Dominus Estate

History

George C. Yount, the founder of Yountville, planted in 1836 the first vines of the valley on the location of Napanook vineyard. In 1850 the property was bought by Charles Hopper, and owners since include Hugh La Rue, a pioneer in the use of rootstock and John Daniel Jr., the owner of Inglenook Winery who bought the estate in 1946.

Following Daniel's death in 1970, Napanook passed to his daughters Robin Lail and Marcia Smith who in 1982 began a partnership with Christian Moueix, acting on a recommendation by Robert Mondavi to establish production in Napa Valley. Daniel Baron became general manager of Dominus in the 1980s. Moueix, also in charge of production at Château Pétrus and president of Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, became the sole owner of Dominus Estate when Lail and Smith sold their shares in 1995. Napanook, the estate's second wine, was first released in 1996.

With the previous thirteen vintages crushed and aged at the nearby facility Rombauer Winery,

Production

From an estate of 124 acre, the vineyard area extends 108 acre in 14 blocks, with some presence of phylloxera-resistant St. George rootstock from the Inglenook period, the grape varieties are 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc.

The annual production is 7,500 to 12,000 cases which includes both Dominus and Napanook.

References

References

1. Prial, Frank J. ''The New York Times''. (March 9, 1988). "Wine Talk". The New York Times.
2. Stevenson, Tom. (2005). "The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia". Dorling Kindersley.
3. Murphy, Linda ''San Francisco Chronicle''. (February 3, 2005). "MoueiX Files". The San Francisco Chronicle.
4. (15 August 2004). "The Winemaker's Dance: Exploring Terroir in the Napa Valley". University of California Press.
5. Matthews, Kevin, ''ArchitectureWeek'' (June 20, 2007). [http://www.architectureweek.com/2007/0620/index.html "Dominus in Depth"]
6. Maisons Marques & Domaines Usa Inc.. "The Architecture of Dominus".
7. Apstein, Michael, ''Wine Review Online''. (September 27, 2005). "A Conversation with Christian Moueix, Part II: Dominus Estate".