5 Powerful Secrets About Dominus Estate Cabernet
Are you curious about the Dominus Winery in the Napa Valley? This winery is owned by Christian Moueix.
You might have read about Dominus Estate for its highly awarded Cabernet Sauvignon red wine.You might have read about Dominus Estate for its highly awarded Cabernet Sauvignon red wine.
Or maybe you are an architecture fan and saw pictures of the stunning winery built by Swiss architects,
Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron.
If you love Dominus Cabernet you will like to read the incredible story behind this delicious “California Cab” with a “Bordeaux touch.
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Dominus Winery: The Best of France “Know How” In the Napa Valley
The name “Dominus” means “Lord of the Estate” in Latin. It is located in the volcanic foothills of the Mayacamas mountain range, in Yountville.
Christian Moueix fell in love with the Napa Valley when he was a student at UC Davis.
Christian and his family own Château Pétrus and several other famous estates in Pomerol.
Yet as a self-described“terroir freak” he quickly recognized the potential of the Napa Valley.
The moment Christian saw the Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards that are now Dominus Estate, he knew he found the perfect property for high quality Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
Dominus Napa Valley: Every Great Wine Has a Story
That story often begins with the man or woman behind the wine.
Christian Moueix was lucky enough to be born into a relatively famous wine family.
That said, his father Jean-Pierre Moueix (the legendary Bordeaux wine merchant) was a self-made man.That said, his father Jean-Pierre Moueix (the legendary Bordeaux wine merchant) was a self-made man.
As the “second son” of a traditional family, the Jean-Pierre Moueix knew from an early age he would not inherit from the family and would have to make his own life.
Jean-Pierre Moueix is man said to have a great deal of charm, intellect, and wit.
All three of these qualities allowed Jean-Pierre Moueix to parlay his collection of Monet paintings (purchased inexpensively when he was a youth) into money to purchase wineries.
The Château Pétrus Acquisition
Jean-Pierre Moueix was able to befriend and earn the trust of the owner of Château Pétrus, Madame Loubat. He worked with her team to help improve the winery.
Then, after her death, he was able to eventually purchase the estate.
Christian Moueix’s Story: From Pomerol to UC Davis
Christian Moueix obtained his diploma in agricultural engineering. In 1970, he joined the family business in Pomerol.
Right away, he decided that “vine balance” was the most important element in quality wine.
Towards that end, he began to “green harvest”–cutting Cabernet Sauvignon grapes so the vines could concentrate on the fruit instead of foliage.
The workers were shocked.
They found it wasteful.
But from his study and reading Christian knew that green harvesting was the best way to improve the quality of the wine.
At the same time, he realized that he could not focus on wine quality with so many estates to oversee.
So Christian sold half of their holdings to better concentrate on Le Fleur Petrus, Trotanoy, Hosanna, and Providence in Pomerol and in Saint-Emilion, Belair-Monange and Magdelaine.
1973: Off to UC Davis
In 1973, Christian enrolled in wine making classes at UC Davis.
He explored the Napa Valley terroir.
In Napa, Christian befriended Robert Mondavi and his wife Margrit.
Though he was heading back to Bordeaux and the family business.
But before leaving, Christian asked Robert Mondavi to keep his eye out for the right Napa Valley property.
The Napanook Estate
In 1982, Christian Moueix knew he found “gold” (or the potential for excellent Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon red wine) when Mondavi alerted him to the Napanook Estate.
The estate had been owned by John Daniel, former president of Inglenoonk (his great uncle Gustave Niebaum was the founder of Inglenook).The estate had been owned by John Daniel, former president of Inglenoonk (his great uncle Gustave Niebaum was the founder of Inglenook).
In the 1940s and 1950s, the estate had been the source of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit for some of the best wineries in the Napa Valley.
After John Daniel’s death in 1970, the coveted NapaNook estate went to his daughter Robin Lail and her sister. By 1995, Christian Moueix became sole owner of the estate
Architecture of Dominus Estate
The visionary Swiss architects, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, were hired to build a winery that would be perfectly integrated into its landscape.
The Dominus Winery was completed in 1997, and in many ways set the trend for winery architecture to follow.The Dominus Winery was completed in 1997, and in many ways set the trend for winery architecture to follow.
Here you will find panoramic views of the vineyard and hillsides.
The winery dissolves into the surroundings, allowing visitors to feel one with the vineyard.
Viticulture Focus
With his agriculture and UC Davis diplomas, Christian Moueix considers terroir the most important element in quality wine.
In addition to this, he feels that dry farming (no irrigation) is the best way to stress the vine so they can produce the best fruit.
The Dominus Estate vineyards are planted mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon.
Christian feels that Merlot (so well suited to his native Pomerol)
Assemblage
.That said, the assemblage varies from year to year.
Typically features Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot as blending grapes.
The soil at Dominus Estate is gravel and clay loam.
In winter, precise cane pruning ensures ideal cluster spacing for optimal fruit ripening.
Dry farming encourages a deep root system, as the roots dig deep into the soil for moisture.Dry farming encourages a deep root system, as the roots dig deep into the soil for moisture.
The French plow removes weeds and encourages deep root growth.
And Christian continues with his cluster thinning (green harvest) he insisted upon back in his Pomerol days.
While they do these procedures in many Cabernet Sauvignon and red wine based wineries these days, I was surprised to learn that the grapes are “rinsed” 10 – 15 days before harvest to remove dust and enhance the purity of the fruit.
Also–a bit unusual for dry wine – I learned the sunny side of the vines are picked a few days before the shady part to ensure perfect maturity.
This is more common when picking botrytized grapes for wine like Sauternes, where pickers go out in several tries.
More Viticulture Tactics
Viticulture techniques like use of cover crops to replenish the soil and prevent erosion are employed.Viticulture techniques like use of cover crops to replenish the soil and prevent erosion are employed.
So our “owl houses” so natural predators can replace chemical methods of pest control.
In the Dominus Estate Winery
They separate the different grape varieties. Cluster sorting is done by hand, with an optical berry sorting system.
The more gentle pumping over extracts aromas, color and tannins.The more gentle pumping over extracts aromas, color and tannins.
The vertical wine press is set to a low pressure to release components from the skins. The wine is gently fined with egg whites before bottling. ]
40% new French oak barrels are used and they produce only 3800 cases in a typical year.
No Acidification
In California it is not unusual to acidify in especially hot years. Christian does not believe in this.
Final thoughts
As a member of the trade, I feel so happy and lucky for the opportunity to visit this gorgeous estate and see these famous, well-cared for vines.
I especially enjoyed tasting a few vintages of the wine, and more fully understanding how caring for the soil (in addition to picking the the right vineyard) so dramatically affects the taste of the wine.
The first time I tasted Dominus was several years ago at a Manhattan wine auction.The first time I tasted Dominus was several years ago at a Manhattan wine auction.
A gentleman was running around the room, pouring red wine from a covered bottle, and daring guests (all collectors or professionals) to guess what the wine was and where it was from.
The Verdict
With so many famous, super expensive wines for offer (some 1st growth Bordeaux chateaux were among the offerings) tasters mostly volunteered the blind-tasted wine must be from a top chateaux in Bordeaux. I thought that as well.
Yet the wine turned out to be Dominus, and though this happened many years ago, I always longed to taste it again.
The second time I tasted Dominus was last fall in New York, when several Bordeaux producers came to show their wine to the trade.The second time I tasted Dominus was last fall in New York, when several Bordeaux producers came to show their wine to the trade.
Christian Moueix was there, as well as his right hand Kassidy Harris who runs things at Dominus. Christian brought Dominus, as well as his other Pomerol estate wines.
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If you like this article you will like:
— Dominus Estate
— Chappellet Family Winery
— Hess Collection
— Frog’s Leap
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About Author Marisa D’Vari
D’Vari contributes to Forbes.com, Financial Times, World of Fine Wine, Quarterly Review of Wine, Decanter Robb Report, San Francisco Chronicle, South China Morning Post, and more.
She holds the (WSET) diploma, Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators … to see it all, please click on bio
