CRITIC REVIEWS
Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2016 Le Dome is comprised of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot, aged in 80% new French oak. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it slips sensuously out of the glass with compelling notions of red roses, candied violets, chocolate box and Chinese five spice with a core of kirsch, blackberry tart, warm plums, black raspberries and cloves plus wafts of cigar box and orange peel. Full bodied—the palate is positively electric with energy—it gives layer upon layer of perfumed black raspberries and mineral sparks, framed by super ripe, firm, finely grained tannins and bags of freshness, finishing very long and very fragrant. It has 15% alcohol, but so beautifully harmonious you would never guess it.
Neal Martin
The 2016 Le Dome is a blend of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot picked on 17 and 10 October, respectively, at 30 hectoliters per hectare and matured in 80% new oak. There is 15% alcohol this year. It has a very ripe and decadent bouquet with small black cherries, crushed violet and Indian ink, very open and intense. The palate is rounded on the entry with a lot of wood tannin on the entry that just dry out the second half. It is a voluminous Le Dôme, quite muscular, although I just found a touch of bitterness coming through on the finish.