2020 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

2020 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

Product: 20201173547
Prices start from £525.00 per case Buying options
2020 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
Case format
Availability
Price per case
6 x 75cl bottle
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £525.00
New To BBX
New To BBX
You can place a bid for this wine on BBX

Description

Sauvignon Blanc 70%, Sémillon 30%

The early vintage had the team picking the Sauvignon Blanc on 25th August – though only in the cool mornings. They waited until early September for the wonderfully ripe Sémillon. The Sauvignon Blanc element is not especially aromatic, but it’s beautifully textured. The Sémillon is rich and ripe, with limey acidity. There is lots of silky concentration, and the impressive finish is almost plump. It’s not racy like 2017, but this is top class.

Drink 2025-2040.

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

Critics reviews

Jane Anson95/100
An excellent white with precision, flesh and confidence, sure to age well. A ton of white pear and some soft pepper spice keeps up the pace and lift from beginning to end, and the intensity continues to build after the wine has left the palate - a sure sign of something special happening. A yield of 43hl/ha. Tasted twice. Unusual for me to score the red and white Chevalier at the same level, but both are extremely successful in this vintage.

Drink from 2022 to 2032

Jane Anson, Decanter (April 2021) Read more
Neal Martin, Vinous91-93/100
The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc was cropped at 43hl/ha and will spend 18 months in barrel. It has a very composed bouquet of green apple, kiwi fruit, crushed rock and dried white flower aromas. There is nothing extravagant on the nose, but it is beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine bead of acidity, displaying light honeyed notes on the entry mixed with chamomile and almond and hints of marzipan. Very harmonious from start to finish, this is a refined and classy Domaine de Chevalier Blanc.

Drink from 2025 to 2050

Neal Martin, Vinous (May 2021) Read more
Antonio Galloni, Vinous94-96/100
The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc is fabulous. Bright and airy in the glass, the 2020 bristles with energy. Lemon confit, crushed rocks, mint and white pepper all pulse with tons of vibrancy. This finely-cut, chiseled white is going to need a number of years to be at its best, but it is so impressive and so full of potential. Bright saline notes punctuate the dazzling finish. Time in the glass brings out the wine's texture and layers. The Blanc is one of the world's great wines, hands down.

Drink from 2030 to 2050

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (June 2021) Read more
Wine Advocate94-96/100
The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc bursts with notions of ripe yellow apples, juicy pears and lime blossoms, plus hints of blanched almonds, yuzu zest and wet pebbles. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers impactful apple and citrus flavors with a racy backbone and seductive oiliness to the texture, finishing long and minerally.

Drink from 2025 to 2038

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (May 2021) Read more
Jancis Robinson MW16.5+/20
Undated cask sample. 70% Sauvignon, 30% Sémillon. In conversion to organic viticulture. Fermented and aged for 18 months in barrel. Subtle, salivatory, mineral nose. Quite rich and dense on the palate – lots more depth here than in most dry white Pessac-Léognans. Seems weightier and richer than most previous vintages. Builds towards the finish. On past form, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt regarding ageability.

Drink 2023 - 2030

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (April 2021) Read more
James Suckling96-97/100
A dense, creamy DC white with lots of rich cooked-apple, mineral, cream and praline character. It’s full and very layered with chewy intensity and a long, bitter-lemon and almost honey finish. Pretty phenolic tension, too.

James Suckling, jamessuckling.com (April 2021) Read more
Vinous94-96/100
The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc is fabulous. Bright and airy in the glass, the 2020 bristles with energy. Lemon confit, crushed rocks, mint and white pepper all pulse with tons of vibrancy. This finely-cut, chiseled white is going to need a number of years to be at its best, but it is so impressive and so full of potential. Bright saline notes punctuate the dazzling finish. Time in the glass brings out the wine's texture and layers. The Blanc is one of the world's great wines, hands down.

Antonio Galloni, vinous.com (April 2021) Read more

About this WINE

Domaine de Chevalier

Domaine de Chevalier

Domaine de Chevalier is one of the few Graves estates to produce both first class reds and whites. The property was purchased by the Ricard family in 1865 and remained in their hands until it was bought by the Bernard distilling company in 1983. Domaine De Chevalier has 35 hectares of vines and red wine accounts for 80% of the production. Made from a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, the wine is fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats and then matured in oak barriques (50% new) for 18 months.

Domaine de Chevalier is fortunate to have such a fine team to run its affairs. Olivier, whose family business owns the estate, is the outgoing but canny administrator whilst Rémi Edange is hands-on, knowing every vine and every barrel. Whilst their white wines have always been amongst the very finest, the reds were simpler affairs. But from the 1995 vintage onwards greater flair and concentration was in evidence. The quality curve is now further accentuated by the team's bold move to appoint Stéphane Derenoncourt, of La Mondotte fame, as consultant winemaker. Domaine De Chevalier is classified as a Graves Cru Classé.

Find out more
Pessac-Léognan

Pessac-Léognan

In 1986 a new communal district was created within Graves, in Bordeaux, based on the districts of Pessac and Léognan, the first of which lies within the suburbs of the city. Essentially this came about through pressure from Pessac-Léognan vignerons, who wished to disassociate themselves from growers with predominately sandy soils further south in Graves.

Pessac-Léognan has the best soils of the region, very similar to those of the Médoc, although the depth of gravel is more variable, and contains all the classed growths of the region. Some of its great names, including Ch. Haut-Brion, even sit serenely and resolutely in Bordeaux's southern urban sprawl.

The climate is milder than to the north of the city and the harvest can occur up to two weeks earlier. This gives the best wines a heady, rich and almost savoury character, laced with notes of tobacco, spice and leather. Further south, the soil is sandier with more clay, and the wines are lighter, fruity and suitable for earlier drinking.

Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Haut-Brion, Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion, Ch. Pape Clément, Ch Haut-Bailly, Domaine de Chevalier, Ch. Larrivet-Haut-Brion, Ch. Carmes Haut-Brion, Ch. La Garde, Villa Bel-Air.

Find out more
Sauvignon Blanc & Sémillon

Sauvignon Blanc & Sémillon

The blend used for White Graves and Sauternes and rarely encountered outside France. In the great dry whites of Graves, Sauvignon Blanc tends to predominate in the blend, although properties such as Smith Haut Lafite use 100% Sauvignon Blanc while others such as Laville Haut Brion have as much as 60% Sémillon in their final blends. Sauvignon Blanc wines can lose their freshness and fruit after a couple of years in bottle - if blended with Sémillon, then the latter bolsters the wine when the initial fruit from the Sauvignon fades. Ultimately Sauvignon Blanc gives the wine its aroma and raciness while Sémillon gives it backbone and longevity.

In Sauternes, Sémillon is dominant, with Sauvignon Blanc playing a supporting role - it is generally harvested about 10 days before Sémillon and the botrytis concentrates its sweetness and dampens Sauvignon Blanc`s naturally pungent aroma. It contributes acidity, zip and freshness to Sauternes and is an important component of the blend.

Find out more

When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.