2023 Domaine de Chevalier, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Always one of the benchmark wines of a vintage, and here showcasing the quality of Cabernet Sauvignon in 2023 (as well as the potential for varying yields, as they are down at 30hl/h here). Well balanced, great depth of ink, cassis, bilberry and damson fruits, rises through the palate, with tannic grip and plenty of grilled but carefully judged oak. A great Chevalier, not perhaps at the very top of recent vintages here, but one that will give huge amounts of pleasure, and captures the great classicsm of the year. 35% new oak for ageing, Bernard family owners.
Drink 2029 - 2046
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (April 2024)
The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier was picked from September 7 to 30 and contains 13% alcohol. This is quintessential “DdC” on the nose: black fruit, sous-bois and hints of black olive at first, subtle marine notes emerging with time in the glass. There’s wonderful focus and delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with pencil-shaving-tinged black fruit on the entry. Perhaps a bit grippier with more spine than one would expect (especially following the more sensual 2022), this is very traditional in style, with a tremendously long and satisfying saline finish. Superb.
Drink 2029 - 2060
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (April 2024)
The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier is beautifully resonant in the glass. Deep, layered, and quite persistent, it has so much to offer. In many vintages, this red needs time to be at its best, but this edition has enough forward fruit to make me think it will drink well with minimal cellaring, even if the acids remain brisk. Graphite, dried herbs, menthol, liquorice, and rose petal build into the tense, saline-infused finish. The 2023 is all finesse.
Drink 2030 - 2063
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (April 2024)
This blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc is maturing in 40% new barrels.
The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier reveals a perfumed, incipiently complex bouquet of dark wild berries, cassis, rose petals, spices and liquorice. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and rich, with a fleshy core of fruit framed by powdery tannins and bright acids, it concludes with a long, saline, gently oak-inflected finish.
Drink 2025 - 2045
Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate (April 2024)
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.
Crimson hue. It has a pretty redberry nose with a touch of vanilla oak. Tannins are supple and refined. Length on the finish. It is elegant in style but not quite at the top of its game.
Drink 2028 - 2038
James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com (May 2024)
63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.
There are plenty of blackberry, blackcurrant, chocolate, and flint aromas that follow through to a full body, yet it’s in check and focused, with a beautiful framing of fine tannins. The purity of ripe fruit is impressive, with Cabernet really showing through.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (May 2024)
Cool blue fruit and tobacco leaf denote this wine, which packs almost Pauillac-like power in 2023 but is not as overtly charming as it can be. The mid-palate depth seems a bit coiled in with some standoffish tannins, but overall, it is brisk and true to the style of the estate, if not a ‘sunny vintage’ on the palate. In short, a serious Domaine de Chevalier red needs at least five years of cellaring to fully reward you.
Drink 2028 - 2058
Panos Kakaviatos, Decanter.com (April 2024)
Cassis, spring flowers, graphite, black cherries, and some smoky nuances emerge from the 2023 Domaine De Chevalier, another medium- to full-bodied, concentrated, incredibly impressive Pessac with ripe tannins and an excellent finish. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 5% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, and it’s ageing in one-third new oak, mostly in barrels, but there’s a small portion in foudre.
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (May 2024)
About this WINE
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.
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.
Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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.
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Description
65% Cabernet Sauvigon, 25% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot.
Despite a challenging growing season, September brought a lot of warmth, allowing the red varieties to reach peak maturity, with the final plots of Cabernet Sauvignon being picked on the 30th. Yields are smaller this year at 30 hl/ha, but the wine produced is not to be missed. It is delicately perfumed with dark forest berries, clove and violet. The silky palate has plenty of concentration with layers of rich dark fruit. Powerful tannins frame the wine, leading to its persistent and saline finish. It is, without a doubt, a frontrunner this year.
Our score: 17/20
Berry Bros. & Rudd
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