Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Pessac Léognan, 2020
The product of gravelly-clay soils, DDC Blanc is rightly regarded as one of the best whites of Bordeaux. Its fine run of form continues in 2022. As a team, we felt it was up there with the best whites of the vintage. 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Semillon, the 2022 was cold settled, fermented and aged in barrel (finally for around 16-18 months) in a third new oak. Expressive yet contoured with alluring ripe citrus and red apples, spearmint, some dried pineapple, a hint of melon and blossom – exuberant in a way and yet it retains impeccable control. Zippy, clean on the finish, with some grip, there is plenty to admire here.
critic reviews
The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc offers peaches and cream on the nose, quite opulent compared to its peers, yet it seems to gain more control and delineation with aeration. The oak appears to be well-integrated. The palate is well balanced but doesn't quite match the caliber of the aromatics, tapering slightly toward the finish. Does this have more to give? It’s very fine, if not the best that I believe Olivier Bernard has overseen. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
Another terrific vintage for this wine, the 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc unwinds in the glass with aromas of nectarine, pear, nutmeg, passionflower and hazelnuts. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and seamless, with racy acids and a bright, pure profile, it nips at the heels of the brilliant and somewhat racier, more refined 2019.
A blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Semillon, the 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc opens with very serious scents of preserved lemons, kumquat, cedar, and chalk dust, leading to a fantastically fun undercurrent of passion fruit, orange blossoms, and sea spray. The palate is so, so tightly wound with tight-knit citrus, tropical, and mineral notes wrapped up in a silken-textured, racy frame, finishing with epic length and a whole firework display of minerals. What a fascinating wine!