Dominus Estate Napa Valley 2002

The Dominus 2009 exemplifies the finest qualities of Cabernet Sauvignon from an ideal vintage. The nose, at once powerful yet restrained, is dense and filled with pure dark berry fruit and hints of sandalwood. On the palate is a harmonious blend of fresh plum and focused minerality with tannins that are firm, round and elegant. Spherical in quality, this wine is complete from start to finish. A sublime vintage.

86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot. In the late 1960s, while attending the University of California at Davis, Christian Moueix fell in love with the Napa Valley and its wines. Son of Jean-Pierre Moueix, the famed wine merchant and producer from Libourne, France, Moueix returned home in 1970 to manage the family vineyards, including chateaux Petrus, La Fleur-Petrus, Trotanoy in Pomerol, and Magdelaine in Saint Emilion. His love of Napa Valley lingered and, in 1981, he discovered the historic Napanook vineyard, a 124-acre site west of Yountville that had been the source of fruit for some of the finest Napa Valley wines of the 1940s and 1950s. In 1982, Moueix entered into a partnership to develop the vineyard and, in 1995, became its sole owner. He chose the name 'Dominus' or 'Lord of the Estate' in Latin to underscore his longstanding commitment to stewardship of the land.