Château La Dominique
The Château La Dominique is one of the important wineries in the French commune of Saint-Émilion in the Bordeaux region . His wine belongs to the top group of the Grands Crus Classés , the third highest level in the hierarchy of red wines from Saint-Émilion (see also the article Bordeaux wine (classification) ).
Location, soil and grape varieties
The château is located in the extreme northwest of the area of the appellation of Saint-Émilion on the border with the municipality of Pomerol . The 18.5 hectare, contiguous vineyard borders directly to the west on the property of Château Cheval Blanc , from which it is separated by a well over 800 m long wall from the 19th century. 25% of the vineyard belong to the gravel -sand dome of Figeac , 75% consist of iron-rich sandy soil with good drainage.
The choice of grape variety is determined by the type of soil: Merlot , which makes up 80% of the vineyard area, grows on the sandy soil . The gravel soil is ideal for growing Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon , which make up 15 and 5%, respectively. Malbec , which was previously represented , has now been cleared. The average age of the vines is around 35 years.
The wine
Château La Dominique is advised by the well-known oenologist Michel Rolland . In the vineyard, the yield is limited to 45 hl / ha. The harvest is done manually, stainless steel tanks are used for fermentation. The wine is quickly transferred to barrique barrels , where malolactic fermentation takes place and remains for 18 months. Between 60 and 80% new barrels are used. During the filling process, it is refined with egg whites and carefully filtered. A total of around 60,000 bottles of Château La Dominique and 24,000–30,000 bottles of the second wine Saint Paul de Dominique are produced annually .
Although the wine does not quite reach the class of its big neighbor Cheval Blanc, it is still one of the best Grands Crus Classés from Saint-Émilion. It is full-bodied with intense fruit, velvety and lasting. The best vintages in recent times are 1989, 1990, 2000 and 2001. The smaller vintages 1993, 1994 and 1997 are also considered successful.
history
Although viticulture in the area of the old property of Château Figeac is much older, the origins of Château La Dominique lie in the 19th century. Its founder was a Bordelais merchant who had made his fortune in overseas trade. He named the winery after the Caribbean island of Dominica , which is called La Dominique in French . Towards the end of the 19th century, the château came into the possession of Henry Greloup, who in turn sold it to the northern French wine merchant Louis Soualle in 1918. He died in 1933 during the grape harvest and the château fell as an indivisible property to the Baillencourt community of heirs. They neglected the property and also failed to make the necessary maintenance investments. The condition worsened after the severe frost damage in 1956. The estate was almost forgotten - in Michael Broadbent's “Wine Notes” after the 1945s, the 1970s are mentioned again. Château La Dominique owes its rebirth to the building contractor Clément Fayat from Libourne , who acquired the estate in 1969. He had the vineyards planted again, renovated the barrel cellar and built a new fermentation cellar. The quality of the property has been up to par again since the 1980s.
In 2014, the wine cellar (chai) planned by the architect Jean Nouvel was completed.
Web links
- Website of the assessor Clément Fayat
- Description of Château La Dominique in the Wine Journal