Appellations

Domaine de Chevalier Rouge 2016

Pessac-Leognan, Grand Cru Classé

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Tasting Notes

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.

Score: 97 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026-2066 Date: 01 January 2019

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.

Score: 93 - 96 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Date: 25 April 2017

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.

Score: 95 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2022-2055 Date: 01 January 2019

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.

Score: 94 - 96 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2025-2060 Date: 28 April 2017

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.

Score: 96 Decanter, - Maturity: 2027-2050 Date: 25 April 2017

Concentrated and luscious. Real life and savour on the (at the moment slightly inky) end. One of the most youthful samples I encountered. Dry sandpaper end but perhaps it's a more honest sample than most? 17+

Score: 17 Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2024-2048 Date: 21 April 2017

A dense and tight DC with minerals, crushed stones, cement and blackcurrants. Full, tight and racy. Gorgeous. Leaf and tobacco undertones. Complex.

Score: 95 - 96 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 24 March 2017