tobacco and leather. 

This wine is dry with a medium acidity. Polished, medium tannins. Medium alcohol. Medium body. Medium flavour intensity. Very nice balance. Good complexity, lacks a bit of concentration. Lacks some smoothness in the finish. Long finish.  

Ready to drink, will hold for another 5-7 years. 

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.	16519801
Producer	Chateau La Dominique
Vintages	2020
Country	France, Bordeaux, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Bottle	75 cl

Alcohol	15 %
Acid	5,3 %
Sugar	< 3 g/l

Packaging	Glass
Cork type	Naturkork
Selection	Bestillingsutvalget
Wholesaler	Magma Wines AS
Carrier	Skanlog AS