2023 Domaine de Chevalier
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Tasting Notes
This is so pretty and juicy on the nose, with blackberry and black plum, as well as wild bramble fruit, tea leaf, graphite and tobacco. Again in 2023, this is a very solid wine that once again punches above its weight. It has a well-built structure with fantastic density of fruit, 13% alcohol and grippy, lingering tannins that promise many years of ageing potential. Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc
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James Suckling
Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate
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Cassis, spring flowers, graphite, black cherries, and some smoky nuances all emerge from the 2023 Domaine De Chevalier, another medium to full-bodied, concentrated, incredibly impressive Pessac that has ripe tannins and a great finish. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 5% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, and it's aging in one-third new oak, mostly in barrels, but there's a small portion in foudre.
Blackberries, back cherries, barbecue smoke, cedar, smoked mint, and cigar box aromatics create the perfume. The wine is chewy, fresh, long, concentrated, and complex. The finish is like eating peppery currants dripped over Cuban cigars. Long, spicy, and intense, this is a vintage that will benefit from time in the cellar. The wine blends 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. 13% ABV, 3.68 pH. The harvest took place September 7 - September 30. Yields are among the lowest in the appellation at 31 hectoliters per hectare.
The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier has a deep garnet-purple color. It is a little broody and oaky to start, needing coaxing to bring out a gorgeous core of black cherries, redcurrants, and cassis, with underlying hints of violets and forest floor. The medium to full-bodied palate has a solid frame of firm, grainy tannins and bright acidity supporting the muscular fruit, finishing long and minerally. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc.
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About the producer
Olivier Bernard was just 23 years old when he was handed the reins at Domaine de Chevalier in 1983. The Bernard family, better known for producing brandy and its Bordeaux négociant business, bought the estate from Claude Ricard, whose family had owned the property since the mid-19th century.