Saint-Émilion, and discovering Le Dôme

I recently made my first trip to a wine region that could legitimately be called the Mecca of the wine world — Bordeaux. It was an excellent, excellent trip with friends, and it's given me more than one post to write. This first one is about Saint-Émilion, and in particular the discovery of Le Dôme.

My friends and I have an affinity for Cabernet Franc. When having wines, we've often enjoyed right-bank Bordeaux that had 20–30% Cabernet Franc. And I fell in love with the 2018 Seventeen Forty from DAOU on a visit to Paso Robles. So when it came to Saint-Émilion, I went looking for wines that had a not-so-insignificant amount of that grape in the bottle. I knew the greats — Château Cheval Blanc, Château Figeac, Château Angélus, Château Trottevieille — carried a fair share of Cab Franc, but they were tough to get a reservation into. Then I came across Le Dôme: a right-bank Bordeaux that's 80% Cabernet Franc?! One phone call, and off we went.

The building itself is an architectural wonder from the mind of Lord Norman Foster — a round structure that might remind you of Apple Park, which his firm also designed. This was the working winery, and we got to see the inner workings: barrels lined up in a long arc, fermentation tanks ranged in a circle. Quite the sight.

Rows of oak wine barrels, many stained deep purple, lined up in an arc in the Le Dôme cellar — Le Dôme's barrels, lined up in a sweeping arc.

Stainless steel fermentation tanks arranged in a circle around the Le Dôme crest set into the concrete floor, seen from above — Stainless fermentation tanks set in a circle beneath the dome.

The tasting

We tasted one white and two reds.

Le Nardian 2024

A predominantly Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon and Muscadelle. The best white wine I tasted all trip. Citrus, peach, and pear notes. Well balanced body and acidity, with a longer finish than I'd expect from a white.

Vieux Château Mazerat 2018

More Merlot (65%) than Cabernet Franc (35%), but wow — what a wine! Plums, blackberries, and some spice. A medium to full-bodied red with smooth tannins.

Le Dôme 2018

The star of the show. This was 80% Cabernet Franc with 20% Merlot. You could tell this wine needed more time in the bottle, and eight years was not enough. The tannins gripped you, and the dark-berry flavours hit your palate, giving a long finish that left me wanting more.

Even though Le Dôme was a superior wine, personally for me, the Vieux Château Mazerat won by a slim margin. I think this was mostly because the bottle was nearer to its peak, while the Le Dôme could easily do with at least another five years of cellaring and perhaps some more time in the decanter. I have no doubt it would be far more exceptional then.

The whole visit was a revelation to me. I had never heard of Le Dôme, but the wines were nothing short of fantastic. The estate and its vineyards sit close to Château Angélus — you can actually see that famous neighbour while sipping at Le Dôme. Angélus itself produces wines that have a higher percentage of Cabernet Franc than most Saint-Émilion wines.

Le Dôme's wines are not classified, and thus are labelled simply as Saint-Émilion Grand Cru. However, it is my humble opinion that its wines deserve to be Premier Grand Cru Classé B, if not A (they're certainly priced that way!). In fact, Ian D'Agata called it an "estate to watch" in his article in 2019 on top Bordeaux Cabernet Franc. If you get a chance to taste them, don't miss it.