Domaine de Chevalier Blanc is one of Bordeaux's great white wines. Under Olivier Bernard's stewardship the both the reds and whites have gone from strength to strength, with the white rivalling and often besting the iconic wines from Haut Brion and its sibling La Mission Haut Brion.
The white has be honed to maximise quality and ageing potential. There is no question about the terroir here and this, combined with dedicated winemaking and an assiduous attention to detail at every step is what has powered "DDC" Blanc to the very top level . Olivier started running the estate in 1983 at a very young age and over the past 40 years he has gathered immeasurable experience - he knows every last inch of the vineyards. The estate has grown over the years, but the white plantings are still limited to just seven hectares. Made up of roughly two thirds Sauvignon Blanc and a third Sémillon, the goal here, as with the reds, is to produce a wine that tastes more of its place than of grape variety.
Ageworthy and refined, Domaine de Chevalier Blanc needs a little time in bottle to open up, before shining beautifully with a precise, acid-driven finesse; stony and characterful with a lick of spice, it is never fat or heavy, unfurling with layers of white flowers, honeysuckle and baking spices.
Only the finest oak is used, adding texture and savoury, subtle spices rather than an overtly woody character. Since 2015 the wines have also been bottled under DIAM, greatly helping the ageing potential and consistency from bottle to bottle.
Following from a superb dinner at the château where we drank whites (and reds) back to the 1980s, we have sourced several vintages of the white. We even have some rare magnums - the format that Olivier believes is best for his whites and which was proven during the dinner. These are, quite simply, masterful wines.
