Domaine La Domitienne 2019

When you’re in the wine biz (and taste as many thousands of wines a year as our experts do), it takes a lot to be “wowed.”

But when our man in southern France, Mark Hoddy, first poured this pure Merlot for us, he said “this is the rich, red champion of the 2019 vintage. For me, it’s near-perfect. A deeply colored, plummy, smooth, mouthfilling stunner.”

Thanks to the phenomenal quality of the 2019 vintage (which especially favored Merlot), it’ll be a big hit with lovers of lusciously rich, heady reds. In fact, it’s the kind of wine that could put a small estate on the map—if it wasn’t already on one. Domaine La Domitienne’s Merlot vineyards are bisected by the famed Via Domitia, the first Roman road to be built in what’s now France, and the first road to connect Rome to the Iberian Peninsula.

And you’re likely to recognize the winemaker. Hervé Sabardiel is the Parker-praised talent behind some of our most popular wines, such as Cabalié. But he's also a consultant, and works with estates across southern France to help them produce outstanding wines (like this wonderful Merlot).

We’re not the only ones who love it, though. The team at Decanter was also pretty pleased, rating it 89 points: “Dark, sweet earth and chocolatey, plummy aromas are followed by some black pepper and spicy cedar flavors, with smooth, dark hedgerow fruit and some raspberry hints. An undercurrent of woody chocolate runs beneath.”

Domaine la Domitienne will pair beautifully with burgers, roasted chicken or a charcuterie platter. Be one of the first to try it!