Solid cork. Some woodsy sous bois on the nose mixed with complex cherry fruits. The wine has real depth of fruit on the palate - truly complex, matched with grippy acid still. Really special fruit. Those old vines ! A finish with some power and punch. Tannins fully resolved. Balanced. The nose is a little more developed than the palate - and rather more developed to my taste than ideal - but there is no denying the quality of what follows. Perhaps just lacks some elegance - but that is Dominodes. A really good 1996. Bought on release.
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This was a very good bottle. A bit backwards aromatically when I pulled the cork and poured a taste, but a half hour later the wine had come together beautifully. Pungent aromatically, with musk and soil inflected red fruit, very pure and fresh, and with good density and balance on the palate, which had real punch. It began to tail off after about 90 minutes - if I owned more I would drink it. A very lovely 96 and a good example of the potential of this vineyard.
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Stacked with complexity: tea, rose hips, brown sugar, sous bois, cured meat....still plenty of sap and almost tannic on first pour. Well stored bottles need at least an hour of air to flesh out and gain fruit depth. Drink now or hold another 1-2 years to see further secondary development.
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Aha! Thank you M. Bruno Clair. These two magnums were perfect. The one we had at New Year with goose worked because the acidity cut through the richness of the meat. Here we didn't have that counterfoil, but neither of the magnums had the acidity of the previous bottle - indeed they had smokey tinned strawberry fruit, some earthy undertones and a great balance. A real success and perfectly lovely. On the basis of these two magnums, both of which were pretty much identical in tasting, perhaps the previous bottle (magnum) had been slightly less than perfect contents?
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Showing nicely. It starts out with a savory, earthy aroma which kind of mutes itself early on, but it is very fleshy and accessible on the palate, with deeper flavors, fuller flesh, and a more rounded, polished veneer than anything from this vintage has offered in awhile. Hopefully with more time its aroma will come back but there is enough rich sap on the palate to make this enjoyable even now.
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HM's Bruno Clair SLB 1er Cru La Dominode Vertical + Other Gems (Absinthe, Boat Quay): Pretty good. This had a nice dark fruited nose, with plums and dark berries, patted down with a bit of earth, some gentle spice notes and a nice floral scent. I liked the palate too. It was marked by the high acidity of the vintage, but this was well married to firm flavours of black cherries and berries and a nice, meaty midpalate. The acidity really kept the wine ever so clear and transparent, a bit linear maybe, but with a lovely sense of focus to it. Very nice stuff. It was well-structured too, with a bit of chew from the tannins right at the end of a very fresh, nicely mouthwatering finish that lingered on the back-palate with notes of spice, meat and the slightest touch of florals. A very charming wine, still youthful, a bit straightforward at the moment, but it should age quite gracefully over the next decade and perhaps beyond as well.
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Tobacco, fresh soil, and dark currents on the nose. Medium red in color and light body. Lots of earthiness on the mouth with flavors of fresh fruit barely peaking through and firm tannins. Patience is required with a bit more aging.
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Delicious fruity and loads of fresh life left. Forest floor rather than farmyard smells, so in magnum at least I am looking forward to trying more in a couple of years...
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Black cherry, spices, some florals and a little bit of rubber on the nose. The palate lacks fruit but there is some interesting texture and the length is alright.
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7/18/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:
Solid cork. Some woodsy sous bois on the nose mixed with complex cherry fruits. The wine has real depth of fruit on the palate - truly complex, matched with grippy acid still. Really special fruit. Those old vines ! A finish with some power and punch. Tannins fully resolved. Balanced. The nose is a little more developed than the palate - and rather more developed to my taste than ideal - but there is no denying the quality of what follows. Perhaps just lacks some elegance - but that is Dominodes. A really good 1996. Bought on release.
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7/11/2019 - brooklynguy Likes this wine:
This was a very good bottle. A bit backwards aromatically when I pulled the cork and poured a taste, but a half hour later the wine had come together beautifully. Pungent aromatically, with musk and soil inflected red fruit, very pure and fresh, and with good density and balance on the palate, which had real punch. It began to tail off after about 90 minutes - if I owned more I would drink it. A very lovely 96 and a good example of the potential of this vineyard.
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8/3/2016 - spacewrangler wrote:
Give this at least 30-45 minutes to flesh out, really changes from thin and not interesting to delicious.
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10/24/2015 - spacewrangler wrote:
Stacked with complexity: tea, rose hips, brown sugar, sous bois, cured meat....still plenty of sap and almost tannic on first pour. Well stored bottles need at least an hour of air to flesh out and gain fruit depth. Drink now or hold another 1-2 years to see further secondary development.
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7/12/2015 - Lordswood wrote: 91 Points
Aha! Thank you M. Bruno Clair. These two magnums were perfect. The one we had at New Year with goose worked because the acidity cut through the richness of the meat. Here we didn't have that counterfoil, but neither of the magnums had the acidity of the previous bottle - indeed they had smokey tinned strawberry fruit, some earthy undertones and a great balance. A real success and perfectly lovely. On the basis of these two magnums, both of which were pretty much identical in tasting, perhaps the previous bottle (magnum) had been slightly less than perfect contents?
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3/29/2015 - Beaunedoc Does not like this wine: flawed
DOA. I've had it since it's commercial sales days. The 97 and 98 held up nicely but not this one. Too bad.
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11/9/2014 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 90 Points
Showing nicely. It starts out with a savory, earthy aroma which kind of mutes itself early on, but it is very fleshy and accessible on the palate, with deeper flavors, fuller flesh, and a more rounded, polished veneer than anything from this vintage has offered in awhile. Hopefully with more time its aroma will come back but there is enough rich sap on the palate to make this enjoyable even now.
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1/13/2013 - Paul S wrote: 91 Points
HM's Bruno Clair SLB 1er Cru La Dominode Vertical + Other Gems (Absinthe, Boat Quay): Pretty good. This had a nice dark fruited nose, with plums and dark berries, patted down with a bit of earth, some gentle spice notes and a nice floral scent. I liked the palate too. It was marked by the high acidity of the vintage, but this was well married to firm flavours of black cherries and berries and a nice, meaty midpalate. The acidity really kept the wine ever so clear and transparent, a bit linear maybe, but with a lovely sense of focus to it. Very nice stuff. It was well-structured too, with a bit of chew from the tannins right at the end of a very fresh, nicely mouthwatering finish that lingered on the back-palate with notes of spice, meat and the slightest touch of florals. A very charming wine, still youthful, a bit straightforward at the moment, but it should age quite gracefully over the next decade and perhaps beyond as well.
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11/24/2012 - Lychee wrote: 90 Points
Tobacco, fresh soil, and dark currents on the nose. Medium red in color and light body. Lots of earthiness on the mouth with flavors of fresh fruit barely peaking through and firm tannins. Patience is required with a bit more aging.
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9/17/2012 - Lordswood wrote: 89 Points
Delicious fruity and loads of fresh life left. Forest floor rather than farmyard smells, so in magnum at least I am looking forward to trying more in a couple of years...
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1/12/2011 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 89 Points
Savigny-lès-Beaunes, including vertical of Clair La Dominode (Vin Vino Wine, Palo Alto, California): From magnum - slightly bricking dark cherry red color; intriguing, menthol, sous bois, tobacco, cigar box nose; rich, dried berry, cigar box, tobacco, spiced plum, sandalwood palate--invokes the sense of an old dowager in her bed chamber, redolent of perfume and face powder; medium-plus finish
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11/14/2010 - the flying dutchman wrote: 87 Points
Nice wine but not living up to its expectations.
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3/28/2008 - CamWheeler wrote: 87 Points
Black cherry, spices, some florals and a little bit of rubber on the nose. The palate lacks fruit but there is some interesting texture and the length is alright.
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