If I was a buyer of $250+ cult wines, this would be a buy…but I’m not. Just finished my last Mag of the '91…still have plenty of '94’s @ $50 per. I was willing to swallow < $150 for Dominus, as I put this in the same league as Ridge MB. Love both those wines, but there’s a limit…
No! Too many older bottles of great wine for less.
I understand the power of points
but I also know my palate
Rarely have I ever been smitten by a 100 point critic rated wine.
I do not chase points like when I was a newbie
I’m about like this but never bought Mags and killed my 94s long ago, lol.
I’ll answer as someone under age 50 since it seems like the above “no” replies are from those who long for the halcyon days of sub-$100 top CA wines.
If you’re relatively young and want a fantastic wine in 20-30 years, this is a buy. Most of the “no” people above will either have dead palates or be dead themselves, so their advice comes with no accountability. Dominus pricing will never roll back, nor will climate change’s effect on Napa. So, my advice is to prepare now for the time when classic Napa wines will not be available.
Disclaimers: I stopped buying with the 1994 vintage (too broke, not lack of desire) and I am the wholesale buyer in MA for Dominus.
There’s a ton of wines that’ll be absolutely great in 20-30 years that are so much less than $260.
If anyone’s advice comes with no accountability, it’s yours. Spending other people’s money is easy.
I’ll be happily retired with more spending money for the real things that matter in life!
When you can buy a well aged in-its-peak Dominus(15-20 years old) for a 100 bucks less TODAY, why would you spend $259 for a new release? Throwing away money. A 100 point Napa cab today does not move the needle much in terms of pricing on the secondary market than it used to in the 90’s/00’s. A 100 point Central Coast Rhone Ranger still does, but not a Napa cab. They were killed by score inflation cough Parkercough.
Lee, the OP is clearly ready and able to spend. So, your claim falls flat.
Triple hundred means that both Parker and the Suck think the wine is great? Does that means it’s going to be the same sort of hot mess as Quilceda Creek? At least Dominus has a rich history of making very good wines, so I could see someone buying it in spite of the ratings. 
Honestly, despite my being a hater, I will admit that I have bought a bunch of highly rated Napa cabs, from Myriad, Maybach, Rivers-Marie, and a few others. But They are all less expensive than Dominus and made in much smaller quantities. I dropped Kapczandy because the wines were just too expensive. Bond I liked but prices just kept escalating.
I will drop any of these that get more expensive and keep buying Monte Bello til the cows come home. Dominus is an easy pass…
Since when does anyone’s advice on WB come with “accountability?” What a preposterous concept!
I can think of reasons why people would rationalize this purchase at this price. If you “must” have this wine–for whatever reason–then this is probably as low as you’re
likely to see the wine at retail. Certainly, as mentioned in this thread, lots of folks will find something much better to do with $260 plus tax. YMMV, indeed.
Bruce
So much angst in this tread. It’s a bottle of wine and some disposable income. Spend your money how you see fit. Who cares what anyone else thinks?
Garrett devries wrote:
So much angst in this tread. It’s a bottle of wine and some disposable income. Spend your money how you see fit. Who cares what anyone else thinks?
+1, Garrett. If someone wants to spend $260 on Dominus, so be it. I hope they enjoy the bottle with friends and/or family.
Thanks,
Ed
I don’t think that there’s any angst; Brian suggested that the 2013 Dominus should be considered pretty much an automatic buy at $259. Others disagreed, with reasons why they felt that way. No one said that other people would be dumb to make that purchase.
Whether or not people agree with that prediction, many would nevertheless not be heartbroken if it came to pass.
The answer is incredibly simple and only the OP can provide it. He will no doubt be asking himself the following questions.
- Are there better wines for $259?
- Are there wines of equal quality for less?
- Do I want to spend $259 for the right wine?
- Why do I care what anybody else thinks about my purchases? After all they are not drinking the wine or contributing towards it.
I really don’t think that a man who has cases of Screagle in the background of the cellar pictures that he takes, is worried about what people might think about his purchase of 2013 Dominus.
And don’t forget the bottles of DRC along side it
The problem is that the OP sought validation for a purchase that only makes sense if money is no object. So, yes, he’s free to spend his money as he pleases. But don’t ask the rest of us to agree that it’s a no-brainer.
I would only buy cases of Dominus if I could land my helicopter there. 