Château La Dominique Saint-Emilion 2020 - Grand Cru Classé

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

This 23-hectare estate belongs to the Fayat family (Fayat in Pomerol and Clément-Pichon in the Médoc). The estate has been steadily improving, and in recent vintages has produced wines worthy of the legendary Pomerol region. Since 2011, the proportion of the estate’s top wine has decreased from 80% to 55%, resulting in greater complexity. The proportion of Cabernet Franc is increasing, and the wine is taking on a new dimension with a refined texture, subtle tannic intensity, and more nuanced fruitiness.

Decanter

About the wine:

Another successful vintage for La Dominique. Ruby in color with violet highlights, this wine offers a measured release of succulent damask fruit and black cherries, with a gourmet touch of toasted butter caramel and cocoa beans. It all comes together perfectly—firm tannins, refreshing blue fruit, and crispness on the mid-palate, with no dip in the mid-palate and waves of secondary aromas. Serious and a clear step up from recent vintages. 2027–2042

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

With fresh minty notes, complemented by hints of ripe fruit and a touch of spice and vanilla, this wine makes a striking first impression with its powerful, rich nose. This is followed by a charming palate, supported by generous, full-bodied tannins, with a more compact finish that ensures the wine’s lovely length. It clearly warrants extended aging. 2027–2036

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the estate:

“The château is superbly situated on the outskirts of Pomerol, next to Cheval Blanc, on sandy-gravel soils over a bed of iron-rich clay; a fine introduction. After suffering frost damage in 1956, the vineyard regained its health under Clément Fayat, who purchased it in 1969. Significant investments have been made to elevate the estate among the best, and Michel Roland is on board, with plot-by-plot vinification and micro-oxygenation as key elements. The proportion of new barrels ranges from 50% to 70%.”

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the estate:

With its red building visible from afar, La Dominique has made a major commitment to wine tourism. From the panoramic terrace and restaurant above the cellar, visitors can look out over the neighboring vineyards on the western plateau near Pomerol. The estate (29 hectares of clay-limestone, clay-sandy, and gravel soils), owned by Corrèze-based entrepreneur Clément Fayat, has undertaken major changes on the advice of Julien Viaud (Rolland team): planting massal selections, using amphorae and glass eggs... For a long time, La Dominique remained in the middle of the pack within the appellation, but the stylistic evolution of this great wine has been noticeable since 2018.

Vinous

About the wine:

The 2020 La Dominique is just as impressive as it was when it was first released as en primeur from the barrels. Deep and sumptuous in the glass, this 2020 is refined and wonderfully elegant from the very first sip. Black cherry, gravel, spices, dried flowers, and espresso lend dark, complex nuances to this deep and wonderfully sumptuous La Dominique. A superb wine. 2027–2040

James Suckling

About the estate:

Jeb Dunnuck

About the wine:

Hailing from the northwestern part of the appellation, not far from Cheval Blanc, the 2020 Château La Dominique is another round, supple, and incredibly impressive wine from this region, which is clearly on an upward trajectory. A blend of 85% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 14 months in 50% new barrels (including 17% in amphorae), its deep ruby-purple color is followed by a bouquet of blackcurrant, darker cherries, chocolate, truffle-like earth, and spring flowers, reminiscent of a Pomerol. Medium-bodied to full-bodied, with a round, supple, and seductive palate and magnificent tannins, this is another remarkable wine that readers will love to have in their cellars. Although it is already very enjoyable today, it will benefit from 3 to 5 years of bottle aging and will shine for the next 15 years and beyond. 2026–2041

Terre de Vins

About the wine:

Dominique confirms its rising prominence with this highly accomplished vintage, masterfully crafted by an ambitious team. Beautiful concentration, depth, balance, and precision in both texture and tannin definition: everything has been taken up a notch, in both finesse and energy. The mouthfeel is smooth and juicy, and the wine is fresh and mouth-watering overall. Of note: the fine success of the second wine, Relais de la Dominique.

The Wine Cellar Insider - Jeff Leve

About the wine:

The aroma, with its white and red flowers, cherries, licorice, smoke, espresso, and more smoke, is magnificent. Medium-bodied, smooth, silky, and fresh, the wine offers layers of vibrant, sweet, crisp, and pure red stone fruits, black plums, earth, roasted coffee, smoke, and chocolate on the palate, which perfectly suits its elegant style. This is clearly an excellent vintage for La Dominique. 2025–2050