Deep purple colour. Bouquet of cinnamon and vanilla mixed with earth. Body is moderate. Slight tannins. Flavours of dark chocolate, tobacco, slate with some plum. Finish is fairly lengthy. Quite enjoy it.
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Pleasantly surprised by this. I had anticipated a Napa Cab bomb of overextraction and new oak pithiness but this is actually skewed to old world with sufficient age on it. Great balance of savoury fruit and fine tannins and well-managed alcohol & acid. Went well with seared flank steak salad with roasted beets, goat cheese and caramelized shallots.
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Had a little taste before decanting for two hours - fairly harsh tannins as you would expect but a lot of fruit. Silky smooth after time in the decanter and by the end I was battling with my fizz-loving girlfriend to finish the bottle. Delicious wine and was a great accompaniment to my bone-in ribeye.
Very enjoyable and drinking well right now. Pop and pour and had over two nights. Tobacco and herb aromas, medium+ body, dark fruits, currant, cedar, oak and firm tannins.
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Followed over 2 nights. Great herbal lift mixed with very dark currants. Fine tannins but still quite prominent. Seems to be in early maturity Solid wine, in somewhat of an old school style. Really enjoyed.
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Brief decant and drank with a ribeye. Initially out of balance but came together with 20 minutes of air and some vigorous swirling to become a throughly enjoyable wine. Less tannic than your typical napa cab but with all the expected black fruits, spices, cedar and oak. Length of finish is mid-range. A nice wine, great at $50 not outrageous at $65 but not a value either. This has all the makings of a crowd pleaser.
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A birthday dinner (L'Escargot, Soho, London): Very well-received by the group, although I found this a bit big and heavy. Red/black fruit, plum sauce, tobacco leaf, spice box. Well put-together, nothing out of place, very good just (unsurprisingly) quite a big style.
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Deep ruby red. Spiced on the nose with some tobacco, pepper, cinnamon, graphite and dark red berries. Medium tannins (7/10) with a bit of sweetness. Full bodied with flavors of black currants, cherries, light baking spices and pencil shavings. Long and lingering finish. Drink till 2034.
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As another said, initially the aromatics are "gorgeous". But that soon fades. Notes of black fruits, leather and thyme. Medium/full body. Good structure and acidity with firm, fine grained tannins. Medium length finish with earth notes.
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Four hour decant. Nearly opaque purple magenta color. Basil, candy cane, fig, black cherry and subtle used coffee grounds and blueberry on the rich, brooding nose. Satiny, tongue drying palate. Full, round, chewy tannins on the medium+ finish. This is nice, but likely one or two years from its peak. The finish was shorter than expected as well.
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This was just fine. A bit herbaceous on the nose for my liking, but cherry, earthy, acid on the palate. Easy drinking —tastes like a ‘second wine.’ Probably will get better in the cellar but not loads of complexity. Edit, better with a slow ox from a bad coravin puncture. The cork didn’t seal and I didn’t get back to it for about 5 days. Less herbaceous and more ripe juicy cherries. Changed score from 90 to 91
Decanted for half an hour and then drank slowly over the next 2. It was tied at first but opened up nicely after one hour, it keep evolving ‘till the end. Beautiful, balanced, medium plus body, and medium finish. This is a good value!
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From Dominus this is there least expensive red. At 70 I was not very impressed. It was very smooth but lacking complexity. A little on acidic side but not overly so. A few years aging should mellow acid levels out some. Cellar till 2020.
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Drinking very well now. Started day one and it opened nicely after an hour and continued to expand the flavor presentation. Coffee and herb with a bit of mineral at first but addingto leather and nut after an hr. Put in vacuum overnight and it was drinking well next day, though I suspect it would have been best 4hrs after opening. I’ve bought more since.
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Vinetasters- Dominus from 1983-2014 (Holiday Inn, Skokie IL): Nose: This shows off the warmth and fruit of Napa, but in a great way as it fills the glass with red cherries, cranberries, raspberries, vanilla, cocoa powder, spice tones, liqueur tones, and perfumes. There is excellent depth with a real expressive side as well.
Taste: The feel is Full bodied with medium acidity and youthful, but silky, medium+ tannins. There is a sexy plushness to the feel with red cherries, cranberries, cocoa powder, spice tones, vanilla, and herbs.
Overall: This was my #3 and the group's #5. This showed a real expressive side that was quite alluring. It was on the young side and should develop nicely over the next decade.
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Vinetaster's does Dominus 1983-2014 (Holiday Inn NorthShore): Large scale dark cherry and plum aromas. Flavors of sweet ripe red cherry pie. A bit warm and monolithic, yet giving a lot of raw pleasure. No easy task to differentiate from young Dominus outside of less complexity and a friendlier structure. Bottled and put in fridge and three days later much more accessible and extended flavor profile adds further intrigue. A real bargain its big brother. I rated this #7/12 vs group rating of #5/12.
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Decanted for three hours. Hot on the first taste and not much nose. Very hollow mid palate and short finish that just disappears. Frankly disappointed and I can only hope this will fill out with some age.
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P: Med body; Almost swtish frt met by almost lip smacking mid palate pucker, this SLOWLY & fairly seamlessly resolving into a VERY LONG, ALMOST swtly, yet very lightly dustily tannic finish. An UBER elegant style that, while difficult to resist now, DESERVES cellaring for a yr or 2 min, then drinking into its 10th yr, I'd guess. 95 pts Suckling, 94 & an "Editors' Choice" WE, 93 Vinous, & 92 WA [This vendor's $59.95 is one of the MOST competitive of a packed field.]
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Tasted at the Wally's Napa/Sonoma All-Stars tasting event. My friend and I rushed to the 2014 Dominus right when the doors opened. 1oz pour... swirl... sniff... smells like a typical cab... Gulp... tannic... bitter... almost like a $30 cab... It was good but all the wines at the event were way too young. It's almost not fair to rate these now. Also, the 2014 Dominus was opened only 30 mins prior. I am sure that had a huge impact to the taste.
Right after this, we tasted the 2014 Napanook. The difference was noticeable, with Napanook tasting a little less full and slightly more artificial on the back end. But not a long ways off from the big brother.
I'm just happy I was the first one to review the 2014 Dominus on CT.
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4/26/2024 - Luke275 Likes this wine:
Blackcurrant fruit with cedar notes. Slight alcohol feel, moderate tannins. Leave for a few years.
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10/29/2023 - rbfoote Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep purple colour. Bouquet of cinnamon and vanilla mixed with earth. Body is moderate. Slight tannins. Flavours of dark chocolate, tobacco, slate with some plum. Finish is fairly lengthy. Quite enjoy it.
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8/7/2023 - Canoehead Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pleasantly surprised by this. I had anticipated a Napa Cab bomb of overextraction and new oak pithiness but this is actually skewed to old world with sufficient age on it. Great balance of savoury fruit and fine tannins and well-managed alcohol & acid. Went well with seared flank steak salad with roasted beets, goat cheese and caramelized shallots.
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3/25/2023 - jps3@columbia.edu wrote:
Not my favorite CA cab but decent fruit, nice mouthfeel makes this a crowd pleaser.
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4/1/2021 - DJMeehan Likes this wine: 93 Points
Had a little taste before decanting for two hours - fairly harsh tannins as you would expect but a lot of fruit. Silky smooth after time in the decanter and by the end I was battling with my fizz-loving girlfriend to finish the bottle. Delicious wine and was a great accompaniment to my bone-in ribeye.
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12/13/2020 - HorstPeak Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great nose with lots if fruit, however taste faded away quickly...
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11/20/2020 - DrBad Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very enjoyable and drinking well right now. Pop and pour and had over two nights. Tobacco and herb aromas, medium+ body, dark fruits, currant, cedar, oak and firm tannins.
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11/3/2020 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Followed over 2 nights. Great herbal lift mixed with very dark currants. Fine tannins but still quite prominent. Seems to be in early maturity Solid wine, in somewhat of an old school style. Really enjoyed.
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6/6/2020 - vinorsk Likes this wine:
Brief decant and drank with a ribeye. Initially out of balance but came together with 20 minutes of air and some vigorous swirling to become a throughly enjoyable wine. Less tannic than your typical napa cab but with all the expected black fruits, spices, cedar and oak. Length of finish is mid-range. A nice wine, great at $50 not outrageous at $65 but not a value either. This has all the makings of a crowd pleaser.
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5/16/2020 - jimyeni Likes this wine: 92 Points
Showed better than I have come to expect from napanook. Usually it’s ok, kind of closed but today this was open
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5/10/2020 - ManhattanBeach wrote:
Consistent with previous, this just doesn't seem to deliver a great deal of interest or complexity
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2/8/2020 - ManhattanBeach Likes this wine:
A birthday dinner (L'Escargot, Soho, London): Very well-received by the group, although I found this a bit big and heavy. Red/black fruit, plum sauce, tobacco leaf, spice box. Well put-together, nothing out of place, very good just (unsurprisingly) quite a big style.
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11/23/2019 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 92 Points
Deep ruby red. Spiced on the nose with some tobacco, pepper, cinnamon, graphite and dark red berries. Medium tannins (7/10) with a bit of sweetness. Full bodied with flavors of black currants, cherries, light baking spices and pencil shavings. Long and lingering finish. Drink till 2034.
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7/2/2019 - mvande21 wrote: 92 Points
As another said, initially the aromatics are "gorgeous". But that soon fades. Notes of black fruits, leather and thyme. Medium/full body. Good structure and acidity with firm, fine grained tannins. Medium length finish with earth notes.
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6/28/2019 - RonniePiemonte wrote: 92 Points
Well rounded. 6 hours slox ox.
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6/27/2019 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 88 Points
Not so sure on this wine. Drank next to the 2014 TOR Napa which was much better.
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5/5/2019 - Bergb Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Not worth the $60 we paid for this wine. Strong nose of alcohol. Too tannic. Neither balanced nor smooth for a red blend. Yuck
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4/28/2019 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 91 Points
Four hour decant. Nearly opaque purple magenta color. Basil, candy cane, fig, black cherry and subtle used coffee grounds and blueberry on the rich, brooding nose. Satiny, tongue drying palate. Full, round, chewy tannins on the medium+ finish. This is nice, but likely one or two years from its peak. The finish was shorter than expected as well.
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2/8/2019 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 91 Points
This was just fine. A bit herbaceous on the nose for my liking, but cherry, earthy, acid on the palate. Easy drinking —tastes like a ‘second wine.’ Probably will get better in the cellar but not loads of complexity.
Edit, better with a slow ox from a bad coravin puncture. The cork didn’t seal and I didn’t get back to it for about 5 days. Less herbaceous and more ripe juicy cherries. Changed score from 90 to 91
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1/2/2019 - gteran76 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted for half an hour and then drank slowly over the next 2. It was tied at first but opened up nicely after one hour, it keep evolving ‘till the end. Beautiful, balanced, medium plus body, and medium finish. This is a good value!
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10/30/2018 - Double-A wrote: 90 Points
Dark berry, clay and cocoa nose. Ripe fruit with assertive tannic structure; smoky, earthy finish.
4/5
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8/14/2018 - JMG Likes this wine: 92 Points
Coming into its own. Very full. Cherry. Earthy.
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5/19/2018 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine: 91 Points
Too young.
When I popped the cork the aromatics were gorgeous yet it quickly toned down in the decanter.
More like the 12 than the 13 or 11. Keep holding 13 and 14 while both the 11 and 12 are drinking very well right now.
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1/12/2018 - Michelle Heritage wrote:
$70 Christmas 2017
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12/31/2017 - Mark4w Likes this wine: 89 Points
From Dominus this is there least expensive red. At 70 I was not very impressed. It was very smooth but lacking complexity. A little on acidic side but not overly so. A few years aging should mellow acid levels out some. Cellar till 2020.
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12/23/2017 - recarv Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking very well now. Started day one and it opened nicely after an hour and continued to expand the flavor presentation. Coffee and herb with a bit of mineral at first but addingto leather and nut after an hr. Put in vacuum overnight and it was drinking well next day, though I suspect it would have been best 4hrs after opening. I’ve bought more since.
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10/1/2017 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
Vinetasters- Dominus from 1983-2014 (Holiday Inn, Skokie IL): Nose: This shows off the warmth and fruit of Napa, but in a great way as it fills the glass with red cherries, cranberries, raspberries, vanilla, cocoa powder, spice tones, liqueur tones, and perfumes. There is excellent depth with a real expressive side as well.
Taste: The feel is Full bodied with medium acidity and youthful, but silky, medium+ tannins. There is a sexy plushness to the feel with red cherries, cranberries, cocoa powder, spice tones, vanilla, and herbs.
Overall: This was my #3 and the group's #5. This showed a real expressive side that was quite alluring. It was on the young side and should develop nicely over the next decade.
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10/1/2017 - KenK Likes this wine: 92 Points
Vinetaster's does Dominus 1983-2014 (Holiday Inn NorthShore): Large scale dark cherry and plum aromas. Flavors of sweet ripe red cherry pie. A bit warm and monolithic, yet giving a lot of raw pleasure. No easy task to differentiate from young Dominus outside of less complexity and a friendlier structure. Bottled and put in fridge and three days later much more accessible and extended flavor profile adds further intrigue. A real bargain its big brother. I rated this #7/12 vs group rating of #5/12.
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7/25/2017 - cubswinws wrote: 88 Points
Decanted for three hours. Hot on the first taste and not much nose. Very hollow mid palate and short finish that just disappears. Frankly disappointed and I can only hope this will fill out with some age.
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7/1/2017 - srh Likes this wine:
Winebar [Various Reds & 2 FR Whites] for 6/30/17 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): 88% C.S., 9% Petit Verdot, & 3% C.F.
N: Dust slightly atop vanilla, berries underneath; Intensity lurking?
P: Med body; Almost swtish frt met by almost lip smacking mid palate pucker, this SLOWLY & fairly seamlessly resolving into a VERY LONG, ALMOST swtly, yet very lightly dustily tannic finish. An UBER elegant style that, while difficult to resist now, DESERVES cellaring for a yr or 2 min, then drinking into its 10th yr, I'd guess. 95 pts Suckling, 94 & an "Editors' Choice" WE, 93 Vinous, & 92 WA [This vendor's $59.95 is one of the MOST competitive of a packed field.]
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6/19/2017 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 93 Points
Young but approachable. Lots of rich fruit but restrained. Lovely now but surely much better in 2-3 years.
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4/23/2017 - Keeping It Real wrote: 90 Points
Tasted at the Wally's Napa/Sonoma All-Stars tasting event. My friend and I rushed to the 2014 Dominus right when the doors opened. 1oz pour... swirl... sniff... smells like a typical cab... Gulp... tannic... bitter... almost like a $30 cab... It was good but all the wines at the event were way too young. It's almost not fair to rate these now. Also, the 2014 Dominus was opened only 30 mins prior. I am sure that had a huge impact to the taste.
Right after this, we tasted the 2014 Napanook. The difference was noticeable, with Napanook tasting a little less full and slightly more artificial on the back end. But not a long ways off from the big brother.
I'm just happy I was the first one to review the 2014 Dominus on CT.
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