Wine Article

Since its inaugural vintage in 1983, the wines of Dominus Estate have been crafted in a traditional and terroir-driven style by the luminous Christian Moueix of Petrus fame. Unable to pass up the change to make what he called the Haut-Brion of Napa, Moueix came to own the legendary Napanook Vineyard from which Dominus is bottled through a partnership with and eventual buyout of Robin Lail and Marcia Smith, the daughters of John Daniel of Inglenook Winery. Having said that, his wine is made in the vineyard, not the cellar; Moueix eschews irrigation, acidification, and the heavy usage of oak (18 months in French barrels, with only 1/3 new, for those interested in the details) common amongst his Napa colleagues. The exceptional terroir of Napanook in combination with his skillful viticulture and traditional winemaking techniques have repeatedly resulted in some of the most broadly enjoyable Napa cabs available and clearly place Dominus in the upper echelon of this genre. Since 1996 the estate has released a second wine called Napanook.