Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, Pessac Léognan, 2023
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2023 – At first approach this has a pliable soft and creamy fruit character, stone fruits mixed with a gentle wild honey note; the wine refocuses towards the mid palate and finish, though, with a pleasingly firming citrus, herb and crisp orchard fruit bite – this extends the wine into a long and intense finish. A blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon. Aging in barrels (a third new) for 16-18 months
critic reviews
The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc demands coaxing from the glass, revealing cooking apple, pear and petrichor scents with time. It feels just a bit shut down after bottling. The palate is more indicative of the wine to come: very intense with impressive weight, lightly spiced, fanning out toward the finish with a long, stem ginger-tinged finish that augurs for a white Domaine de Chevalier with the legs to run a long race.
The white 2023 Domaine de Chevalier soars from the glass, after a swirl or two, with vivacious notes of white peaches, fresh pineapple, and juicy pears, leading to suggestions of coriander seed, honeysuckle, and candle wax. The medium-bodied palate is tight-knit and vibrant, with well-knit acidity and a long, chalky finish. The blend is 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon.
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).
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. This is a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon.