Wijnen

IN DE PERS

94 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Februari 2020)
The 2017 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc is reduced on the nose and it needs 20 to 30 minutes in the glass to really find its (aromatic) voice: lemon curd, hazelnut, pressed white flowers and a touch of smoke as it finally speaks up. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity: poised and lively, but quite reserved at first. This is a white Pessac-Léognan predestined for long-term ageing, so stick away in the cellar for a good few years. Drink 2025-2050.

93-95 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Mei 2018)
The 2017 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc was picked from 31 August until 15 September via several tries through the vineyard that yielded 46hl/ha, with 13.5° alcohol. It has a very attractive, estuarine influenced bouquet with scents of cockle and oyster shell infusing the vivacious citrus fruit. This opens up very nicely with aeration in the glass. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity. It feels quite saline and spicy in the mouth with a rather intense citric finish that is very persistent, the aftertaste again, quite saline. Drink 2021-2045.

94+ Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (Maart 2020)
A wine of noble breeding and class, the 2017 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc dazzles from start to finish. Dried flowers, chamomile, mint and citrus confit struggle to emerge, buried by the wine's sheer richness and concentration. The 2017 needs at least a few years in bottle to come together, but that won't be an issue for a wine that will drink well for several decades. Drink 2024-2047.

92-95 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (Mei 2018)
The 2017 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc is fabulous, but it is also going to need a number of years to be at its very best. Powerful and dense in the glass, the 2017 offers terrific brightness and cut, all backed up with serious structure. Smoke, melon, orchard fruit and mint are some of the many notes that develop as this gorgeous wine shows off its personality. Quite simply, the 2017 has class to burn, but readers will have to be patient. Tasted three times.

94 Jane Anson – decanter.com (April 2018)
As with the red, this really does punch at the top end of the appellation. It's more herbal than some, showing attractive fresh herb notes of rosemary and sage. High quality white peach and nectarine flavours run though the palate, with slatey edges on the finish that are scraping the sides. It's a great wine that is going to age and develop. Oh - and there was a touch of frost here, but Domaine de Chevalier was, of course, well prepared, being located in a vulnerable spot. One-third new oak. Drink 2025-2040.

94 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW – robertparker.com (Maart 2020)
Closed on the nose to begin, the Domaine de Chevalier 2017 Blanc (composed of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon) opens to aromas of ripe pears, Golden delicious apples and white peaches with notions of straw, honeysuckle and chalk. Medium-bodied, the palate is seriously intense and racy with loads of mineral sparks on the finish. It was aged for 16 months in French oak, 35% new. Drink 2021-2033.

91-93+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW – robertparker.com (April 2018)
A tentative blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon, the 2017 Blanc opens with vibrant notes of freshly squeezed lemons, pink grapefruit and yuzu, accented by touches of lime zest and green apple plus a waft of crushed stones. Medium-bodied with lively acidity and super-intense, wonderfully expressive citrus flavors, it finishes long and chalky.

96-97 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (Maart 2018)
This is a dense and beautiful DC with serious density and a fabulous layering of fruit. Phenolics are there but they melt into the wine already. Love the acid/fruit balance. A solid and serious white.

17,5-18/20 Julia Harding MW – jancisrobinson.com (April 2018)
Subtle but complex aroma. There's mealy oak spice entwined with grapefruit and pear, fragrant in a restrained and serious style. Less subtle on the palate in drive and length. Firm texture and still super-fresh. Balance and persistence with a promising future. Cedary/spicy aftertaste. Will probably age a good deal longer if you are willing to be patient. Drin 2022-2032.

95-97 Jeb Dunnuck – jebdunnuck.com (April 2018)
I was able to taste the 2017 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc on three separate occasions and it never failed to impress. It should match, if not exceed, the 2015. Gorgeous notes of lemon curd, mint, citrus, white peach, and salty minerality all emerge from this medium to full-bodied white. It doesn’t have the sheer scale or sexiness of a sunnier year, yet its purity is off the charts, it has riveting acidity, and a great, great finish. The blend is currently 70% Sauvignon and 30% Sémillon, and it will spend 16 months on lees in 35% new French oak. Don’t miss it!

93 Jean-Marc Quarin – quarin.fr (April 2018)

17-18/20 Revue des Vins de France – rvf.com (April 2018)

94-96 Roger Voss – wineenthusiast.com (April 2018)

Domaine de Chevalier

In 1983 kocht Olivier Bernard Domaine de Chevalier in Léognan van Claude Ricard. Hij runt het met zorg en inzicht. De witte wijn is een begrip in Bordeaux. Zijn bewaarpotentieel is geweldig. Vandaag bereikt ook de rode Domaine de Chevalier een kwaliteit ongezien sinds de jaren zestig. Laten we aannemen dat de laatste wijnjaren hun allerbeste zijn. Liefhebbers rekenen Domaine de Chevalier dan ook tot de voornaamste Châteaux van Pessac Léognan, samen met Haut Brion en La Mission Haut Brion, Haut Bailly, Smith Haut Lafitte, Pape Clément en Les Carmes Haut Brion. De prijs blijft bovendien redelijk. De getalenteerde Stéphane Derenoncourt is er consulent sinds 2002.
In de jaren 1980 en 1990 heeft hij de wijngaard heraangeplant op een densiteit van 10.000 wijnstokken per hectare. De gemiddelde leeftijd is nu 35 jaar en de wijnstokken komen op kruissnelheid. 55 hectare zijn beplant met rode variëteiten: 63-65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot aangevuld met Cabernet Franc en Petit Verdot. 7 hectare Graves op klei en een zanderige ondergrond net buiten Léognan is aangeplant met witte druiven op een densiteit van 10.000 wijnstokken per hectare: 75% Sauvignon en 25% Sémillon. De werkwijze in lutte raisonnée werd bio en biodynamisch.

Bernard

In 1983 kocht Olivier Bernard Domaine de Chevalier in Léognan. De witte Domaine de Chevalier wordt al langer aanzien als één van de grootste droge witte wijnen van Bordeaux, en sinds 2002 herstelde hij ook het prestige van de rode wijn met de hulp van Stéphane Derenoncourt. Ondertussen werd hij mede-eigenaar van Château Guiraud in Sauternes samen met Stephan de Neipperg en de familie Peugeot, en vooral Matthieu Guflet. In 2011 startte hij een nieuw avontuur met Clos des Lunes in de Sauternais.