The 2010 Le Dome is a blend of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. Deep garnet colored, it opens with notions of kirsch, baked raspberries and mulberries with touches of oolong tea, cigar boxes and dried herbs. Full-bodied, it has firm, chewy tannins and a lively line defining the evolving dried berries and earthy layers, finishing on a stewed tea note. Already mature, drink it over the next 15-18 years.

The Le Dôme 2010 has a voluptuous bouquet with crème de cassis and blueberry jam smothered in vanillary new oak that is very well integrated (80% new rather than 100%). The palate is smooth and more approachable than the Vieux Chateau Mazerat, with opulent black fruit, rounded mouthfeel and a touch of white pepper towards the succulent finish. Very fine – showing more finesse than recent vintages. Tasted November 2012.

(93-95 pts)
The Le Dome 2010 is 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot, this is quite reticent on the nose at first, opening with blackberry leaf, briary, good minerality and a touch of freshly tilled earth. The palate is silky smooth on the entry with saturated tannins, just a touch of spice, well-knit with a sweet, dark cherry and blueberry finish infused with fine minerality. Excellent-a much better sample than 2009 last year. Tasted March 2011.

A juicy and savory wine with tobacco, forest floor and chocolate character. Roses too. Lots of red fruits. Full body, with velvety tannins and a long finish. Better after 2017.
-www.jamessuckling.com, 'Tasting Report: 2010's Greatness Across The Board in Bordeaux', 17 Feb 2013

(93-92 pts)
Lots of bright berry and mineral aromas, with flower too. Full throttle, with lots of roses and blueberries and a long, long finish. Extracted but interesting.

Good bright, dark red. Knockout nose combines cassis, plum, violet, dark chocolate, licorice and mint. Pliant, layered and deep, with captivating sweetness to its dark berry and floral flavors. In a distinctly plush, creamy style but the wine's youthfully aggressive finish and serious ripe tannins suggests that it will be better for five to seven years of cellaring. Seriously rich wine with lovely purity and floral lift.

(an 80/20 blend of cabernet franc and merlot; 3.8 pH; 14.6% alcohol) Deep ruby. Brooding aromas of strawberry, dark chocolate, mint and smoky oak, plus a hint of volatile acidity that adds lift. Rich and sweet on entry, then increasingly austere toward the back, finishing pure and long, with captivating cabernet franc red fruit and floral notes. This wine will need time to resolve its serious tannins. Le Dome's vines are located immediately to the west of Angelus. Owner Jonathan Maltus thinks it's the best Le Dome he's made yet, and he may be right. I liked its steely purity, but it's quite tannic today and lacking in generosity.

Tasted blind. Deep browning garnet. Fragrant with mature fruit and undergrowth and smells rich, too. And spicy. Generous, full in the mouth, sweet-tasting. Plush but big tannins. Pretty tannic still even with all these mature flavours. (JH)

A full-bodied wine, but ethereal in its elegance and finesse, the wine has a strikingly provocative bouquet of camphor, blueberry jam, violets, new saddle leather, white chocolate and spice. Extremely full-bodied, but again, not showing any weighty fatigue or any type of aggressiveness, this wine has extraordinary purity and richness as well as a blockbuster finish of close to a minute, yet is so flawless, seamless and compelling, it’s hard to believe the wine is this concentrated and rich. It will be interesting to see how it evolves, but it certainly can be drunk in 3-4 years and, I’m sure, cellared for as long as 25-35 years from now.

There are 1,000 cases of this wine, which has one of the highest percentages of Cabernet Franc of any wine in Bordeaux (80%). The balance is Merlot. The 2009 from Le Dome flirted with perfection, but this wine swallows the entire scoring system, and rightfully so.
-Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #205 Feb 2013

(94-96 pts)
2010: This 1,000-case cuvee is always a candidate for having the highest percentage of Cabernet Franc (80%) of any wine from Bordeaux. The balance is Merlot. A magical wine, the dense purple-colored 2010 exhibits notes of incense, camphor, blueberries, blackberries and spring flowers. With sweet tannin, medium to full body and the high percentage of Cabernet Franc, it should put on additional weight and provide plenty of pleasure over 10-15 years. It is a stunning example of what heights Cabernet Franc can achieve in St.-Emilion.