Château La Dominique

The château

The soil made La Dominique. In 1886 Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, promoted it to a first growth of Saint-Émilion and gave the reason plainly: it stood on exactly the same soil as Cheval Blanc, gravel, clay and iron-rich sand taking turns, and only a straight line drawn by the owners separated the 2 vineyards. It had about 21 hectares then, in the hands of Henri Greloud, who held it for 29 years, from the guide of 1868 to Féret’s survey of Libourne in 1897. Before him a list of 1841 had put 2 holdings at Dominique among the growths of the sands, one of them a Chaperon’s at 30 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels).

Clément Fayat, the builder, bought La Dominique in 1969. It was his first estate, and it has stayed in the family: Jean-Claude Fayat and his brother Laurent Fayat are the owners today, Gwendeline Lucas the general manager and Yann Monties the technical director. Michel Rolland consulted here for more than 40 years, and Julien Viaud, of the Rolland laboratory, now does. The winery is by Jean Nouvel, clad in red, and made its first vintage in 2013; La Terrasse Rouge, the restaurant on its roof, opened in 2014. La Dominique is one of the 71 Grands Crus Classés of the classification of 2022.

The vineyard is 29 hectares in a single block beside Cheval Blanc and Figeac, on clay and gravel, clay and limestone, and sand over clay, planted at 7,500 vines a hectare: 77% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, with vines 30 years old on average. The cellar has kept up with the times: the 2023, 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, was raised half in new barrels, 40% in barrels of 1 wine and the rest in eggs of plant polymer, amphorae and a Wine Globe. About 80,000 bottles are made a year. Relais de La Dominique is the second wine, and the estate also makes a Crémant de Bordeaux, Empreinte, and a rosé, Nuances de La Dominique.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, the northwest, beside Cheval Blanc and Figeac

Classification

Grand Cru Classé, 2022

Owners

Jean-Claude and Laurent Fayat; bought by Clément Fayat in 1969

Direction

Gwendeline Lucas, general manager; Yann Monties, technical director

Consultant

Julien Viaud, of the Rolland laboratory

Vineyard

29 hectares in a single block; 7,500 vines a hectare; vines 30 years old on average

Soil

Clay and gravel, clay and limestone, sand over clay Terroir of Saint-Émilion →

Grapes

Merlot 77%, Cabernet Franc 19%, Cabernet Sauvignon 4%

Cellar

By Jean Nouvel, first vintage 2013; La Terrasse Rouge on the roof since 2014

Production

About 80,000 bottles a year

Wines

Château La Dominique; Relais de La Dominique; Empreinte; Nuances de La Dominique

In history

A first growth of Saint-Émilion in 1886, on the same soil as Cheval Blanc