Domaine de Chevalier
2018 Pessac-Leognan Rouge

History
The Domaine de Chevalier, located in Leognan, the capital town of the Graves region, has a long history. It appears on the famous map of Pierre de Belleyme in 1783. In 1983, the estate was purchased by the Bernard Family, number one in France on the spirits market and a major negociant of premium Bordeaux wines. It has been run ever since by Olivier Bernard, who perpetuates the spirit of balance and constant drive for perfection, the hallmark of this outstanding wine. The red Domaine de Chevalier, the flagship of the Pessac Leognan appellation, belongs to the elite of the great classified growths of Bordeaux. The white Domaine de Chevalier is recognized as one of the world's finest dry wines.

Vineyard Details
Appellation: Pessac-Leognan
Soil: Gravel on clay-gravel subsoil
Harvest: Hand-picked into small crates. Grapes are carefully sorted in the vineyard, before and after destemming.
Harvest Dates: From September 11th to September 20th

Vintage Notes
This vintage was marked by two extreme but complementary climatic seasons. The rainy period from January to early July produced a year's worth of rainfall in just 7 months and put a strain on the morale of our winegrowers. Fortunately, the essential water reserves in the soil were at their highest. And then came the miracle: the hot, sunny, and dry period from July until the end of the harvest. The excellent water reserves were abundantly exploited by the vineyard during the four months of a historically bright, hot, and dry summer. In our gravelly soils, maturity was ideal, resulting in an almost perfect balance between power, concentration, and freshness.

Winemaking Notes
Four vat rooms (steel, stainless steel, tulip concrete, and wooden vats) to optimize the plot selection, complete the extraction, and refine the 'assemblage.' Barrel aging from 16 to 20 months (35% new oak), batonnage (stirring the lees with a stick) for four months.

Wine Details
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot
Bottling: September 2020
Alcohol: 14.50%

Tasting Notes
Bright color, dark red and black in the middle. The nose is generous, sharp, and full of complexity - a cocktail of fresh and concentrated red and black fruits prevails. Some fine spicy and balsamic aromas stand by to brighten this bouquet. The palate is full-bodied, very sophisticated, and fleshy, with a lot of density and complexity. The attack reminds us of black cherry, blueberry, and blackberry in a delicate atmosphere of spicy white pepper and pinewood. The freshness and tension are here to balance this great richness. The wine is powerful but fresh, full-bodied but delicate. Those tasting paradoxes are the cornerstone of the greatest achievements. Very high aging potential.
[Information provided by Domaine de Chevalier]

Wine: Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Leognan 2018
Score/Rating: 99
Suggested Drinking Window: Try after 2026
Review Date: 01/18/2021
Reviewed By: James Suckling
Tasting Notes: The intensity and perfumes on the nose are extremely impressive, offering pure blackberries and violets, as well as bark, wild-mushroom and raw-tile notes. It's full-bodied with creamy tannins that envelop the wine and a gorgeous, subtly complex center palate with all the flavors found on the nose. Endless finish. Love the finesse and length to this. Greatest ever. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot.

Wine: 2018 Domaine De Chevalier
Score/Rating: 97
Suggested Drinking Window: 2028 - 2058
Review Date: 03/11/2021
Reviewed By: Jeb Dunnuck
Tasting Notes: The 2018 Domaine De Chevalier is a beauty. Based on 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot, aged [...] in 35% new French oak, it has a beautiful sense of elegance and purity, which is very much in the style of the vintage as well as the domaine. Blackcurrants, black cherries, cold fireplace, damp earth, tobacco, and chocolate are just some of the nuances here, and this complex, medium to full-bodied 2018 has gorgeous tannins, terrific balance, and a great finish. It has suppleness in its texture that allows it to offer pleasure even today, yet given its balance as well as purity, it deserves 5-7 years of bottle age and will keep for 30+ years. It is another brilliant wine from the team of Olivier Bernard.

Wine: 2018 Domaine de Chevalier (Pessac-Leognan)
Score/Rating: 97
Review Date: 03/09/2021
Reviewed By: Jeff Leve
Tasting Notes: Clearly the finest vintage of Domaine de Chevalier ever produced, this beauty has it all. The captivating perfume with all its smoke, earth, spice, tobacco infused, ripe, red and dark red fruits, tar, cigar box, thyme and espresso scents is close to off the charts. With the 2018 you find unheard of levels of concentration with everything in balance. The fruits are generous, silky and pure. The refined, elegant finish just goes on and on. With aging, this could merit an even higher score in the years to come. Olivier Bernard calls this the best vintage of Domaine de Chevalier he has ever produced and he is right! The wine is made from a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot.

Wine: 2018 Domaine de Chevalier
Score/Rating: 97
Suggested Drinking Window: 2026 - 2048
Review Date: 03/2021
Reviewed By: Antonio Galloni
Tasting Notes: The 2018 Domaine de Chevalier is easily one of the wines of the vintage. A wine of mind-blowing precision and regal elegance, Domaine de Chevalier dazzles from the very first taste. Dried herbs, rose petal, mint, blood orange, pomegranate and bright mineral notes all build in the glass. Richly layered but also translucent, the 2018 is a real head-turner. Don't miss it!

Wine: Domaine de Chevalier 2018 Pessac-Leognan
Score/Rating: 96 - Cellar Selection
Review Date: 04/01/2021
Reviewed By: Roger Voss
Tasting Notes: With the 65% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, this wine shows its pedigree, richness and potential. Tannins are almost velvet in their texture while packing a fine punch and conveying plenty of longevity. The ripeness of the vintage balances with the structure. Drink the wine from 2027.

Wine: Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Leognan 2018
Score/Rating: 96
Suggested Drinking Window: Drink now through 2038
Review Date: 03/31/2021
Reviewed By: James Molesworth
Tasting Notes: Dreamy, with a velvety, caressing feel to a mix of warmed cassis, plum reduction and cherry preserve flavors that glide through slowly, but surely, letting anise, sweet tobacco and mineral accents peek in throughout. Very long, very refined. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2038. 

Wine: 2018 Domaine de Chevalier
Score/Rating: 95+
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025 - 2050
Review Date: 03/31/2021
Reviewed By: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Tasting Notes: A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, aged [...] in oak barriques, 35% new, the 2018 Domaine de Chevalier has a deep garnet-purple color, pouncing out of the glass with energetic scents of crushed blackcurrants, fresh, juicy blackberries and ripe plums, with suggestions of crushed rocks, bay leaves, unsmoked cigars and lavender. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with muscular black fruits, framed by firm, ripe, grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long and mineral laced. Give it another 4 years in bottle to flesh out and drink it over the next 25+ years.

Wine: 2018 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge
Score/Rating: 95
Suggested Drinking Window: 2025-2047
Review Date: 02/09/2023
Reviewed By: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Tasting Notes: Domaine de Chevalier 2018 is deep garnet purple in color. It is a little closed to begin with emerging scents of warm cassis, blackberry preserves, and Morello cherries, plus hints of menthol, spice cake, and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a velvety texture and plenty of freshness supporting the generous fruit, finishing with a minty kick.

Wine: Domaine de Chevalier, Pessac-Leognan, Cru Classe de Graves 2018
Score/Rating: 92
Suggested Drinking Window: 2024 - 2035
Review Date: 04/15/2024
Reviewed By: Gareth Birchley, Arthur Coggill, Melody Wong
Tasting Notes: Elegant aromas of berries and violet, complemented by a hint of toasty oak. Revealing notes of bonito flakes, walnut, black cherry and cedar spice. Boasting vibrant freshness and balanced acidity. On the palate, blackcurrant and plum dominate, supported by present freshness and finely-grained tannins, leading to a grippy, youthful finish.

Wine: Dom de Chevalier 2018 Pessac-Leognan
Score/Rating: 17.5/20
Suggested Drinking Window: 2026 – 2048
Review Date: 10/02/2023
Reviewed By: James Lawther MW
Tasting Notes: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. [...]. Certainly the most voluptuous wine in the 40-wine line-up. Deep crimson with a slightly lighter rim. Ripe and fleshy on the nose, gourmand on the palate but maintains freshness. Tannins fine and integrated. Clean, stony finish. Stylistically atypical for Chevalier but plenty of potential.