| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Le Dôme Le Dôme
Medium to deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 Le Dome sashays out with gregarious notes of dried roses, kirsch, and fallen leaves giving way to notes of tar and pencil shavings. The medium-bodied palate is bright, fragrant, and soft-textured, delivering loads of red berry and floral layers, finishing long and perfumed.
Forthright vanilla oak announces this wine’s intentions right away. Floral, too. It’s generous and rather supple and chewy on the finish. Give it two or three years to soften.
Tasted blind. Pale rim. Light, simple, fruity nose. Incredibly simple! By no means nasty but just fruit juice really.
Drink 2019-2025
The Cabernet Franc on which this impressive wine is based was picked as late as October 17th, benefitting from the Indian summer. It's a bold and still very young wine, with bags of grassy perfume, compact tannins, notes of Asian spices and graphite and plush, textured fruit underpinned by acidity and freshness.
The 2014 Le Dôme was tasted directly after its lieutenant, the Vieux Château Mazerat, and to be frank I found that the latter had overtaken the Le Dôme in its slipstream. Sure, the Le Dôme comes replete with attractive black cherry, allspice and black truffle aromas, although I discerned more complexity conferred upon the Vieux Château Mazerat. The palate is medium-bodied with a rounded, generous opening, quite rich and heady as usual, although the acidity keeps a rein on the things. It is a voluminous Le Dôme, but I still uphold that this would have benefited from a shorter cuvaison period. Drink 2019-2030
The Le Dôme 2014 is a blend of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot picked on 17 October, the highest vintage of the former since 2008. It has a well-defined bouquet with hints of bell pepper infusing the black fruit, light flinty scents in the background, plus a touch of black truffle lending it a slight Pomerol-like personality. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, well balanced with good acidity and a silky texture. This is one of the more elegant vintages of Le Dôme that I have tasted at this juncture with a extended length that lingers in the mouth long after the wine has exited. The season favored Cabernet Franc on the Right Bank and this has the highest percentage, so there is a foundation for a great Saint Emilion. Maybe I would have opted for a shorter cuvaison to gain more precision on the finish, nevertheless, this should give 15 to 20 years of drinking pleasure, possibly longer. Drink: 2019 - 2035
Excellent core of ripe fruit with firm tannins, bright acidity and a very good finish. Plenty of minerals with spice character.
