Domaine de Chevalier, Cru Classé de Graves, Pessac-Leognan 2020

Domaine de Chevalier, Cru Classé de Graves, Pessac-Leognan 2020

Classified Red Wine. Cru Classe de Graves in 1959.

Critic tasting notes: (2020 vintage)

"Showing a solid depth of color, the moment the wine hits the glass you find a wealth of black raspberries, cigar box, mint, oceanic influences, smoke, licorice, black currants, blackberries, bay leaf, and black raspberries in the nose. On the palate, the wine exudes an incredible purity of fruit, dark chocolate, and layers of ripe, dense, sensuously-textured black, red, and blue fruits that unfold seamlessly across your palate, and linger for close to 50 seconds. There is lift, energy, volume, and depth on the palate finishing with waves of dark red currants, creme de cassis, tobacco leaf, blackberry, savory herbs, and a gentle wisp of spearmint on the backend. Clearly, this is one of the great vintages of Domaine de Chevalier that fans of the estate should run, (not walk) to buy! Drink from 2026-2055." - Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider (97/100)

"The Domaine de Chevalier is beautifully situated on a high point in the Pessac-Léognan appellation within the Graves region near the city of Bordeaux. The estate is well-known for its superb white wines that routinely rank among the best of the appellation. The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge joins the Blanc in the top rank of Pessac-Léognan wines. This is truly outstanding wine even at this youthful stage. The bouquet is rich and complex, with layers of blackcurrant, blackberry and plum fruits interwoven with hints of vanilla, violets, tobacco, cedar, smoke and baking spices plus subtle tones of herbs and earth. On the palate, it unfolds in layers of pure and opulent black currant, black and red cherry fruits followed by a glorious range of mint, cedar, savory herb, earth, smoke and spice nuances that seem to evolve as you savor the wine. The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge is a stellar Bordeaux that has the potential to age for 30 to 50 years. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (27%), Petit Verdot (5%), and Cabernet Franc (3%). (Wayne Belding)" - Wine Review Online (97/100)

"The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier is a touch more tightly wound than the brilliant 2019 out of the gates, but it seems likely to equal that vintage with a bit of time. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of minty blackberries and cassis mingled with notions of burning embers, spices, rose petals and orange rind, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated, with a deep core of fruit, powdery structuring tannins and a long, saline finish. As I wrote last year, this estate in recent vintages has arrived at a sort of stylistic contemporary classicism that evokes the great wines of yesteryear from this address, and the 2020 continues that trend.

This 67-hectare estate in Pessac-Léognan is at the top of its game today, and the 2019 vintage is a striking success. When the Bernard family purchased Domaine de Chevalier in 1983, the vineyards amounted to only 20 hectares; expansion followed in the woodlands (much of which remain) that occupy this site, on the same stony gravel and black sand over iron-rich clay that defines the estate's historic vineyards. It's a cold site in winter, surrounded by trees, but warm in summer, as the stones reflect heat and the black sands absorb it. Farming is now organic and biodynamic, with experiments with cover crops, unhedged canopies and drainage to improve more humid parcels. Sauvignon Blanc is planted in the estate's coolest sites, Cabernet Sauvignon on its warmest, and everything else is planted in between. Since 1983, Domaine de Chevalier has naturally evolved; as new plantings came online, the wines lost some of the intensity-without-weight that had always been their signature. In the early 2000s, a concerted effort was made to attain fuller maturity and more concentration, and the wines became a little chunkier and more obviously oaky, too, but recent years have seen a return to seamless elegance, without any loss of depth or persistence. In many respects, indeed, the last few vintages of Domaine de Chevalier bear a closer stylistic kinship to the great wines produced at this address in the 1970s and before than they do to the vintages of the early 2000s. Olivier Bernard and his team, in short, are to be congratulated for ushering in a new golden age at an estate that produces one of Bordeaux's most singular and characterful wines." - Robert Parker The Wine Advocate, Reviewed by: William Kelley (95/100)

"The purity of fruit is really something here, with blackcurrants and blackberries, together with orange, stone and granite character. Mind-boggling in many ways. Full-bodied with very fine tannins that are polished and pure. Such a fine texture. Lots of primary fruit. Like picking wonderfully ripe grapes. Great length. One for the cellar. Drink after 2030." - James Suckling

Producer tasting notes: (2020 vintage)

"Deep color, dark red, black in the middle, brilliant. Great nose, intense and distinctive. Flowery expression mainly on the fruit. Black cherry, blackcurrant, blueberry. Finely peppery and vanilla spices. Aromas of tannins and slightly peaty earth. On the palate impressive sensation of density, fleshy tannins and contained power. The flesh of the wine is fine, firm , freshly and fruity. The high-class tannins recall the earthy and peaty flavor of great vintages to keep. The fruit is everywhere, intensely. Power, balance, maturity, concentration, length, freshness, tension." - Domaine de Chevalier

Classification

Cru Classé

Producer Notes

The Domaine de Chevalier located in Léognan, the Capital town of the Graves Region has a long history. It appears on the famous map of Pierre de Belleyme in 1783. In 1983 the estate was purchased by the Bernard Family, N° 1 in France on the spirits market and a major negociant of premium Bordeaux wines. It has been run ever since by Olivier Bernard who perpetuates that spirit of balance and the constant drive for perfection which have been the hallmark of this outstanding wine.

Drinking Window

2028 - 2060

Vintage Notes

A very advanced flowering, from mid-May, guaranteed us an equally early harvest. The vineyard, abundantly watered in spring, held up well to a very hot and very dry month of July. Only the young vines, less deeply rooted, had a few toasted bunches. The month of August, very sunny, interspersed with good rains, allowed a cycle of maturity in the best conditions. The great beautiful dry and hot weather in September, with wide thermal amplitudes, completely ripened the fruits and concentrated all the grape varieties.

Harvest Notes

The fruit is hand-picked into small crates. Grapes are carefully sorted in the vineyard, followed by manual sorting of bunches in the cellar and optical sorting of berries after destemming.

Winemaking

The winery uses four vat-rooms (steel, stainless steel, tulip concrete and wooden vats) to optimize plot selection, perfect extraction, and refine the assemblage.

Ageing

Barrel ageing for 16 to 20 months (35% new oak) with 4 months of bâtonnage (stirring the lees with a stick). Bottling took place in June 2022.