Dominus Vertical plus some white Burgs and a couple of Ports

My tasting group met last night to taste thru a vertical of Dominus. I was excited about this as it is consistently my favorite California Cab based wine (over time). The wines showed well. I preferred the older wines more than my group. This is pretty consistent with prior tastings (Vic, where were you?). That said, I was a fan of all of the wines. These really do age well.

All wines were consumed blind over two hours. They were popped and poured (except the Ports).

A couple of whites to start.

• 2002 Domaine François Mikulski Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Golden in color. The nose is slightly smokey with red apples. Slightly weak though. On the palate, tart red apples and this Chinese kind of sweet and sour note. A bit funky. Nice wine, but I think its starting to turn a bit.

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• 1999 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

  Golden in color, ever so slightly lighter than gold. The nose is very smokey, oaked and plenty of grapefruits. On the palate, this has great acidity but also lots of tart fruit. Long powdered lemon candies on the finish. This was a bit too oaky to be really outstanding for my tastes, but most of the group really liked it. It was much better a couple hours later, warmer and with more air. There is a lot of life left in this.

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The Dominus Flight:

• 1989 Dominus Estate 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  I know this is not supposed to be good, and there is a Reserve bottling from that lone year with the "good stuff". that said, I really liked this wine. A bit more than the group but they liked it too. Purple in color with some crimson. Just an outstanding nose right out of the bottle. It did fade at the end of the evening though. Earthy with tobacco and bell pepper and some cassis. Complex but this is about tertiary qualities, not fruit at this point. On the palate, juicy texture. Complex bell pepper, spice, leather and cassis. Long finish with just a touch of heat. This is not getting better, so drink up. If you like old wines, this is really nice.

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• 1988 Dominus Estate 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Purple with some crimson. The oldest tasting wine on the table. Dusty nose with leather, old dry barn, and just some remnants of cassis. On the palate, this started with nothing, but showed more and more over an hour and then kind of plateaued. Once open, this is old with just hints of cranberry, but lots of interesting nooks and crannies to make it fun. Again, I liked it more than the group though. Also needs to be drunk soon.

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• 1987 Dominus Estate 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This has always been my favorite Dominus, and although it was not my WOTN, it was for a time, and very well could have been. This wine has turned the corner and now seems on a slow downward descent. But it is still rocking good. Spice, cassis, leather and bell peppers on the nose. The palate is juicy with surprisingly bold fruit still. Also some green tobacco. Complex with a long finish. I could drink this all night but it would be great with dinner.

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• 1992 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Easily the groups WOTN and close for me. It is lacked some of the complexity of the older wines, but still has a ton of fruit which made it delicious and more robust. Cassis, cigar tobacco and cinnamon on the nose. Juicy and complex and still dominated by fruit without the bell pepper of the older wines. Long finish. This has years to go. Great wine.

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• 1995 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  My last place wine, but still one I would happily drink. It lacked any level of complexity compared to the other wines. The group liked it much more, making it the #2 WOTN. For me, the nose had black raspberries and graphite. On the palate, raspberries and cherries that were a bit sweet and sugary. The finish had black licorice on it. I would hold these, but then, I like how these wines age. All that criticism aside, it is a delicious and tasty wine right now too.

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• 1986 Dominus Estate 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  The biggest surprise for me. This was the first time I had this vintage IIRC and it was my WOTN (and the groups #3). Spice, cassis, leather on the nose. The palate had black raspberries and plenty of tannins. This was complex and still had fruit, but did not have the green pepper/tobacco that some find distracting. Layers on layers of fruit and earth. Long finish.

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Some Ports to end up. Also served with a delicious Almond Cream Pie Dessert.

• 1983 Fonseca Porto Vintage 95 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  This was drinking just great. Ruby in color with a slight amount of browning. The nose is great with black raspberries and dark chocolate and some anise and a bit of alcohol. Complex and smooth to drink. Raspberries in layers of complexities. Really smooth finish. This had about a 2.5 hour decant and was just great.

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• 1987 Moreira Porto Vintage 87 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Decanted 2.5 hours. Ruby in color with some browning. The nose is simple with black raspberries. On the palate, this is kind of rough with raspberries and dirt. It did mellow out a bit in the glass but just not in the same league as the Fonseca.

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