CHÂTEAU LE DÔME
2021 Saint Emilion
80 Cabernet Franc, 20 Merlot | 80% new oak | 13.4% alc | 3.71 pH Thanks to the viticultural challenges in 2021, Jonathan Maltus decided that his Les Astéries and Le Carré cuvées should be sacrificed and used in both Le Dôme and Vieux Château Mazerat. They are both small production wines in a typical vintage, so making micro-productions in 2021 did not make sense. Le Dôme was crying out for Cabernet Franc so that it could maintain its ‘80% recipe’, and it is clear that their portfolio pals’ selfless acts have further improved this wine and VCM. While VCM shows flesh and splendour, Le Dôme is a much stricter and more introverted beast. While this is another chapter in the great Le Dôme story, much of the credit must go to the stunning new winery in which it was made. Elegant and refined while at the same time elemental and imposing, this is a shockingly delicious wine in 2021. Rating: 18.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2022)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Restrained, savoury, deep and rich. Cocoa powder and liquorice bud character on the attack, this is extremely good quality and one of the wines of the vintage. Has walls and floors, is concentrated yet supple and needs ageing. Cabernet Franc is a grape that tends to shuts down in the early years and this will do so, so I suggest giving it a few years in bottle before opening, but there are ripe, seductive fruits here and it is punching above the vintage conditions. Michel Longo new vineyard manager (moving over from Pavie), Thomas Duclos consultant, Neil Whyte head winemaker. No Pontet Labrie, Le Carre nor Les Astéries in the range this year. First year in the new €14 million new winery, designed by Sir Norman Foster. No chaptilisation, very late harvest into 3rd week of October. Drinking range: 2028 - 2042 Rating: 96 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2022)
Polished and plush red with clove, dried lavender and dark-berry fruit. Full-bodied with firm, velvety and well-knit tannins. Lovely purity. Excellent length, too, with lingering spice notes. Lots to like. 80% cabernet franc and 20% merlot. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2022)
The 2021 Le Dôme includes fruit from Les Astéries this year due to frost damage, though Jonathan Maltus managed to retain the 80% Cabernet Franc. It is matured in 80% new oak. The nose is more backward than usual but I find this well-defined with blackberry, briary, touches of brown spice and a faint touch of mint. The palate is medium-bodied with a grainy texture. The Cabernet Franc comes through nicely this year…I wonder if that is because of the contribution of the Les Astéries? Well-balanced with quite a refined finish, this Le Dôme with its newfound elegance should age with style. Drinking range: 2026 - 2045 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2022)
The 2021 Le Dôme is the most powerful of Jonathan Maltus's wines this year. Strong Cabernet Franc inflections are front and center. Dark cherry, plum, mocha, dried herbs, incense and spice lend notable aromatic presence. Naturally the 2021 will need the better part of a decade to drink at its best, but it is quite impressive in this tasting. Drinking range: 2025 - 2041 Rating: 92-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2022)
Continuing fully 80% Cabernet Franc and vinified in Maltus's new winery, the 2021 Le Dome bursts with aromas of violets, blackberries, sweet soil tones and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with lively acids and powdery tannins, this perfumed, charming wine is unusually seamless and integrated at this early stage. Does this vintage mark a stylistic evolution for this cuvée? Rating: 92-94 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (May 2022)
Château Le Dôme
Jonathan Maltus was the first Englishman to receive 100 points from Robert Parker for one of his wines. He arrived in Bordeaux in 1994, selling his project management company in order to buy the picturesque but otherwise unremarkable Château Teyssier. Hard work and serious investment established Château Teyssier as a remarkably successful St Emilion brand, but the sandy soils of Vignonet were never going to provide the terroir for true St Emilion greatness. So, Jonathan set out to find himself some good terroir. First of all, in 1996, he purchased a 3.5ha plot from Vieux Château Mazerat when one of the two brothers who owned the estate died. This he christened Le Dôme. The plot sits next to Château Angélus on almost Pomerol-esque ground – sandy soil over a layer of crasse de fer (a rich iron oxide). The vines, planted in 1956 and 1970, are 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot, making Le Dôme the most Cabernet Franc dominant wine in St Emilion. In 1996, Le Dôme was at the forefront of the garagiste movement and went into exclusively new oak, although latterly the new oak proportion has dropped back to 80%. In 2004 Jonathan took on a 1.2ha plot that had been part of Château Fonroque, that lay on a hard limestone called calcaire à astéries, so he named the wine Les Astéries. The 80 year old vines are 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Next, in 2005, came Le Carré – a 1.1ha plot next to Clos Fourtet on more typically St Emilion clay over limestone soil. Le Carré is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. And, in 2008, when the other brother at Vieux Château Mazerat died, Jonathan purchased the rest of the estate. The 3.5ha of vineyard also lie next to Château Angélus (and, also, Château Canon) but in a separate block from Le Dôme, on more usual clay/limestone soil, and with a different grape mix (65% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc), so the old estate was not re-united. But in a nod to their former joint status, the Vieux Château Mazerat has the same label as Le Dôme except the colours are reversed.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2024 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.