Flirting with perfection...This wine's opaque plum/purple color is accompanied by a beautiful nose of sweet creme de cassis, a touch of background oak (only 40% new oak is used), spice box, cedarwood, black cherries and a hint of spring flowers. The complex, intense aromatics are followed by a deep, opulent, multidimensional, full-bodied wine with not a hard edge to be found. Everything is seamlessly crafted in this beauty and the vintage's abundant richness is well-displayed. This 2012 can be drunk in its exuberant youthfulness or cellared for another 20-25 years. Robert Parker
Ralph DiBiasi
Liquid chocolate
Liquid chocolate
9.5Delectable Wine
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The 2012 Dominus is a real head-turner. Flashy, voluptuous and intense, but with tons of underlying concentration, the 2012 is simply magnificent. A towering, vertical Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2012 Dominus is one of the most concentrated wines of the vintage, yet it also maintains considerable freshness, the signature of a late-ripening vintage with no heat spikes. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, Oct 2015)
The 2012 Dominus is a real head-turner. Flashy, voluptuous and intense, but with tons of underlying concentration, the 2012 is simply magnificent. A towering, vertical Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2012 Dominus is one of the most concentrated wines of the vintage, yet it also maintains considerable freshness, the signature of a late-ripening vintage with no heat spikes. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, Oct 2015)
9.8Dante Mondavi
Vintner R A E N Winery
Very polished and smooth. Rich but not over the top. Def a huge fan
Very polished and smooth. Rich but not over the top. Def a huge fan
9.5Antonio Galloni
Founder, Vinous
Yeah, I know, too young. Such is the nature of most restaurant lists. Still, a stunning wine to share with the Vinous map team during our research of Yountville vineyards.
Yeah, I know, too young. Such is the nature of most restaurant lists. Still, a stunning wine to share with the Vinous map team during our research of Yountville vineyards.
9.8Mitzi Inglis
Marketing/Public Relations, Joseph Phelps Vineyards
#dominusestate
#dominusestate
9.1Riccardo L.
Great wine on a great vintage. still pick up many of those herbal notes. Different from the Napanook in its sheer balance and elegance.
Great wine on a great vintage. still pick up many of those herbal notes. Different from the Napanook in its sheer balance and elegance.
9.6Sean Trapani
Founder/Educator Wine Fluent, Consultant ABC Fine Wines & Spirits
Elegant and structurally balanced, but I wish there was a bit more concentration and longer finish.
Elegant and structurally balanced, but I wish there was a bit more concentration and longer finish.
8.9Andres Montoya
Wow, the ultra classic Napa Cabernet. Incredible stuff here!
Wow, the ultra classic Napa Cabernet. Incredible stuff here!
9.5Jenny Hemmer
Nice subtle fruit, leather & baking spices, heavy tannins but structured nicely
Nice subtle fruit, leather & baking spices, heavy tannins but structured nicely
9.2Tai-Ran Niew
Popped down to California to meet a wine-writing friend. Who was tasting through some Dominus. Lucky me! Deliciously, unashamedly, opulent.
Popped down to California to meet a wine-writing friend. Who was tasting through some Dominus. Lucky me! Deliciously, unashamedly, opulent.
9.4