Domaine de Chevalier Rouge, Grand Cru Classé, 2019
If the form guide is anything to go by, then 2019 Domaine de Chevalier should be a firm favourite. Olivier Bernard has followed his exceptional 2018 with another spectacular wine. Typically understated, he describes it as “classic, ripe, elegant and suave”. It’s all that and some. Intense cassis, hints of gravel, incense, dandelions, creme de mûre and hedgerow fruit leap from the glass, laced with notes of sweet raspberries and strawberries. Then swaths of pure, long, seductive dark cherry fruit coat the palate. There’s a wonderful fluidity and energy. The silky texture, glossy, heady liqueur fruit is counterbalanced by a savoury, dark finish with notes of bitter chocolate, salt flakes, liquorice and spice. This is a mighty impressive, cohesive Domaine de Chevalier with lingering notes of gorgeous pure cassis fruit and chocolate. Bravo. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. 13% vol.
critic reviews
The 2019 Domaine de Chevalier has a precise and complex bouquet with blackberry, cedar and tobacco scents, quite Médoc-like in style. This is thoroughly engaging. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, exquisitely integrated oak, fleshy and fine-boned with a precise finish. This is outstanding. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
The 2019 Domaine de Chevalier rouge is made from 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a lot of coaxing to unlock notes of warm cassis, crushed blackberries, and boysenberry preserves, with hints of rose oil, cumin seed, and menthol plus a waft of wood smoke. Medium-bodied, the plate is wonderfully elegant, featuring very finely grained tannins and lovely tension, finishing long and minerally.
This is just gorgeous, you see exactly where it is going, with waves of unfussy but powerful black fruit aromatics, a beautiful wine that is full of density and complexity, pared back with restrained cassis and bilberry at this point. Hints of cocoa bean, tobacco, slate, truffle and smoked earth coming through, that will no doubt build over the next few years in bottle. Tasted twice, two months apart, both times hugely successful, easy to recommend. In organic conversion.