Dominus Napa Valley Red 2019

Dominus is the outstanding propietary red wine made by famed Bordelais and California winemaker Christian Moueix in the Napa Valley. Christian and his team concentrates on highlighting the special terroir of the historic Napanook vineyard, while still creating a balanced, structured and noble wine. Moueix has a history of making wine and managing such premium Right Bank properties as Chateau Petrus, La Fleur-Petrus, La Providence, La Serre, Trotanoy and Hosanna. 

The Napanook vineyard is nestled in a natural amphitheater at the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains on the west side of the Napa Valley, and was the driving force behind Christian Moueix buying the property. Fed by winter rains, its underground springs flow through ancient riverbeds and provide a natural supply of water to its grapevines, allowing them to develop deep roots.  Over centuries this fertile benchland’s microclimate has provided ideal conditions for crops and grape growing. 

It was at the famed Napanook vineyard that Christian Moueix established Dominus Estate in 1983. An historical site, it was the source of fruit for some of the finest Napa Valley wines in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Notably, the vineyard’s history can be traced back to Napa Valley’s beginnings, when in 1838 George Yount, for whom the town of Yountville was named, planted some of California's first grapevines there. Today, the vineyard produces three wines: its flagship Dominus, plus two more wines, Napanook and Othello.

A model for its sustainable farming practices, the Napanook vineyard has been hailed for its dry-farming, which shuns watering the vines, thus spurring them to draw deeply on the land’s unique geology. Meticulous viticultural and winemaking practices are undertaken with the objective of producing wines that are pure, balanced and complex. Minimal intervention and restraint throughout the process of grape berry selection, fermentation and aging preserve the character of the fruit. The resulting wines are an expression of this unique vineyard.