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A bold and rich Domaine de Chevalier Rouge. This has deep intense dark Black Forest fruits on the nose and in the palate. The mouthfeel is one of warm rich intensity, with notes of dark chocolate and oriental spice. A long and sweet finish provides huge pleasure. DR
A bold and rich Domaine de Chevalier Rouge. This has deep intense dark Black Forest fruits on the nose and in the palate. The mouthfeel is one of warm rich intensity, with notes of dark chocolate and oriental spice. A long and sweet finish provides huge pleasure. DR
The 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a classy affair on the nose: nothing ambitious or self-aggrandizing, just beautifully defined black fruit laced with pine needles and wilted irises. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, filigreed tannin, pitch-perfect acidity and a captivating sense of mineralité toward the persistent finish. This is an outstanding Domaine de Chevalier, possessing a surfeit of pedigree and breeding. 2022 - 2055
The 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot picked between 4-21 October at 45 hectoliters per hectare, and matured in 35% new oak. Oh yes! This is a perfumed bouquet that unfolds beautifully in the glass with blackberry, cedar, smoke and a light marine influence, not unlike Japanese nori. The palate is medium-bodied with such fine tannins that it bought to mind Burgundy rather than Bordeaux. There is a grainy texture here, quite saline in the mouth with an entrancing sense of symmetry, very classic but not austere on the finish, with a long and saline aftertaste. This is an outstanding Domaine de Chevalier from the busiest man in Bordeaux, Oliver Bernard. Tasted twice with consistent notes. Drink Date 2025 - 2060
The 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a thrilling wine. Dense and beautifully layered, the 2016 is also quite a bit richer than it usually is. Cabernet Sauvignon aromatics and structure pulse through the wine. The red-toned fruit is incredibly primary at this stage. Readers should be prepared to cellar the 2016 for at least a handful of years. It has been nothing short of magnificent on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. 2026 - 2066
The 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a wine of total precision and class. Today, the flavors are remarkably primary, while the tannins, unusually, are totally buried by the fruit. It will be many years before the 2016 is ready to show all of its cards, but it is a brilliant wine in the making. Dark red cherry, blood orange, mint, white pepper and rose petal infuse the strikingly delineated, vibrant finish.
A dense and tight DC with minerals, crushed stones, cement and blackcurrants. Full, tight and racy. Gorgeous. Leaf and tobacco undertones. Very tannic. Tight. So structured. Complex.
Rich, round and beautiful, there really is distance between red and white this year. This has all the signature welcome and power of the very best vintages of Domaine de Chevalier, one of the 'clue' châteaux you should follow to track the quality of reds and whites in Bordeaux in any given vintage. Here you see that 2016 hits it out of the park with the reds. Rich damson, deep black cherry, slate, wet stones and curls of cold ash - this has beautiful complexity and texture. Stunning.
This is a flamboyant, layered, upholstered DdC with succulent fruit and also very well-judged oak. There is tannin here but it is sprinkled generously along the whole length of the palate as opposed to arriving solely at the end. Impressive and with an extra level of juiciness on board, this is a very charming wine.
A dense and tight DC with minerals, crushed stones, cement and blackcurrants. Full, tight and racy. Gorgeous. Leaf and tobacco undertones. Very tannic. Tight. So structured. Complex.
Like the white Domaine de Chevalier, this is made to age and wasn’t showing at its most open and appealing during en primeur week. It’s a dense, firm, serious wine that needs quite a bit of time to digest its oak. But who’s in a hurry here? 2024-34
Stretching from the rather unglamorous southern suburbs of Bordeaux, for 50 km along the left bank of the river Garonne, lies Graves. Named for its gravelly soil, a relic of Ice Age glaciers, this is the birthplace of claret, despatched from the Middle Ages onwards from the nearby quayside to England in vast quantities. It can feel as though Bordeaux is just about red wines, but some sensational white wines are produced in this area from a blend of sauvignon blanc, Semillon and, occasionally, muscadelle grapes, often fermented and aged in barrel. In particular, Domaine de Chevalier is renowned for its superbly complex whites, which continue to develop in bottle over decades. A premium appellation, Pessac-Leognan, was created in 1987 for the most prestigious terroirs within Graves. These are soils with exceptional drainage, made up of gravel terraces built up in layers over many millennia, and consequently thrive in mediocre vintages but are less likely to perform well in hotter years. These wines were appraised and graded in their own classification system in 1953 and updated in 1959, but, like the 1855 classification system, this should be regarded with caution and the wines must absolutely be assessed on their own current merits.
