2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

Product: 20231173547
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Prices start from £456.00 per case Buying options
2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

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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
Berry Bros. & Rudd BB&R 26 cases £456.00
En Primeur Limited availability
En Primeur Limited availability
12 x 37.5cl half bottle
Berry Bros. & Rudd BB&R 1 case £474.00
En Primeur Limited availability
En Primeur Limited availability
3 x 150cl magnum
Berry Bros. & Rudd BB&R 1 case £465.00
En Primeur Limited availability
En Primeur Limited availability
1 x 300cl double magnum
Berry Bros. & Rudd BB&R 1 case £344.00
En Primeur Limited availability
En Primeur Limited availability
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Description

The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc was picked from August 28 to September 6 at 45hL/ha. It’s a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon. 

This has wonderful purity on the nose, revealing scents of lime, green apple and crushed stone—one of the most precise I have encountered at this early stage. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity that lends this white Pessac-Léognan superb focus. There’s real intensity here, building with a sense of nascent confidence toward the mineral, almost slate-like finish. Very long and tender, this is a white Domaine de Chevalier from the top drawer.

Drink 2028 - 2050

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (April 2024)

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Critics reviews

Jane Anson96/100

Got to be the most consisent of all Pessac Léognan whites, sets out its stall immediately with fresh acidities and fennel spice, giving a kick and lift, classically nuanced and structured. White pear, sage, liqourice root, savoury as all hell, and so moriesh. Working with Stéphane Derenocourt since 2018 on the whites (longer on the reds).

Drink 2025 - 2040

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (April 2024)

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Neal Martin, Vinous94-96/100

The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc was picked from August 28 to September 6 at 45hL/ha. It’s a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon. 

This has wonderful purity on the nose, revealing scents of lime, green apple and crushed stone—one of the most precise I have encountered at this early stage. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity that lends this white Pessac-Léognan superb focus. There’s real intensity here, building with a sense of nascent confidence toward the mineral, almost slate-like finish. Very long and tender, this is a white Domaine de Chevalier from the top drawer.

Drink 2028 - 2050

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (April 2024)

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Antonio Galloni, Vinous94-96/100

The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc is one of the best dry whites of the year. Creamy and expansive, with terrific brightness, this exudes balance. Citrus confit, white pepper, mint, almond, pear and crushed rocks are some of the notes that build as the 2023 shows off its pedigree. I expect it will offer exceptional drinking for the next several decades. What else is new?

Drink 2030 - 2053

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (April 2024)

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Jancis Robinson MW16++/20

70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Sémillon. Cask sample.

Sauvignon character is evident on the nose. The palate has a certain depth of fruit, but it is a little more forward than usual. Less éclat at the moment, but Chevalier often surprises with a bit of bottle age.

Drink 2026 - 2032

James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com (May 2024)

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Wine Advocate94-96/100

This is a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon.

A perfumed, complex bouquet of pear, white peach, hazelnuts, lime tree leaves and spring flowers prefaces the 2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated wine with racy acids, chalky, structuring dry extract, and a bright, vibrant profile that’s rare in this vintage.

Drink 2025 - 2045

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (April 2024)

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James Suckling97-98/100

70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon.

This is layered and complex with an impressive mineral tension and depth. Medium- to full-bodied, very long and persistent. It has oyster shell, crushed stone and citrus peel character with racy acidity coming through, adding to its length and tension. Very long and firm at the end with a backbone of fine tannins for a white.

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (May 2024)

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Decanter96/100

If you have a vintage with a heatwave, you can count on this estate to outperform, and it did again in 2023, with wine marked by refined aromas of wet stone, lemongrass, verbena, fresh herb, lime, quince and kiwi. This kaleidoscope of aromas and flavours is encapsulated in a smooth and vivacious palate that remains precise and with exciting precision through to a long finish. The somewhat high alcohol is balanced by the acidity as the team picked to attain ripeness, while not doing any malolactic fermentation to preserve freshness.

Drink 2026 - 2045

Panos Kakaviatos, Decanter.com (April 2024)

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Jeb Dunnuck93-96/100

Ripe citrus, honeyed flowers, mint, and a kiss of background oak all define the 2023 Domaine De Chevalier Blanc, a beautifully textured, medium-bodied white with terrific mid-palate depth and richness, integrated acidity, and an excellent finish. It's clearly up with the crème de la crème and has the vintage's mix of richness and freshness.

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (May 2024)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.