Jonathan Malthus started his Bordeaux wine adventure in Saint Emilion in the early 1990s at Chateau Teyssier, an elegant Chateau on the low lying sandy soils of Saint Emilion. He renovated the rundown estate and made what he called a Sunday Lunch Claret, an easy drinking, fruit driven wine that sold well. An elegant chateau and a successful wine brand would have been sufficient for most people. But, as an outsider, a Brit coming to wine as a second career, Jonathan was curious about an apparent glass ceiling in traditional Saint Emilion. One he seemed to be on the wrong side of.
Local insight helped him understand the hierarchy of terroir, Teyssier was not in the higher echelons. He immediately went out and started buying plots of land higher up, literally, on the prestigious hard limestone around the medieval town of Saint Emilion.
Traditional wine makers would have blended these plots into the ‘Grand Vin’. Not Jonathan. Working with wine maker Neil Whyte, he decided to vinify these new plots separately, creating single vineyard wines, creating a range of Saint Emilion wines each with their own individual personalities derived directly from their unique terroir.
Timing and embracing change
In the 1990s, Saint Emilion and Pomerol were at the centre of experimental wine making. Jonathan couldn’t have arrived at a better time. He embraced these new and innovative wine making and harvesting techniques, seeing their potential to make consumer friendly wines and he became one of the leaders of this ‘garage wine’ movement sweeping across the right bank.
Le Dome
The star of the Maltus wines was (and remains) Le Dome, a plot purchased in 1996 next to classified growth Château Angelus. Only around 2,500 cases of the wine are hand crafted here each year, from just 7ha of mainly Cabernet Franc vines. It was this wine that won the coveted 100 Parker points for the 2010 vintage.
A fabulous home for a fabulous wine
The wines soon outgrew the original wine making facility at Château Teyssier. Opening in 2018, the name of the wine has clearly inspired the forty-metre diameter dome-shaped building. It looks like a flying saucer that has made itself at home in the vines.
A six metre wide central atrium, supported by French oak beams is a natural source of light. Above a 360° glass window, a roof of repurposed terra-cotta tiles from the ruin that was here before, slopes down towards the vines. For such an imposing building it integrates surprisingly well into the landscape of the shallow valley of limestone slopes that surround it.
An experience
The cellar has clearly been designed with the wine making at its heart but also the visitor experience. The circular and spiralling visit, with 360° views that bring the vineyard into the cellar takes in the stainless steel fermentation vats and the surrounding barrels. There are also ‘pods’ for private conferences and entertainment.
Le Dôme offers an ‘Origins’ wine tour and tasting, that takes guests through the history of the Malthus adventure with a tasting of Teyssier wines. The ‘Le Dôme’ visit explores the garage wine movement with a tasting of Le Dôme and, for enthusiasts that want to ensure they get the most of their wines, there’s a fascinating ‘Tasting and Serving Workshop’. Guests explore how to best age, serve and decant wines with a compare and contrast approach between a recent and an older vintage. However each tour includes explanations of the features and anecdotes of this spectacular building which is one of the reason why they won a Regional Best Of Wine Tourism Award in the Architecture and Landscapes category this year (2025).
Art and wine
Until the end of January 2025, Le Dôme plays host to an exhibition of the other-worldly art of Marie Desaulles.
Perhaps Le Dôme is a message from outer space after all?
Article's author : Wendy Nardby - Insider Tasting Photo credits : ©LeDôme Video credits : ©fakhry_nader & ©schz.Farah