Dominus Estate

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2003

Served alongside beef short rib, xo sauce, pickled mustard seed, cumin stir-fried asparagus. Yes, the 2003 Dominus is big. However, it is also balanced and showing classic Napa typicity with beautifully ripe and some slightly wizened black and red fruit, tobacco, cocoa, some purple flowers and baking spices. I found this to be quite balanced after all the air it saw. Wonderful structure for continued aging as well. Drink now through 2043. — 3 days ago

Ira, Jan and 18 others liked this

Jarvis Winery

Estate Grown Cave Fermented Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Shay A
9.4

On my first trip out to Napa (2015), Jarvis was one of the favorites, and so we went back in 2016 and again in 2018. We go to Napa every year, and it’s one of the only wineries we have visited multiple times.

This was part of a retrospective on 2012 Napa cabs, alongside Shafer HSS, Scarecrow, Morlet CdV, Bryant DB4, Dominus, Pulido Walker Melanson, Kapscandy, Buccella Cuvee Katrina Eileen and others. Definitely the most restrained.

For some reason, I always get a streak of green peppercorn on all of the reds from Jarvis. It’s not off putting, just a signature of the winemaking. I’ve never found these wines to be overblown/high alcohol. They aren’t quite Bordeaux like, but they are clearly in between current Napa style and a restrained bridge to Bordeaux. This 2012 was true to the above. Aromatics here has green peppercorn, tar, underripe black fruits and a very fragrant potpourri note. Even after being open a few hours this was strong with zippy acidity surrounded by pepper crusted blackberries, mocha, black cherries and even some leather (not Brett driven, though). Blind, maybe someone takes this to left bank Bordeaux in a ripe vintage…but the kiss of sweetness is hard to take away from Napa. Wonderfully delicious and complex Cabernet starting to enter a great drinking window.

— 3 years ago

Matt, Tom and 39 others liked this
Paul K

Paul K

Hey @Shay A ! I’m going to be in Dallas the week of April 16th and was hoping we could share a bottle that Thursday, or Tuesday, night. Drop me best way to contact and coordinate if it works on your end! All the best -Eli
Shay A

Shay A Influencer Badge Premium Badge

@Paul K : Cool! Send me a text and we’ll see if we can make it happen. 325.660.6180
Paul K

Paul K

👍

Dominus Estate

Napanook Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2014

We had the 2014 Vintage on 8/18-19/24. A Napa wine that is influenced by Bordeaux. A bouquet of black fruit, tabacco and menthol. Black cherry, black currant and sandalwood spice. Full bodied, New World with a hint of Old. Very good — 3 months ago

Abreu Vineyards

Madrona Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Pure blackcurrant perfectly articulated with dark chocolate, blue fruit and pipe tobacco. Mostly cab that made me think older Dominus, a Bordeaux style in Napa. In a perfect place with a few hours in decanter. — a year ago

Vino, Alan and 22 others liked this

Liparita

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1991

Incredible. Had low expectations and this was as good as Dominus easily — 4 years ago

Severn, Shay and 6 others liked this

Araujo Estate

Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

This wine was our unanimous winner in our cult Cali blind tasting held back in 2012 against some big hitters, Dominus, Shrader, Shafer Hillside etc. Med bodied in an opulent style with good balance & length showing notes of blackberry, creme de cassis, forest floor, graphite, licorice & violet. — 5 years ago

Severn, Ryan and 13 others liked this

E. Guigal

La Turque Côte-Rôtie Syrah 2004

Shay A
9.5

Opened as part of a 2-day tasting with Alex Macdonald while he was in town. Day two was a small group of us with killer wines (2010 Chave Hermitage, mag of ‘02 Krug, Selosse Substance, 1996 Latour, 2003 Mouton, 1992 Dominus).

Quick one hour double decant to prep this beauty. While La Mouline is my favorite, La Turque still incorporates the co-ferment with Viognier. 93 Syrah/7 Viognier.

Beautiful translucent ruby in the glass. As I get with certain Cote Rotie wines (especially Guigal), barbecue and bacon fat can be overwhelming when young, but this has channeled a really balanced profile. Aromatic notes of smoked meat, cherry liqueur, and espresso. Beautifully rich yet elegant on the palate. Great nerve of acidity with a finish sporting plenty of tannin to carry this a while. Black peppered raspberries, black fruit on the palate with a little bacon and a hint of sweet/tangy barbecue sauce note (delicious). Enjoy now with a short decant or hold another 5yrs.
— 9 months ago

Paul, Ted and 25 others liked this

William Cole Vineyards

Cuvée Claire Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

One of the best wines I have ever enjoyed. Just wow. It surpassed my 1994 Dominus benchmark. — 4 years ago

Shay liked this

Carpe Diem

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

By Dominus. All Napa Valley fruit. — 4 years ago

Ron, Shawn and 1 other liked this

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 1976

WNH Zoom tasting #3 on 4/5/20. The theme was “10 years old or more” and I opened this after what I’d call a false start with a ‘96 Dominus Napanook. The cork was a bit soggy and difficult to extract and a sour nose greeted me as I decanted to remove a fair amount of sediment. But once the air hit it this wine spread its wings. It comes off as a hypothetical Volnay/Rioja blend as if there were such a thing. Mature warm red fruit, strong notes of rhubarb, cranberry preserves and sour raspberry mash. Very slight green notes but not in a negative sense. There’s still youthful exuberance here. This isn’t one of those “it’s drinking great for its age” wines it’s straight up exceptional. Great house. Great wine. Hell yes. Happy Bicentennial 🇺🇸🍷 — 5 years ago

Bill, Shay and 58 others liked this
Severn Goodwin

Severn Goodwin Influencer Badge Premium Badge

@Bill Bender Oldest one we've had on this same bottle was a '90
Aaron Hamrock

Aaron Hamrock

I really enjoy that vintage. So many great Spanish wines fly under the radar. Good for us.