2018 Le Dome

The 2018 Le Dôme remains very tight and backward on the nose. Left to open for several hours, it manifests blackberry, briar and iris, then mint and menthol aromas join the chorus line. But it is all very tightly packed at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with a ripe entry, quite plush and dense, touches of graphite infusing the black fruit and then finally opening up toward a more expressive finish. As I mentioned before, this is a Le Dôme that demands bottle age – several years, preferably.

While I don't think the 2018 Le Dôme hits the same heights as the 2010 or the 2016, it's nevertheless a beautiful wine in every sense. Based off 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot brought up in the usual 80% new barrels, it's a full-bodied, beautifully textured, seamless Cabernet Franc with loads of red currant, blueberry, and mulberry fruit as well as notes of cedary herbs, flowers, camphor, and new saddle leather. Always a singular, distinct wine given its high percentage of Cabernet Franc, it's brilliantly concentrated and has ultra-fine tannins as well as a great finish. Haut Couture at its finest, it's going to benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age, and I suspect, keep for 30 years or more.