Domaine de Chevalier 2014

The 2014 Domaine de Chevalier is a total knockout. Precise, brilliant and finely sculpted, the 2014 possesses superb intensity. Freshly cut flowers, mint and sweet red berries, along with finessed but persistent tannins, give the wine its regal personality. The 2014 needs a number of years to shed some baby fat and develop the full breadth of its aromatics, but it is a fabulous wine by any measure. The 2014 is 65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 % Merlot and 5 % Petit Verdot that spent approximately 35 days on the skins. Olivier Bernard noted that the Merlots were brought in between October 10 and 17, which is quite late by the domaine's standards. Tasted two times. Drink 2022-2044.

The 2014 Domaine de Chevalier has a classy, quite sophisticated bouquet with blackberry, boysenberry, graphite and brine aromas that feel very well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit, quite saline in the mouth with a brisk, lightly spiced, white pepper sprinkled finish that lingers long in the mouth. Olivier Bernard has crafted quite a sublime 2014 Pessac-Léognan. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2021 - 2050

Anyone who says that the 2014s aren’t elegant needs to taste this beautifully balanced wine. Ripe redcurrant and delicate herbal aromas with just a hint of spicy oak on the nose precede a fresh, medium-bodied palate with underplayed power and a lot of subtle nuances on the long finish.

Tasted blind. Sweet and round and with sufficient fruit for the acidity. Bravo! Really nice wine with more fruit than tannin – though not quite as much flesh as Ch Les Carmes Haut-Brion.
Drink 2023-2040

This wine was the top rated Pessac Leognan outside the Haut Brion stable as rated by the 2014 Southwold tasting group.

Deep ruby colour with a rich, meaty, earthy quality that typifies great Pessac. There is plenty of black fruit on the nose that complements these notes and giving a wild quality to the fruit. The palate is rich and chalky in tannin with lots of potential to improve with age. The fruit core is brambly and earthy, layered and complex with just a hint of florality. The oak is well integrated, meaty and smoky rounding and softening the tannins to leave a pure, vibrant finish.

A blend of 65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 % Merlot and 5 % Petit Verdot, harvest quite late, the 2014 Domaine de Chevalier is more refined and understated than the 2015 yet still offers more opulence, texture, and mid-palate depth than most in the vintage. Revealing a deep ruby, opaque color and a gorgeous array of blackberries, black cherries, smoked earth, forest floor, and tobacco leaf, this beauty offers full-bodied richness, a layered, silky texture, perfect balance and a great finish. It has the class and balance to offer incredible pleasure today, yet will keep for another two decades. 2018 - 2038

Focused, with a graphite edge that runs from start to finish alongside the dark plum and blackberry purée flavors. Reveals a pretty echo of anise through the finish, which has latent depth. Solid. Best from 2018 through 2026. 10,000 cases made.

Fresh and floral there is a lot happening on the nose the palate starts light and bright. Under the fresh black fruits there is sweetness rich flavours a mid suppleness fine tannins. The sweetness is well balanced by freshness at the back the finish bright and long. 2023-30

Whatever the vintage, Domaine de Chevalier is a wine that rarely disappoints. This is typically fresh and well balanced, with poise and concentration, well handled oak and the backbone and perfume you’d expect from such a high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Has the structure to age.