Domaine de Chevalier 2017

The 2017 Domaine de Chevalier is deep garnet-purple in color with a nose of baked plums, black cherry compote, fruitcake and violets, plus wafts of fragrant earth and rosehip tea. Medium-bodied, the palate has loads of fruit with plush, rounded tannins and a lively finish. A blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, this vintage spent 18 months in French oak, 35% new.

Ripe and full in feel, with a swath of cassis, plum paste and fig preserve flavors that holds sway from start to finish, allowing roasted apple wood, licorice snap and black tea accents to chime in along the way. The fruit takes a solid encore on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2023 through 2036.

Heady and perfumed, dark fruits, expressive and full on the nose. Clean and clear, ripe but graceful, I love the delicacy yet depth, the intensity of juice and fleshiness but an altogether lean and straight profile. Keeps the focus and tension, great drinkability and lovely spiced edges—cinnamon, toast, liquorice, dark chocolate and cedar—all soft, barely there but accenting the wine. You could drink this now but it will continue to age really well. Precise and fun, controlled and characterful. Not trying too hard but still with signature. Great push of blackcurrant, plum and cherry fruit, cola, blueberries. Nicely shaped with verve. A lovely, accessible and easy-to-enjoy bottle.

Lots of blueberry, hot stone, slate and walnut aromas. Terracotta, too. Iodine. Full-bodied, round and dense with layers of fine tannins. Lovely depth and intensity. Extremely long and focused. Needs three or four years of bottle age just to start. Try after 2024.

The 2017 Domaine de Chevalier was impressive from barrel. Bottled since June 2019, it has clearly retained that gorgeous nose with delineated scents of blackberry, black olive, shucked oyster shells and orange rind. Wonderful vigor here. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, lithe and very focused. It is not a powerful nor indeed a long-term Domaine de Chevalier, hence my lower score than 2016. Bottom line is that it is just a delicious wine to consume. Still, it will offer 20 years of drinking pleasure. Tasted twice with consistent notes.

Medium to full-bodied, with a refined, elegant character. The tannins are soft, the smoked red fruits are sweet, ripe, earthy and on the finesse side, leaving a beautiful cherry pipe tobacco and red berry finish. Even though this is on the forward side, it should age for at least 2 decades.

Deep dark ruby, with purple reflections, and a delicate bright rim. On the nose ripe cherry aromas, with a touch of plum, discreet herbal notes, and a fine oaky character. Taut, elegant, with red berry flavours, it is fresh, refined, quite lightweight, harmonious, and with some nougat in the background. It is currently too young to drink, although it is a multi-faceted food wine.

A gem that readers should snatch up is unquestionably the 2017 Domaine De Chevalier, which is based on 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot that spent 18 months in just 35% new French oak. This deeply colored effort offers classic blackberry and blackcurrant fruits as well as medium to full body, complex notes of tobacco, gravelly earth, and chocolate, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. This is a classy, flawlessly balanced 2017 that offers up pleasure even today, yet it will keep for 30+ years. Having just had the good fortune to drink a bottle of the 1920, now at 100 years after the vintage, the longevity of this cuvee should not be underestimated.

Kunz barrel sample 18: (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 34 hl/ha, 13.5% alc.) Silky, dense, complex, elegant bouquet; blue and black berries, blueberries, subtle plum, tobacco, fragrant wood, currants. Densely woven, elegant palate with concentrated, fine fruit, plenty of fine tannins, varied, sweet, dark aromatics; very long, fresh finish with lots of lingering flavors. Still has room to improve.

Fresh, lactic, silky bouquet, redcurrant jelly, strawberry yogurt, mint, mocha, cedar. Elegant, finely knit palate with tightly interwoven structure, delicate fruit, dense aromatics, fine tannins, long, fresh finish. 18/20 2024 - 2045

The 2017 Domaine de Chevalier has a deep garnet-purple color. It rolls out of the glass with open-knit notes of fresh blackcurrants, blackberry preserves, and black raspberries, with hints of anise, forest floor, and menthol. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant and refreshing, featuring lightly chewy tannins and an earthy finish.

Distinct finesse, guaranteed tannic nobility, a harmonious, long wine, very true to the estate’s style.

The red is classic, straight and well-structured on the palate, with a lovely smoky length.

Sappy wine, broad, intense, balanced, with a saline touch.

This 2017 reminds us that above all, it’s what’s in the bottle that matters… more than the vintage! The bouquet is intense, inviting, and expressive, while revealing freshness through mentholated nuances along with notes of cherries and blackberries.

Dark, intense and beautiful color. Very aromatic, refined, fruity nose with a hint of wet leather typical of the place. Delicate on the attack, smooth mid-palate, highly aromatic, with a melting body and meticulous texture, this wine scores points on the finish as it stretches out for a long time on fine-grained tannins.