Reviews
November 1, 2020 96 Points, Cellar Selection Wine Enthusiast
“A blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, this classically structured red is luxurious in aromas of dried herb, cedar and clove. The palate balances rich fruit and dense oak with underlying freshness and longevity. The tannins are grippy yet seamless, and beginning to smooth out. Best from 2027–2037.”
July 22, 2020 95 Points Wine Spectator
“This delivers a focused and refined core of cassis, damson plum and raspberry puree notes, laced with precise savory, sage and black tea threads. Shows lovely detail throughout, with a late iron minerality emerging slowly. Stylish, this seems approachable now, but there's some serious embedded grip here too. A wine that should expand with cellaring. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2022 through 2040.”
January 31, 2020 94 Points Jeb Dunnuck
“The 2017 Napanook checks in 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot. It offers classy notes of cassis, black currants, toasted spices, and hints of flowers. With lots of chocolately richness, medium to full body, and beautifully ripe tannins, it's layered and has impressive depth of fruit, followed by a great finish. It's going to evolve for 15-20 years. It's an incredible value in classic, impeccably made Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.”
January 31, 2020 97 Points Jeb Dunnuck
“The grand vin is the 2017 Dominus, which is based on 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 21 and October 3, and aged in 40% new French oak. Chateau Lafite-like notes of blackcurrants, lead pencil shavings, cedary tobacco, and gravelly earth all emerge from the glass, and it's full-bodied, has a terrific sense of elegance, lots of tannins, and a great finish. This tight, powerful, concentrated Dominus will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 25 years or more. 2017 doesn't get much better.”
January 9, 2020 99 Points The Wine Advocate
The 2009 Dominus is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet colored, it rolls easily, sensuously out of the glass with evolving fruit notes of baked blackcurrants, plum preserves, mulberries and fruitcake plus underlying suggestions of charcuterie, camphor, chocolate-covered cherries and candied violets with just a touch of cast iron pan. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in balance, with loads of emerging black fruit and earthy layers and a solid line of finely grained tannins, finishing very long with a perfumed lift.