Château La Dominique 2016

An alluring, intriguing style, featuring dark fig, boysenberry and melted licorice notes wrapped together and flowing through, while hints of graphite and warm ganache hang in the background. Feels polished, with well-buried racy acidity. Distinctive and nicely done. Drink now through 2034. 6,667 cases made.

Aromatic with smoke, dark fruit and perfume on the nose. Supple, ripe and juicy with bold concentration and focused dark, plummy fruit. Full-bodied with a liquorice, clove and spiced cedar edge. Delicate acidity and grainy tannins on the finish.

The nose is still a bit shy, but there’s a lovely, delicate, floral character. Sleek, bright and quite structured with plenty of earthy character. The moderately tannic finish is long, fine and complex. Better in 2020 and with good aging potential.

The 2016 La Dominique has a feisty, intense bouquet that flirts with being overworked, though with aeration it appears to gain more cohesion and control. The palate is medium-bodied with quite dry tannins, grippy and assertive, though it needs more flesh to come through and keep everything on an even keel. This may well be closing down for a period and entering a dumb phase. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

The debut vintage for the new label here; the updated, more feminine design suits the wine’s approach. Licorice, black cherry, flowers and sweet cherries are everywhere. The wine is refined, pure and fresh, allowing its sweet, ripe, fresh, pure red-fruit essence to shine with ease from start to finish. This should age quite nicely.

Deep dark ruby, intense core, purple reflections, delicate brightening on the rim. The very attractive bouquet shows gentle floral notes underlaid with black forest berry fruit, hints of vanilla and cardamom. Juicy, elegant, ripe cherries, spices, perfect tannins, fresh, elegant and persistent, very promising.

Floral and perfumed nose, some new oak, mocha and caramel with wild berries. Dense, chewy palate with good grip, high but ripe tannins, sweet fruit and a long, dense finish.

Tasted on multiple occasions, the 2016 Château La Dominique is unquestionably an outstanding wine. From vines just east of Cheval Blanc and a blend of 80% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon brought up 40% in new oak (20% of the blend was in tank), it reveals a deep ruby/purple color as well as a stacked bouquet of sweet red and black fruits intermixed with more subtle tobacco, cedary spice, and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, balanced, and a classic 2016 (as well as classic Saint-Emilion), it’s going to benefit from short-term cellaring and drink well for two decades.

Intense purple with a black core and violet highlights. Very compact, blueberry-like nose, plenty of cassis and morello cherries, with violets and redcurrant drops in the background. On the palate, supporting tannins and an intoxicating texture, highly aromatic on the long finish. With potential.

Kunz barrel sample 17: peppery, mineral bouquet, graphite, raspberry yogurt. Powerful, silky, fruity palate with sweet aromatics, creamy structure, sweet fruit, and a long, finely opulent, sweet finish.

Peppery, mineral bouquet, graphite, raspberry yogurt. Powerful, silky, fruity palate with sweet aromatics, creamy structure, sweet fruit, long, finely opulent, sweet finish. 18/20 2024 - 2038

A wine with shape, form and balance, concentrated black fruits with chiselled precision. This is a great quality wine with promise and pleasure, full of black chocolate, liquorice bud, cigar box and baked earth. Slightly drying tannins on the finish, but there is a fresh mint kick that keeps things mouthwatering. 46 hl/ha yield, 3.65 pH, harvest from September 26 to October 18. Second year with Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, 60% new oak. Jean-Philippe Fort consultant.

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 La Dominique reveals classic plum preserves, blackberry pie, and cedar chest scents with touches of licorice, violets, and black pepper. The full-bodied palate is full-on decadent, with tons of rich, expressive black fruits and ripe, rounded tannins, finishing fragrant.

A restrained nose, with hints of fig and blood orange. The palate is dense; a vintage built to last.

Red fruits, bramble, notes of prunes, vanilla. Generous palate, direct attack, lovely acidity, round tannins, long finish.

Dense garnet red. What elegance and finesse in this bouquet! La Dominique first reveals notes of licorice wood and crème de cassis. Subtle wafts of cocoa, dried herbs, and even juniper join in—a note often found at one of La Dominique’s neighbors. On the palate, the wine also shows finesse. The attack is slightly creamy and gourmand. The body is elegant, well framed by the structure and fine tannins that emerge on the finish. They have a fine grain and are in tune with the freshness that counterbalances—or encircles—the charm. In the end, the harmony is ideal and the wine is perfectly balanced. Of course, some dimensions are still missing, but I think it is also important, at this stage, to recognize what has been achieved, because the result I have in my glass today clearly shows that the future can be viewed with confidence. Bravo to the La Dominique team.

Dark, intense color. Very aromatic nose with ripe, fresh fruit. A hint of ink. Delicate on the attack and supple as it unfolds, particularly fruity, with a slender body; the wine stretches out on flavorful, tasty tannins. Sapid, seamless persistence. Blend: 80% merlot, 12% cabernet franc, and 8% cabernet sauvignon.

92–94. Barrel Sample. This wine is impressive in both structure and ripe, generous fruits. It is solid, with good potential for aging, though the dark tannins suggest that it will develop slowly. Enjoy through 2032.