I just went back and read the RP review that WB has...'93 points, has aged at a glacial pace'. Well he's right on one account, the glacial pace. I swear I almost posted this under the Bordeaux Forum and with good reason, this is a 1986 Bordeaux, don't care what you think. Another thought that hit me as I've drank this over the last 2 hours is Rovanni's quote about Quilceda Creek...loosely..'is there another producer of Cabernet in the world that has produced such consistant wines...' IMHO, yes there is, Dominus Estate. I've now had 14 of the released 19 vintages, missing '83, '88, '98, '00, '02 (no '93) and with the exception of the '84 vintage (which may have been a bad bottle), as much as I respect QC, they aren't close to what Christian has done at Dominus in the last 20 years.
Bottle purchased from WB.
Red/black in color, glass staining, and nearly opaque. Initially a strong toast character to the black fruited nose that holds on even into the 3rd hour with a full glass. There is much more though as this was the first vintage Cabernet Franc was added to the blend and the beautiful floral notes pour through with time and less wine in the glass. Seriously, this may be the overall best smelling Dominus I've had the pleasure of, mixing wonderful Christmas spices, fall forest floor, rose petals, sweet tobacco, and some herbs with gigantic black cherry and blackberry. What kills me is this will get better, it's a baby. In the mouth it is still somewhat closed, but supports big black fruits, full body, good balance, and big, big tannins that round out a long, long finish. When I drank it with a huge ribeye, the tannins were a bit softer, but alone this bad boy brings on bruises! The parallel to 1986 Bordeaux is uncanny, you'd think the French made this.... 95+, drink 2010 thru 2025+.

I have not had the pleasure of drinking nearly as many vintages as you have, but the ones I have had (1985, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996) have all be great with the exception of the 1996. The older they are the better they have been which is one reason the 1996 may have not been that good. I had the 1987 this summer and was amazed at its freshness, focus, and overall intensity. The 1991 was tasted blind with a 1989 Montrose and 1990 Pichon Baron and won the flight handily for some and was not far off the profile of the 2 Bordeaux, though in the mix the California did show. Thanks for the notes.

Thank you for posting this note. I have one bottle of this that was a gift from my former boss. I was wondering when to drink it. Did you decant it?

Pete

I had the 98 Dominus a few weeks back, and I know this was a very bad vintage for Napa Cabs, but this wine showed quite poorly, and was overshown by the basic Provenance 01 Cab (admittedly from a very good vintage).

I don't have the experience with Dominus that Stealthman does, but at this particulary time I had the '98, it was kinda sucking...........

As did the '98 Cosentino The Poet that I brought. It also sucked. 98 sucked pretty much.

-Vitis