Dominus Estate: A Legacy of Bordeaux Lives On In Napa

Cat Stephani | April 5, 2022

Hailing from California’s historic Napanook Vineyard, Dominus Estate continues a reign of renown from the storied foothills of the Napa Valley. These powerful wines are marked by their elegance, long celebrated for a signature style that captures the best of both California and Bordeaux.

Christian Moueix is the inimitable vigneron behind these masterful blends. Serving since 1991 as president of leading Right Bank Bordeaux négociant, Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, Christian continues to oversee a collection of his family’s hallmark châteaux, from the sublime Trotanoy and luscious La Fleur-Pétrus in Pomerol, to the esteemed Bélair-Monange of St-Émilion. In case this was not enough to keep him busy through the years, Christian also managed a small property called Pétrus for nearly four decades - small by size, but enormous for the reputation of the wines he made there.

Inspired by a period of winemaking studies in California during the 1960s, Christian was appointed partner of the historic Napanook vineyard following a recommendation made by the late, great Robert Mondavi. Napanook had already provided fruit for California’s iconic Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon and some of the valley’s best across the 1940s and 1950s. Immediately recognizing the site’s exceptional terroir, Christian moved on to take sole ownership of the estate by the mid nineties.

Over the years, Moueix’s uncompromising approach in the vineyards, including his notable insistence on dry farming, continues to set Dominus apart with its distinctive embrace of Californian terroir. Layers of deep crimson fruits are elegantly woven through a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. The result is one of refined power, singular in character, yet resolute in its rightful renown amongst Napa’s greatest reds.

From our current range, the 1994 is a rare window into the early days of the estate's outstanding quality, while 2018 continues to amass praise as one of the top wines of the year. Savor seductive layers of rich cassis and blonde tobacco with the powerful wines of 2006, or relish the red fruited finesse of the more elegant 2011.

For excellent value, explore a recent vintage of the estate’s second wine Napanook, offering rich and radiant expressions of the historic vineyard at price points that please.