It started when Christian Mouiex was going to school at U.C. Davis back in the 60’s. By ‘69, Moueix was finished at U.C.D. In ‘82 he began a partnership in the joint-venture with Robin Lail and Marcia Smith, dubbed “Dominus.”
In 1983, the vineyards gave birth to the first vintage of Dominus. Christian has since been running things at the estate, and purchased the estate outright in 1995.
Twenty years later, Moueix released his 20th vintage, the bottling of 2003. Initially it smelled like a true bordeaux. But it morphed into a beautiful, classically styled Napa Meritage. Simply magical.
Initially, it showed tart Bing cherry, with cassis undertones and a dusty graphite on the nose. After an hour, the nose changed to a beautiful stewed plum. The cassis turned jammy, and it developed the most incredible dark violet floral aroma. The slight lead pencil and cedar notes still remain in the background.
This is a classic. And it shows that exceptional winemaking skills can overcome a less-than-average vintage. This gets 90 points on my scale. Moueix did well with this vintage. I wouldn’t want to age this wine much longer, but that’s just my style.
2 Responses to “2003 Dominus Estate. Moueix’s 20th Vintage Anniversary.”
What does a bottle of this go for?
I’ve seen Dominus in retail shops or online for as low as $50. But it’s going for about $60-$70 wholesale these days. So that translates to around $90 in a retail shop, or $175 in most restaurants. Well worth $50, but $175 is a bit steep.