About the Wine

The 2016 Dominus Napanook is born from the hands of one of the world's best winemakers, Christain Moueix. Coupled with the talents of the french-born Moueix are the exquisitely grown grapes from the near-perfect 2016 vintage. Needless to say, there aren't many wines like the 2016 Napanook that have this elite pedigree of champion winemaker, near-perfect vintage, and critical praise. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better drinking experience than the 2016 Napanook. Get yours while you still can.

Christian Moueix is one of the few producers to make classic wines in both the old and new worlds, Christian Moueix is President of Etablissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, the leading wine company of Bordeaux’s Right Bank, and owner of Dominus Estate in the Napa Valley.

Son of Jean-Pierre Moueix, the legendary Bordeaux wine merchant, Christian was born in Libourne, France in 1946. After completing his agricultural engineering studies in Paris and graduate studies in viticulture and enology at the University of California at Davis in 1968-69, he joined Ets Jean-Pierre Moueix in 1970 and, in 1991, became its President.

A viticulturalist at heart, Christian Moueix’s tenure has been marked by the introduction of revolutionary vineyard techniques including, from 1973, crop-thinning as a means to improve grape quality. Today he produces wine from ten family chateaux including La Fleur Petrus, Trotanoy, Hosanna, Providence in Pomerol and, Belair-Monange and Magdelaine in Saint Emilion.

In 1982, Christian Moueix formed a partnership to produce Dominus from the historic Napanook Vineyard in Yountville. Adapting his French technical approach to Californian winemaking.

Tasting Note: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc. Offers a bouquet of lavender, cedar, ripe plum, and savory earthiness supported by a structure of bright and lively tannins. 

Reviews

This is a flamboyant red that offers hazelnuts, dark berries, and a hint of chocolate. Full-bodied with round and soft tannins. So fresh. So rich, enticing, and layered. A blend of 84 percent cabernet sauvignon, nine per cent petit verdot and seven per cent cabernet franc. Delicious now. Drink or hold.  ~96 James Suckling

 

Very deep purple-black in color, the 2016 Napanook Proprietary Red Wine is composed of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, and 7% Cabernet Franc aged in 20% new oak. A beautiful perfume of violets, aniseed, truffles, and lavender is just starting to emerge over a core of warm cassis, blackberry preserves, and ripe plum plus hints of cedar chest, chocolate box, rare beef, and cardamom. The palate is medium to full-bodied and firmly textured with very ripe tannins, gradually revealing layers of black and blue fruits plus loads of earthy sparks, finishing with amazing freshness and depth. 3,500 cases produced. ~93 Wine Advocate

The 2016 Napanook is another terrific wine and has a more elegant, pretty, seamless style than the 2015, with the purity of the 2016 vintage front and center. Classic red and blue fruits, spring flowers, and tobacco leaf notes all flow to a medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced red that will keep for 10-15 years. ~93 Jeb Dunnuck

The 2016 Napanook will give readers tons of pleasure pretty much upon release. Open-knit and deep, with terrific fruit purity, the 2016 is impeccably balanced from start to finish. In this vintage, Napanook is distinctly medium in body, which adds to its immediacy and sheer appeal. Expressive aromatic top notes and silky tannins round things out nicely. I would prefer to drink the 2016 over the next decade or so. ~92 Antonio Galloni