Dominus 2014 leads US fine wine trade

The 2014 vintage of Californian winery Dominus has been the most traded US wine on Liv-ex so far this year.

As the fine wine market has broadened away from Bordeaux, leading US labels have gained increasing traction in the secondary market – especially those from California.

Dominus, Opus One, Screaming Eagle and Harlan in particular lead the pack, combining high scores and scarcity.

The 2014 Dominus has been trading strongly so far this year. Described as “haunting” by its UK agent Corney & Barrow, just 4,300 cases were produced.

Rated 97-points by Robert Parker, it has declined slightly in price since release but at under £2,000 a case it represents an excellent buying opportunity for those seeking to get on the Dominus/Californian ladder – if one can find any of course.

The next top-traded wine was also from the 2014 vintage, this time from Opus One – which was launched around the same time as Dominus in October last year.

Screaming Eagle’s very highly rated 2015 (100 pts WA) and 2014 vintages come next and then Caymus’ 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon.

All of the top 10 wines hail from the 2013-2015 vintages, a string of excellent harvests in California.