Le Dome, St Emilion Grand Cru,

Destination

Le Dome, St Emilion Grand Cru, 1996

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

Le Dome, St Emilion Grand Cru, 1996

This, the first vintage of le Dôme, consistently over-performs. In the most part, the right bank is overshadowed by the Medoc in 1996, but this wine always seems to transcend expectation. Perhaps it is the dominance of Cabernet Franc in the blend that makes this so successful. There’s a very Cabernet bouquet of cassis, cedar, herbs and graphite. It’s not a blockbuster, but there is ample, sweet, floral fruit. There is a real sense of cohesion, elegance, and balance. We have been fortunate to chart this wine’s evolution over the last five years, and it never disappoints. It displays complexity and nuances one associates with bottle age, yet its development has been glacial, hinting at a long future ahead.

Maturity:

Drink

ABV:

13%

94/100

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

The high expression of Cabernet Franc in the vintage is a real bonus, benefitting from the full ripeness of the grape while retaining freshness. Truly stands out among the range of wines, easily worth its reputation. Has a juicy finish with chalkiness and tension, still muscular with concentrated and intense black fruits, as are all the Maltus wines, built to last, with swaggering monumental scale and imagination - I can't help but wonder just how good this could be if they scaled things back a touch. This is a 2022 vintage as I would have imagined it before I began tasting the En Primeurs, with its exuberance and ripeness, and it is striking that I have not found it everywhere. Fruit from the former site of Les Asteries included in here (as well as in the separate smaller private bottling of Les Asteries). Located up on the plateau, harvest September 14 to 28. 100% new oak. New winery.

Date Reviewed:

05/2023

Drinking Window:

2032 - 2048

96-98/100

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

Made from 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot, the 2022 Le Dome is deep garnet-purple in color. The nose is very closed to start off, needing a lot of patience and swirling to coax out notes of kirsch, juicy blackberries, blueberry compote, and underbrush, leading to wafts of menthol, rose oil, iron ore, and cinnamon toast. The big, concentrated, full-bodied palate is super-concentrated and built like a skyscraper, delivering a solid backbone of very firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness to support the generous fruit, finishing very long and minerally. pH 3.72.

Date Reviewed:

05/2023

Drinking Window:

2030 - 2065

92-94/100

Neal Martin, Vinous

The 2022 Le Dôme includes part of Les Asteries, picked between 14 to 28 September and matures in 80% new oak. Blackberry, liquorice and espresso on the nose, quite pure in style with just a little headiness. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit laced with graphite and black pepper. Quite dense, with more detail than the Vieux Château Mazerat on the slightly blurred finish, nevertheless, this constitutes a fine Le Dôme that should age with style. 15.1% alcohol.

Date Reviewed:

05/2023

Drinking Window:

2029 - 2060

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Allergen Information:

This product may contain sulphites. Full allergen information is available upon request, please call our Customer Relations Team on +44 (0)20 7484 6430.