Dominus Estate Corp. Winery
"A place of unusual power and history."
Christian Moueix
If there is a perfect expression of a Napa Valley wine with French elegance, then it is the Dominus Propriety Red. Christian Moueix has created an icon of the Napa Valley with Dominus Estate.
When Christian Moueix, owner of Château Trotanoy, Château Lafleur Pétrus and also Château Pétrus, came to California in 1968 to study viticulture at UC Davis and supplement his studies in Bordeaux, he harboured the idea of one day founding a winery there himself. This was followed by California's rise to the wine elite and Moueix's plans became more and more concrete over time. in 1982, the time had come and Moueix founded the Dominus winery together with Robin Lail and Marcia Smith, the daughter of the famous winemaker John Daniels. The three of them were able to acquire the Napanook vineyard, the oldest vineyard in Napa, whose wines had already caused a sensation around 1850 with their extreme longevity, which still characterises Dominus wines today.
the first wine was pressed in 1983 and Moueix commissioned the architects Herzog & de Meuron to design a state-of-the-art winery. With the 1995 vintage, Moueix became the sole owner and continued the success story with many 100-point wines and gradually expanded the winery. The original Napanook vineyard covers 54 hectares, of which 41 hectares are now planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The gravelly-loamy soils have a slope of 3 to 10 %, which ensures natural drainage. Around 16 hectares were added in Oakville in 2008. Dominus has been certified sustainable with Napa Green Land since 2018, a Napa Green Winery since 2020 and certified organic since 2021.
© Photos: Dominus Estate Corp.
