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Dominus Estate, Dominus

Christian Moueix's dry-farmed Yountville Cabernet from Napanook, about 6,000–8,000 cases.

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Mustard flowers blooming between grape vines at a vineyard in spring in Yountville, Napa Valley, California
SvetlanaSF · Adobe Stock · Adobe Stock Standard License

Dominus is a Cabernet-led blend from the 124-acre Napanook vineyard, dry-farmed and aged about 18 months in French oak (around 40% new), produced in roughly 6,000–8,000 cases. Napanook is the second wine.

Made by
Dominus Estate
From
Yountville, Napa Valley
Style
RedCabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
Bottles made in a typical year
84.0K
The kind of wine

Napa cult Cabernet

A small-production Cabernet Sauvignon from the best land in Napa Valley, sold mostly to a private mailing list.

What a bottle like this costs to make

A glass of dark red wine on a winery terrace above vineyards and golden hills at sunset

Good years and bad

One square for each year. The darker the square, the better the weather was for the grapes. Tap a year to read about it.

202320222021202020192018201720162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981997199619951994
ExceptionalExcellentVery goodGoodMixedDifficult
The essentials

The wine and its economics

Dominus is a Cabernet-led blend from the 124-acre Napanook vineyard, dry-farmed and aged about 18 months in French oak (around 40% new), produced in roughly 6,000–8,000 cases. Napanook is the second wine.

Every year in a tableHow each year was rated, and the price the producer first asked
VintageHow the year was ratedRelease priceHow rare (0–100)The growing season
2023Very Good — 45
2022Mixed — 46
2021Excellent — 46
2020Difficult — 46The Glass and LNU fires; smoke taint led several cult estates to release no wine from the…
2019Excellent — 47
2018Excellent — 47
2017Mixed — 48Heat spike at harvest and the October fires; several estates released reduced quantities.
2016Excellent — 48
2015Very Good — 49
2014Excellent — 49
2013Exceptional — 50Long, even season; widely rated among Napa's best.
2012Excellent — 50
2011Difficult — 50Cool, wet, late; rot at harvest; many estates made little or declassified.
2010Good — 51
2009Very Good — 51
2008Good — 51
2007Excellent — 51
2006Very Good — 52
2005Very Good — 52
2004Very Good — 52
2003Good — 52
2002Excellent — 52
2001Excellent — 53
2000Good — 53
1999Very Good — 53
1998Mixed — 53
1997Excellent — 54
1996Very Good — 54
1995Very Good — 54
1994Excellent — 54
1993Good — 54
1992Very Good — 55
1991Excellent — 55
1990Very Good — 55
 Release price is what the producer first asked for a bottle. A dash means no price was published.

Find by year and rating

What does this wine cost to make?Our estimate: $26–$80 a bottle

We estimate it costs about $26 to $80 to make one bottle of a wine like this. The price in the shop is far higher because the land is scarce, the name is famous, and many hands take a share on the way to you.

ComponentLowHigh
Imputed land cost$3.82$16.44
Vineyard operations$5.79$18.46
Oak barrels$0.69$1.67
Winemaking labour and cellar work$3.00$6.00
Cellar aging$1.28$3.20
Bottle, closure, label, case and bottling$5.40$14.40
Winery overhead$4.00$10.00
Financing over the aging period$1.53$9.82
Estimated winery production cost$25.51$79.98
 One standard bottle, at the winery door. Built in US dollars and shown in your chosen currency.

See the full breakdown

Recent auction resultsWhat bottles of this wine fetched when collectors sold them
Sale dateVintageHouse and saleFormatLot pricePer bottle
Jul 20262008Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 15134 × 75 cl$875$219 with premium
Jul 20262012Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 15124 × 75 cl$875$219 with premium
Jun 20262016Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 58212 × 75 cl≈$2,389≈$199 with premium
Jun 20262015Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 5814 × 75 cl≈$1,035≈$259 with premium
Jun 20262015Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 58012 × 75 cl≈$2,549≈$212 with premium
Jun 20262010Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 5791 × 300 cl≈$956≈$956 with premium
Jun 20262010Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 57812 × 75 cl≈$2,867≈$239 with premium
Jun 20262010Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 57712 × 75 cl≈$2,708≈$226 with premium
Jun 20262009Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 57612 × 75 cl≈$2,549≈$212 with premium
Jun 20262008Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 5751 × 300 cl≈$796≈$796 with premium
Jun 20262008Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 57412 × 75 cl≈$2,708≈$226 with premium
Jun 20262005Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 5736 × 75 cl≈$1,434≈$239 with premium
 Prices are in the currency of each sale. Christie’s and Sotheby’s include the buyer’s fee; Hart Davis Hart shows the price before it.

All lots on record

The detailsClassification, grapes, bottle sizes and the rest
Producer
Dominus Estate
Region
Napa Valley
Appellation
Yountville
Classification
Yountville AVA proprietary red
Style
Red
Grape composition
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot≈ 85–90%
Vineyard
Napanook
Bottle sizes
750 · 1500 · 3000 ml
Bottles made in a typical year
84,000 bottlesTrade reporting ≈ 6,000–8,000 cases
First vintage made
1983
Great years
13 of 34 rated excellent or exceptional

Comparable wines

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Vineyard in Oakville, Napa Valley

Harlan Estate

The Oakville hillside proprietary red, about 1,500–2,000 cases, sold by mailing list since 1990.
Opus One, Oakville

Opus One

About 25,000 cases a year with Bordeaux-style distribution: Napa's liquidity leader.
Aerial view of vineyards at sunrise with fog, Rutherford AVA, Napa Valley, California, USA

Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon

Old-vine Rutherford Cabernet from 1945 plantings, under a thousand cases, cult-priced within a decade of its 2003 debut.
Sign for the Oakville American Viticultural Area in Napa Valley, California, surrounded by mustard flowers

Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon

About 500–600 cases by mailing list: the scarcity benchmark of American wine.

Sources

  1. Dominus Estate, 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
Last reviewed: September 2026Report an error on this page