2019 Le Dome
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Tasting notes
Chocolate block, velvety damson and black cherry fruit, fragrant crushed roses, this is delicious, with grip and lift, showcasing the slate scrape that I love in great wines, and it is here in abundace. One of my favourite vintages in the line up, showing grace and plenty of engaging textural interest, with Cabernet Franc character bursting out of the glass. Will age no question, a shade less muscular than the biggest vintages, which is a bonus in my book. Harvest October 1 and 10 (grapes brought in over two separate days). Neil Whyte winemaker, 80% new oak, Thomas Duclos consultant.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Decanter
More reviews and scores
Always Cabernet Franc-dominated from a single lieu-dit not far from Angélus, the 2019 Le Dome offers a wonderful purity and freshness, and it shows how good the vintage was for Cabernet Franc. Blackcurrants, violets, spring flowers, and damp earth are just some of its nuances, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, beautiful, seamless tannins, integrated acidity, and a great finish. The purity, precision, and balance are spot on. This is a gorgeous Cabernet Franc that will evolve for 20-25 years, probably longer.
The 2019 Le Dome offers up rich aromas of jammy berry fruit, vanilla pod, caramel and milk chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, broad and velvety, it's seamless and polished, with an ample core of fruit, lively acids and a nicely integrated, harmonious profile that belies the overtly oaky and rather lactic nose. From the nose alone, the taster expects a monster; yet on the palate this Le Dome is actually surprisingly elegant, showing the results of a clear stylistic evolution over the last decade. Work on oak integration, however, remains to be done.
About the producer
The man behind highly regarded Saint-Émilion wine Le Dôme is a Nigerian-born Brit who sold his engineering firm in 1992 to move to Cahors and restore a pile of ruins. After meeting a local vineyard owner at a dinner party, he ended up selling his production to Oddbins and was caught by the wine bug.