2009 DOMAINE DE CHEVALIER Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan, Lea & Sandeman

DOMAINE DE CHEVALIER

2009 Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan

Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Village Pessac-Léognan
Classification Cru Classé
ABV 13.5%

Ripeness evident on nose, subtle oak, intense, balanced, pure. Tannins grippy but full of dry black-cherry and sloe. Compared to the obviously sweet-tasting Saint Emilions of the von Neipperg stable (at the same tasting), it seems to have some greenness in its core, but in its own terms seems refreshing becasuse of it. Chewy black-cherry skin fruit on finish - very long on with this fruit drawing out a supple, mouthwatering length. At the Pessac-Léognan tasting it also showed well - flavoury, expressive cedar and black fruit, not sweet! Rating: 93 L&S (Apr 2010)


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The 2009 Domaine de Chevalier has a vivacious, almost exotic bouquet with lavish black fruit, mint, oregano and cedar that all gain intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a fine bead of acidity, ripe black fruit laced with white pepper and even a faint touch of Szechuan pepper. This displays exquisite balance and the finish feels deep and satisfying, clearly born in a great vintage. Tasted blind at the Domaine de Chevalier vertical at the property. Drinking range: 2021 - 2050 Rating: 91-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2019)

Bright, medium ruby-red. Nuanced, expressive nose combines dark cherry, redcurrant, mocha, graphite, cedar and hot bricks. Plush on entry, then sweet but firm in the middle, with a solid mineral spine giving shape to the fine-grained dark berry and cedar flavors. This wonderfully glossy wine boasts excellent structure on the subtly long back end, with its ripe cabernet sauvignon component much more apparent today than its merlot. Rating: 93 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (Jul 2012)

Inky purple. Fresh, clean, rather delicate aromas of blackcurrant, violet, damp moss, leather and minerals are sweetened by a red cherry note. Smooth and soft, with very ripe strawberry syrup and blackberry flavors. Offers a fleshy quality that's supported by the stoniness typical of Chevalier. Nicely balanced, minerally and long, leaving behind a note of gunflint. I would not be at all surprised if this evolves in bottle to merit a score at the high end of my projected range. Rating: 91-94 Ian d'Agata, www.vinousmedia.com (May 2010)

Domaine de Chevalier

Domaine de Chevalier, located in Léognan and surrounded by forest, enjoys a particular microclimate. Unlike some of the Pessacs which are surrounded by urban development which raises the average temperature, Chevalier is quite a cool terroir.

Olivier Bernard has owned and run the estate since 1983, and has done much to improve the quality of the wines. The white has always been one of Bordeaux's finest, and is even better now, and Bernard has dramatically increased the quality of the red, especially in the last ten years.

Domaine de Chevalier has a soil of dark sand and fine white gravel. It is planted at 10,000 vines per hectare averaging 35 years old.
There are 7 Hectares planted for white with 70% Sauvignon and 30% Sémillon.
There are 60 Hectares planted for red, comprising 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc.

At the harvest the white grapes are picked in baskets with successive picking through the vines.
The red grapes are also picked in baskets, with triple sorting: first in the vines, then the complete bunch on the sorting table and third by optical sorting machine, berry by berry.
The white is pressed slowly, and settlement (débourbage) and alcoholic fermentation occur in the barrel, with 35% new wood. The wine is aged on the lees in barrel with stirring (batonnage), for 18 months.
The red grapes are vatted by gravity without pumping. The alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel and coated steel temperature-controlled vats. Maceration for 2 to 3 weeks with a maximum fermentation temperature of 30° C and manual pigeage. The wine is aged for 18 months (four months on the lees), with 35% new wood.

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