Château La Dominique: Vineyards
The estate lies on the edge of the St Emilion appellation, in the more westerly part, adjacent to Pomerol. A fairly long and narrow domaine orientated roughly along a north-south axis, to the west lies Château Cheval Blanc, the two vineyards abutting one another for almost a kilometre. Just to the north lie many of the famous names of Pomerol, including Château L’Évangile and beyond that Petrus. Meanwhile, to the east, there are some less renowned secteurs, including Maillet in Pomerol where Château Le Bon Pasteur and Château Vieux Maillet are located, and Corbin in St Emilion which is home to Château Corbin, Château Grand Corbin, Château Corbin-Michotte, Château Grand Corbin-Despagne and, closer than all these, Château Jean Faure.
There are now 29 hectares under vine, and following a detailed soil study in 2005 the vineyard can be divided into four zones. First, at the very northern limit of the vineyard, near the boundary with Pomerol, there is a very small area of red-brown clay with gravel. Second, in several patches although principally along the border with Château Cheval Blanc, there are soils of blue clay. Thirdly, and constituting the major part of the vineyard, about 75% all told, there are soils of a very sandy nature, perhaps with a little light gravel, over a bed of clay. Fourthly, and lastly, in the southern part of the vineyard there are clay soils peppered with limestone. Like the first two parts, this is also a relatively small component, and much of it lies in or next to the Vieux Fortin parcels.
