Domaine de Chevalier 2016

The core of fruit flavor here is sappy and dense, with lots of kirsch, raspberry pâte de fruit and plum reduction notes, yet this stays fresh and racy overall, with a bright iron spine, flashes of tea and tobacco, and a long finish that shows a wonderful infusion of alder and tobacco flavors. Offers a lovely combination of prodigious fruit details, with a tug of earth. Best from 2024 through 2038. 12,000 cases made.

Ripe and seriously fragranced on the nose, heady and inviting. A bit more strict and tight than the 2015, plenty of juice, but this has tension and is constricted a little bit by the frame and the saltiness. 2015 is more expressive, this is quiet and still hiding a little. Lovely form and structure, you can feel the sinew and the construction, graceful and shining. It's absolutely gorgeous, the clarity and the purity really transport you, beautiful, impressive, charming and characterful. Needs more time but with a good airing you could enjoy this today. I like the delicacy to the tannins, the integration with the fruit and the edges of sweet and savoury spice as well as the estate minerality underneath. Feels compelling. A fabulous wine. 5% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Aromas of blackberries, red and dark plums, cedar and gravel, as well as red flowers and brown-leaf tea. It offers a very sleek and powerful array of ripe dark fruit and a very plush, focused and elegant bed of fresh, fine and powerful tannins. Plenty of aging potential, this is still quite tight. A blend of 55 percent cabernet sauvignon, 35 percent merlot, five percent cabernet franc and five percent petit verdot. Try from 2024.

The 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a thrilling wine. Dense and beautifully layered, the 2016 is also quite a bit richer than it usually is. Cabernet Sauvignon aromatics and structure pulse through the wine. The red-toned fruit is incredibly primary at this stage. Readers should be prepared to cellar the 2016 for at least a handful of years. It has been nothing short of magnificent on the three occasions I have tasted it so far.

There is a depth of color and an even better depth of flavor. Smoke a Cohiba Behike in a fruit orchard and you get the idea of the perfume. On the palate, there are layers of elegant, silky-textured fruits with sweetness, purity, and richness. The finish goes on and on. The wine here is known for aging, so give it 12 years or more before opening a bottle and then drink it over the next 20–25 years, at least! There is no doubt, this is the finest vintage of Domaine de Chevalier Rouge ever produced, although 2018 could be even better in the years to come!

Deep ruby, opaque core, slightly lighter at the rim. Fragrant hardwood, lush black cherries, tobacco nuances, mineral undertones. Juicy, elegant, fine blackberry jam, vibrant, integrated tannins, savoury and persistent with a sweet, expressive finish. Definite ageing potential.

Youthful, intense nose with fine layers, elegant oak and mild smokiness, coffee, classical inky dark fruit and tobacco notes. The palate is dense but rounded with grainy extract, voluminous and layered with tobacco-scented dark fruit and a very long, finely tuned finish.

As for the reds, the 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc that saw an extended maceration, malo in barrel, and 18 months in just 35% new French oak. This deep purple-hued beauty boasts a powerful bouquet of tobacco smoke, damp earth, gravelly, rocky minerality, wood smoke, and loads of dark fruits. Full-bodied, deep, concentrated yet incredibly elegant and seamless on the palate, it’s a legendary Chevalier in the making. While I rated this as high as 99 points on one of the four separate occasions I was able to taste it, I’m being conservative with the score. It has some upfront charm but needs 4–5 years of cellaring and will keep for 3–4 decades.

Deep garnet. Already on the seductive nose, notes of dark cherries, floral violet and blackberry jelly – such elegance, it’s mind-blowing! Behind that, chocolate pralines. On the palate, Burgundian in style with great finesse; the slightly powdery tannins still promise more to come. The long finish shows plenty of freshness, charm, and delicate aromas of blackcurrant and plum. A truly great Domaine de Chevalier! Bravo!

Kunz barrel sample 17: dense, deep, fresh, complex bouquet, black cherries, cassis, cinnamon stick, tobacco, fine mocha, dried plums. Balanced, tightly knit, fragrant, elegant palate with plenty of fine tannins, powerful, sweet fruit, dense aromatics, elegant structure, very long, aromatic finish.

Dense, deep, fresh, and complex bouquet: black cherries, cassis, cinnamon stick, tobacco, fine mocha, dried plums. Balanced, tightly knit, fragrant, elegant palate with plenty of fine tannins, powerful, sweet fruit, dense aromatics, elegant structure, very long, aromatic finish. 19/20 2023 - 2045

A wonderful, complex nose—subtle and expressive—offering floral, fruity and mineral notes; the palate lives up to it, with a satiny grain, silkiness, and breadth but nothing forceful. Length, power, refinement, freshness, and balance—everything is there. A great wine, exactly what one expects from a great Pessac.

The 2016 red is absolutely magnificent, with tannins of a softness and precision never before seen here. A pure, slender and very suave wine.

Fresh red fruits, Zan, floral. A indulgent wine, fruity, full-bodied, with very round tannins.

The 2016 is beginning to open up, much like many wines from this vintage. The bouquet reveals smoky nuances and black-berry aromas. Dense and powerful, the wine is driven by compact tannins and an acidity that is both elegant and structuring. Persistent finish.

Delicate wine and absolutely impossible to spit out.

This elegant wine wears its firm tannic structure lightly. It is densely textured, just starting on its road to maturity. Black-plum and berry fruits give the wine its weight as much as the tannins. It will age well over many years. Drink from 2026.