Château La Dominique 2020

89-90

Forward and succulent, with friendly blackberry cobbler and plum sauce mixed with black licorice, while a hint of baker's chocolate checks in on the finish. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2034. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 6,376 cases made.

Lovely rich aromatic expression on the nose, so fragrant and full. Sleek and streamlined, a gorgeous texture, confident but charming, silky with a soft grip from the tannins but really well integrated with dark bramble fruits, liquorice and stone elements. It feels as if it's a little shy right now, not really giving its full expression but this stands out for the excellent acidity and purity of fruit. Well detailed and nuanced with toasted oak, tobacco and clove. Confident winemaking on show.

A very fine La Dominique with curated and polished tannins that spread across the palate, together with plenty of berry, slate, wet-earth and spice character. Bright finish. Fine-grained. Needs time to open and come together. Try after 2027.

The 2020 La Dominique is every bit as impressive as it was from barrel. Dark and sumptuous in the glass, the 2020 is racy and wonderfully sleek right out of the gate. Dark cherry, gravel, spice, dried flowers and espresso lend shades of darkness to this deep, wonderfully plush La Dominique. Superb.

The perfume, with its white and red flowers, cherries, licorice, smoke, espresso and smoke, is gorgeous. Medium-bodied, soft, silky and fresh, the wine provides layers of vibrant, sweet, clean, pure, red pit fruits, black plums, earth, roasted coffee, smoke and chocolate on the palate, which is perfect for its elegant stylings. This is clearly a top vintage for La Dominique. Drink from 2025-2050.

Fine intensity showing more fruit than wood, with subtle toast underneath, darker fruit such as cassis and black cherry, and overall high ripeness. Good volume and weight on the palate, polished texture, ripe tannin, well-balanced acidity, and a long, warm finish indicating very fine potential.

Coming from the northwest region of the appellation, not far from Cheval Blanc, and L'L' just across the road, the 2020 Château La Dominique is another round, supple, incredibly impressive wine from this estate, which has clearly been on an upward trajectory. A blend of 85% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon that spent 14 months in 50% new barrels (17% was in amphora), its deep ruby/purple hue is followed by a Pomerol-like array of cassis, darker cherries, chocolate, truffly earth, and spring flowers. With medium to full-bodied richness, a round, supple, sexy mouthfeel, and beautiful tannins, it's another remarkable effort that readers will love to have in the cellar. While it offers pleasure even today, it's going to benefit from just 3-5 years of bottle age and shine over the following 15+.

Deep purple with an opaque core and a delicate lilac rim. Compact bouquet with black-berried contours, behind which lie Brazilian tobacco, licorice and elderberry juice. On the palate, delicate with a soft texture, finely brittle extract, tightly woven tannin framework and medium body. Focused finish with blueberry, dark graphite and a finely rugged astringency.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: (85% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38 hl/ha, 14.5% vol. alcohol) Mineral, powerful, velvety, fruity bouquet, strawberry jelly, chocolate cream, fine dried-fruit notes. Creamy, subtly opulent palate with powerful, sweet fruit, dense structure, diverse, fresh aromas, long, robust finish.

Sleek dark cocoa bean, liquorice, violet, cassis, damson and black cherry fruit, with succulent edges of grilled cedar and tobacco. This is a great wine in the vintage, one of the real stars of St Emilion. Tasted twice, thoroughly impressed with the quality, texture, weight and lift of this wine. Director Gwendaline Lucas, Julien Viaud consultant, 25ha estate. An upscore from En Primeur

A discreet, quietly captivating nose opening onto ripe red fruit aromas, slightly stewed, with vanilla and delicate oak. On the palate, a melodious finesse, notes of violet candy, perfectly ripe fruit, and a saline touch on the finish. Bravo!

Precise and serene, Château La Dominique fully lives up to the ambitions expressed in recent years. Harmonious and endowed with compact tannins, the wine combines breadth and character. It naturally still needs to blossom, but the level it shows today is already highly convincing!

Dark, beautiful purple color. Very aromatic nose with ripe fruit. Deep, fresh and slightly vanilla profile. Delicate on entry, flavorful mid-palate with presence and fresh fruit flavors; the wine develops with fine tannins and good length on the finish.

92–94. Barrel Sample. This wine is marked by freshness with bright blackberry flavors that are lifted over the firm tannins. While this gives the wine a deceptively open character, in fact the wine's structure is all there, ready to allow it to age over many years.