Le Dome, St Emilion Grand Cru, 2015

Name: Le Dome, St Emilion Grand Cru
Brand: Le Dôme
Price: 641.12 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1998 2003 2012 2014 2015 2022

justerini & brooks tasting note

Jonathan likes to recount in self-deprecating fashion - his intention was to produce a cult Merlot dominated wine, what he has ended up with, is the purest expression of Cabernet Franc in Bordeaux! Produced from a whopping 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot from a plot to the west of Angelus, Le Dome 2015 is a mighty impressive wine. The public rather unfairly associate Le Dome with the garagiste movement. Granted the production is small, but Jonathan has progressively moved the house style towards that of precision, purity and finesse. The use of oak has been curtailed and there is a greater sense of energy and lift. That is not to say that the wines from the 90s were not well made. The original vintage, 1996 is a wonderful drink! The bouquet is initially quite understated. With aeration aromas of griotte liqueur, minerals and mulberry emerge. The palate is very intense with layers of wonderfully pure fruit. With time in glass its floral aspect develops, with notes of cherry blossom as well as smoke and gravelly cassis. It is a large scale wine, but everything in in perfect proportion; one is left with a lasting sensation of elegance and lift. A very interesting Le Dome.

critic reviews

90/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2015 Le Dôme has a fresh and generous bouquet with a mixture of red and black fruit, black truffle and light cedar aromas that blossom in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied and vibrant, with edgy tannins. It's a little Médoc-like toward the finish, which is more backward and primal than expected. Give this another couple of years. Tasted blind at the 2015 Bordeaux Ten-Year-On tasting at Farr Vintners.

DRINKING WINDOW 2027 - 2040

date of review 06/2025

96/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

A powerful and impressive vintage in St Emilion, and Le Dôme is on brand - luscious, intense, high spice, charcoal, fennel, liquorice, a slab of bitter black chocolate alongside cassis and damson fruit. Perhaps less evident floral character from the Cabernet Franc than some vintages, but with plenty of juice running through the mid palate, tempering the high impact of the grilled oak, and there is a joyfulness to this that is impossible to ignore. Neil Whyte winemaker, Jonathan Maltus owner. 80% new oak for ageing, malolactic in new oak.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2042

date of review 01/2025

98/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

Le Dome 2015 is medium to deep garnet in color. It slowly grows on the nose into the more gorgeous bouquet of roses, lavender, and lilacs over a core of stewed red and black plums and Ceylon tea, with touches of dusty soil and garrigue. It is full-bodied and the palate is jam-packed with red berry preserves and floral layers, framed by exquisitely ripe, plush tannins and a lively backbone, finishing with amazing length.

DRINKING WINDOW 2023 - 2050

date of review 11/2022