Dominus   Dominus Napanook

2017 Dominus Napanook

By Dominus

2017 Dominus Napanook by Dominus, Napa Valley

The wine world of Napa Valley was gifted with an enigma in 2017 - a surprisingly cooler and wetter year that challenged winemakers to rethink their strategies. 2017 Dominus Napanook stood out, leveraging the rare climatic conditions to produce a result that was nothing short of extraordinary.

 

Eloquent Complexity

2017 Dominus Napanook from Dominus Estate is a masterstroke of Californian wine-making dexterity, a fascinating blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc. The vintage stands as an outstanding representative of the fine wines from USA, showcasing the intriguing essence of its terroir.

On the palate, this wine encompasses an array of unarguably enthralling flavours - ripe red and black berries, graphite, violets and lavender, elegantly encapsulated in the embrace of fine-grained tannins. Its complexity is beautifully represented in its layers that peel back to reveal glimpses into the character of its unusual vintage.

 

The Cool Charm of 2017

Unlike its predecessors that basked in California’s well-warmer temperatures, 2017 Dominus Napanook thrived in cooler climes. The fruit ripened on a slow burn giving way to an incomparable sophistication. Its elegant backbone provides ample structure without sacrificing any hint of grace or charm. The balance achieved here, despite the cooler year, underlines the mastery of winemaking at the Dominus Estate.

2017 was a special year that created space for this exquisite vintage's emergence - a blend that combines elegance with intensity, delivering delightful flavour density and a unique personality fashioned by the variability of its birth year.

 

Elevating Wine Investment

Investing in fine wines offers a multi-sensory return on investment and the 2017 Dominus Napanook is a prime example of this. It brings to the table not only a promising financial return but also an enriching experience of tasting and appreciating a distinctive vintage that reflects the innovation of its winemaking and the particularities of its year.

Unique, charismatic, and challenging, the 2017 Dominus Napanook encapsulates the charm of its harvest year, cementing itself as one of the prime contenders in any discerning investor's portfolio. Its vintage is a reminder of how weather adversity can birth a beautiful surprise - a concept that continues to keep viticulture fascinating and wine investment compelling.

Market price (GBP)

£610.00

12x75cl

Highest score

92

POP score

50.83

Scores and tasting notes

92

There was about 40% of a normal crop this year due to strict selection. Grapes were harvested from September 21 to October 3 and the wine was bottled in May 2019. The 2017 Napanook is made up of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot and was aged in 20% new French oak barrels. Deep purple-black in color, it springs from the glass with vivacious notions of warm black cherries, blackberry compote and crushed black currants with touches of dark chocolate, licorice, fertile loam, underbrush, camphor and cinnamon stick plus a waft of lilacs. Full-bodied with a firm level of grainy tannins and seamless freshness supporting the bold, spicy black fruit layers, it finishes on a lingering perfumed note. With further time, it begins to reveal the mineral signature of the estate, delivering a glimpse at the gravitas to come with 5-7 years in the cellar. 1,400 cases were made.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate, 31 October 2019

Vintage performance