Ch.Le Dome 2008 750ml

Wine Advocate #182, Apr 29, 2009 by Robert Parker Jr
A blend of 75% Cabernet Franc and 25% Merlot, it displays an ethereal elegance allied with substantial flavor authority and intensity, seemingly regardless of vintage conditions. This 7-acre vineyard boasts no other than Angelus as one of its most prestigious neighbors. Enormous quantities of berry fruit intermixed with sweet, damp forest floor, graphite, licorice, and oak notes are found in this intense, full-bodied, supremely elegant wine. Sadly, there are fewer than 1,000 cases in 2008. It should drink well for two decades or more.

Still in its infancy, Le Dome was purchased in 1996 by Englishman Jonathan Maltus, who created the vineyard by bringing together parcels located close to Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot, Chateau Canon and Chateau Angelus.

The vineyard is part of the much larger Chateau Teyssier, which heads up a range of other wines – namely super cuvees – including Chateau Laforge, Le Carre, Les Asteries and Vieux Chateau Mazerat. At a very small 3.5 hectares, Le Dome is without its own cellars or chateau (and is made at the larger Chateau Teyssier itself), which is why the label lacks an official classification – although most agree the wine is at minimum a Grand Cru Classe.

The vineyard utilises one of the highest concentrations of Cabernet Franc in the Right Bank, 75%, and is planted with these vines at least 60 years old. The wine was originally produced according to ‘garagiste’ principles but has since outgrown the movement to become a highly-regarded – and difficult to obtain – wine in its own right.

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