Checking in as a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc that hit 14.3% alcohol, the 2012 Dominus is a sensational wine that certainly ranks with the all-time greats of this cuvée and is reminiscent of the 1991. Ripe, flamboyant, and incredibly sexy, it nevertheless shows the classic style of this estate, has nothing out of place and just glides across the palate. Blackcurrants, tobacco leaf, cedar box, new leather, and an almost garrigue-like character all emerge from this full-bodied, silky, seamless effort that has fine tannin, perfectly integrated acidity, tannins, alcohol, and a great, great finish. Drink it any time over the coming 2-3 decades. It's a tour de force in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and one of the greats.

Flirting with perfection, the 2012 Dominus is composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Five thousand cases were produced, a relatively modest amount from this large vineyard’s big crop. Christian Moueix told me that there was plenty of heat in 2012, but there were no excessive hot spells that can plague Napa Valley vintners during the growing season and harvest. This wine’s opaque plum/purple color is accompanied by a beautiful nose of sweet crème de cassis, a touch of background oak (only 40% new oak is used), spice box, cedarwood, black cherries and a hint of spring flowers. The complex, intense aromatics are followed by a deep, opulent, multidimensional, full-bodied wine with not a hard edge to be found. Everything is seamlessly crafted in this beauty and the vintage’s abundant richness is well-displayed. This 2012 can be drunk in its exuberant youthfulness or cellared for another 20-25 years. Robert Parker WA issue 215 - Oct14 >

Another candidate that flirts with perfection is the 2012 Dominus. Composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc that came in at 14.3% natural alcohol, it could turn out to be as great as the 2010, but very different stylistically. The 2012 recalls the 1991 and 1994. Flamboyant aromas of fruitcake, Asian spices, black currants, kirsch and unsmoked cigar tobacco are followed by a wine that’s still an infant, but exhibits explosively rich fruit, lots of glycerin, a full-bodied mouthfeel and a pungent, penetrating intensity that goes on and on in the mouth. It has been seamlessly constructed and should age effortlessly for 20+ years. Looking at the harvest dates for the 2009 through 2012 Napanook and Dominus reveals that none of these were early, very warm years, such as 2013 is promising to be in northern California. For example, in 2009 the harvest took place between October 5 and 12; 2010 between October 4 and 23; 2011 between October 15 and 24; and 2012 between October 9 and 21. Production has remained steady because the estate crop-thins as much as 50% of the harvest to ensure bunch regularity, even ripening and reasonable yields. The second wine, Napanook, tends to come in around 3,000 cases per year, and Dominus around 5,000 cases per year. I was joking with Christian Moueix when I visited the winery and I told him I am one of the geezers old enough to remember his first vintage of 1983, which was tasted at the Rombauer Cellars until he moved to what appears to be an old bank building in downtown St. Helena, after which they constructed a spectacular winery in Yountville that resembles an extension of their historic terroir. Another great vintage, the 2012s have slightly lower alcohols than the 2009s and 2010s, which surprised me given the exuberant nature of this vintage and its boisterous fruit and glycerin. I was shocked to realize that 2013 will mark over thirty vintages for Christian Moueix and Dominus, not to mention my visits each year. How time flies! Tel. (707) 944-8954

It rained a lot in the spring of 2012, and as of early 2024, the wine is still very compact. There's a cheerful quality, with black fruit, dried violets, and lilacs. A deep sense of earthy richness is just beginning to show itself, but as much as the 2013 suggestion, there is real cellar potential. 2012 is an overlooked vintage, stuck between the cool and rainy 2011 and the highly-praised 2013 vintage, but if you have any 2012 in your cellar, try it today and try it again in 5, 10, and 15 years. It will still be going. It has the balanced acidity and integration of precise tannins to age, and it's delivering a host of upfront pleasure right now in a soft, velvety and refreshing form, with such scintillating acidity as to be one of the most food-friendly Dominus reds in the last couple of decades. Not to be overlooked.