Château La Dominique Saint Emilion 2014

This is a very fine wine, bringing together sophisticated tannins and rich black fruits. It has structure, acidity and a juicy core that are well balanced, ripe and with great intensity. This is a serious wine from billionaire Clément Fayat and family and it is well worth aging.

Enticing, with loganberry, raspberry and blackberry fruit rushing forth, pushed by a graphite edge and underscored by a mouthwatering anise note on the finish. Shows a lovely tobacco echo at the very end. Best from 2018 through 2028. 5,583 cases made.

The Château La Dominique 2014 is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc matured in 60% new oak. It has a little more composure on the nose compared to recent vintages: black cherries, iodine and floral notes developing, though I would still prefer to see more delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, quite plush in the mouth with soft blackberry tinged with allspice and graphite on the finish. This is a structured La Dominique that just needs to muster a little more precision on the hard finish. Not bad, but this estate should aim for the very top of the pile given the brilliance of the wines produced back in the 1980s and early 1990s.