Dominus Estate

Christian Moueix established Dominus Estate on the 43 ha Napanook vineyard in 1983. Situated near Yountville in southern Napa, three wines are produced: Dominus, its flagship, plus Napanook and Othello. In the late 1960s Christian completed his oenology studies at the University of California at Davis. He then returned to Bordeaux to take up the reins of the family business including managing such châteaux as Pétrus, Lafleur-Pétrus and Trotanoy. He never lost his interest in California and in 1982 he was introduced to the historic, 50 ha Napanook vineyard in Yountville, Napa by his long-time friend Robert Mondavi. The vineyard is known to be the oldest planted vineyard in Napa. He called the estate Dominus. The first vintage of Dominus was 1983, followed in 1996 by Napanook. In 2008 he added the Ulysses vineyard, a 16-ha site in Oakville, about one mile to the north. Finally, 2012 saw the release of Othello. Produced in response to a request from a Japanese importer for a lighter, more immediately appealing style of Cabernet, lacking r's in its name, Othello was born. There are currently 42 ha under vine at Dominus, all of which are dry-farmed, and work is done across the estate to minimise water loss and preserve the gravelly, clay-loam soils. A minimalist and striking new winery was added in 1996, built by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron. Cabernet Sauvignon predominates with some Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The grapes are hand-picked and the shaded side of each vine is harvested a few days after the more exposed side. The grapes are carefully sorted to ensure only the best fruit makes it to the vats and it then undergoes a very traditional winemaking and ageing regime.