Domaine de Chevalier 2021

A noble perfume, ripe dark fruit, tobacco, cassis, roasted notes. Powerful build, well-structured, juicy, with marked tannins, yet enough flesh on the bone to absorb the structural framework. Excellent again this year.

Ripe, though still relatively sedate in feel, with black cherry compote laced with tobacco, worn cedar and savory notes. Features a flash of tar, which adds some weight to the finish. A nice effort for the vintage. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2030. 8,500 cases made.

This is very impressive for the vintage, with a vertical depth and a structure of extremely polished tannins. It’s full and precise, with berries, dark chocolate, bark, iodine and walnuts throughout. Extremely well done. Best after 2027.

80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc. Harvested 28 September to 12 October. Bright crimson hue. Pure and refined on the nose with red-fruit notes to the fore. Smooth attack. Juicy with a supple, satiny texture. Lots of freshness as well. Clean, structured and seamless if not quite top drawer. (JL)

Medium-bodied, energetic, soft, elegant, and refined, this is a beautiful expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. Texturally, this is where the wine shines with its silky qualities blended with ample lift, purity, and freshness. This is quite an accomplishment for any vintage, but with the challenging 2021, it is really saying something! The wine blends 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, making this one of the highest percentages of Cabernet ever used in the blend here. This is the first vintage produced with 100% biodynamics in the vineyards, hence the yields were quite low. Drink from 2025–2050.

Dark ruby-garnet colour with a deep core, purple reflections, delicate brightening at the rim. Notes of nougat, a hint of plums, ripe figs, touches of raisins. Juicy, fresh heart cherries, fruity and sweet texture, lively acidity, ripe, firm tannins, elegant and persistent, mineral finish, shows length and good ageing potential.

Looking at the Grand Vin, the 2021 Domaine De Chevalier is based on 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, with harvest not wrapping up until October 15. It's a terrific wine in the vintage offering ripe currant and darker berry fruits as well as classy oak, graphite, and scorched earth nuances. This medium-bodied, concentrated, balanced 2021 has ripe tannins, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It actually reminds me slightly of the estate’s 2014, albeit in a slightly fresher package.

Kunz barrel sample 2022: (80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 30 hl/ha, 13% vol. alcohol) Velvety, powerful, sweet, fruity, lactic bouquet, blueberries, plums, hazelnut chocolate, roasted notes, mocha. Densely woven, full palate with creamy dark fruit, plenty of fine tannins, creamy fruit, powerful dark aromatics, long, dense finish. Can improve further.

(80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 30 hl/ha, 13% vol. alcohol) Velvety, powerful, sweet, fruity, lactic bouquet—blueberries, plums, hazelnut chocolate, toasted notes, mocha. Densely woven, full palate with creamy dark fruit, plenty of fine tannins, creamy fruit, powerful dark aromatics, long, dense finish. Can still improve. 18/20 2029 - 2060

Great stuff, with momentum building from beginning to end, blueberry, black cherry fruits, delivered with an extra kick of liquorice and chocolate. Needs time to age, but feels like it will reward a good five to six years in bottle, and is one of the few where you don't have to excuse the vintage - just enjoy an earlier-drinker, well sculpted year. 30hl/ha yield. In organic conversion. An upscore.

A deep, promising bouquet, almost caressing, playing between ripe dark fruits and raspberry leaf. A lovely presence of fruit, notes of coffee and rock, and a gourmet texture should herald a wine for ageing with silky, elegant substance that is not yet fully expressing itself.

Domaine de Chevalier reveals itself with clear serenity and confidence. It does not seek flashiness; it focuses far more on plurality, complexity, and finesse. I note rooty, earthy nuances along with hints of red berries and eucalyptus. The tannins stay the course set by the bouquet, conveying a sense of quiet strength. Granted, one could wish for a touch more finesse on the finish, but we should not forget that power and density are not exactly commonplace in 2021. And this is precisely where Domaine de Chevalier excels. Sooner or later, it will open up further… and this cru is well known for its ability to age for decades. A compact wine endowed with refreshing energy and a persistent finish. I believe there will be room to adjust the score later on… upward, of course!

The nose is fruity, fresh, elegant and delicate, offering lovely purity/plumpness of fruit, fine definition and a subtle multi-layered side. It reveals notes of vibrant Morello cherry, pulpy blueberry and, more slightly, blackcurrant, combined with touches of crunchy raspberry, fresh flowers/fresh lily, fine hints of fresh pine needle, a discreet touch of pepper, saline, salty undergrowth and licorice. The palate is fruity and offers freshness, good definition, a certain gourmandise, a touch of creaminess/generosity of the fruit, tension, a lovely tangy framework, a neat work on fine bitters (discreet), tension and a lovely finesse of the guideline. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of fresh/pulpy blackberry, cornflower and, more slightly, fresh/pulpy plum, combined with touches of vibrant/fleshy raspberry as well as hints of fresh lily, pine needle/sense of place, fine hints of licorice, star anise, a subtle touch of dark chocolate, a discreet hint of salinity, and green cardamom. Good length. The tannins are elegant, precise, fine, finely powdery and racy. A lovely sapidity on the finish/persistence.

Beautiful dark, purple color. Intense nose with ripe, pure, and suave fruit. Delicate on the attack, perfumed mid-palate, caressing in its progression, the wine stretches into a refined, aromatic finish without showing the tannin. Good length. Blend: 80% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot, 5% petit verdot, 5% cabernet franc. Alcohol: 13% - pH: 3.62. Not saignée. Yield: 30 hl/ha.

Such depth already on sight, with an inky color of incredible intensity. Notes of very ripe Cabernet that makes up 90% of the blend. Concentration, remarkable amplitude. It’s silky, balanced, while retaining great generosity. Very ripe, very rich.

Cherry blossom and ripe cherry on the nose. Smooth and supple, a nice energy and focus straight away with lifted acidity and a chalky core that is super mineral and laced with liquorice and wet stones. Feels like a serious wine with well-handled oak and tannins on the prominent side but really supportive, giving the frame. Needs to age, but more importantly it feels like it will be able to age and develop really well. Lots of life and style to this. A great effort. I like this a lot.

This estate, owned by the Bernard family, has produced a ripe, elegant wine. It shows great black fruits and some solid tannins that will stand the wine in good stead as it ages. An impressive wine for the vintage. Drink from 2027.