DOMAINE DE CHEVALIER
2021 Blanc Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan
The 2021 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, picked September 13–23 at 40hL/ha, has a captivating, complex bouquet of yellow flowers, white peach, wet limestone and just a faint hint of elderflower in the background. The taut palate is well-balanced with a superb line of acidity. Conveying tangible energy from start to finish, this builds in the mouth toward a persistent finish that fans out gloriously. One of the best Domaine de Chevalier whites that I have tasted in 20-plus years. Drinking range: 2026 - 2055 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2022)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Impactful from the first moment, reinforcing the success they have had in both colours in the vintage. So much flavour and texture, with lemongrass, gunsmoke, orange peel, pineapple, mango, slate, apricot pit, offering grip and length. Tasted several times and it always delivered juice, control and excitement. One of the wines of the vintage. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2022)
The 2021 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc is shaping up brilliantly, bursting with aromas of citrus oil, gooseberries, crisp stone fruit, white flowers and pastry cream. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, it's a concentrated, textural wine that displays terrific cut and tension, allying racy acidity with chalky, structuring dry extract. Rating: 94-96 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (May 2022)
75 Sauvignon Blanc, 25 Semillon. It is a double success for DDC in 2021, following the excellence of the red wine. This white is rich, splendidly long and keen, and it has all the hallmarks of a long-lived beauty. The fruit is not too rushed or full. Quite the opposite, it is refined, firm and determined. This is a classic, and it will sit near the top of the dry white wine ladder this year. Rating: 18.5 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2022)
The 2021 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc dazzles from start to finish. Bright, sculpted and sizzling with saline-infused vibrancy, the Blanc offers a beguiling mix of citrus, floral and mineral notes, delivering tremendous flavor intensity with no excess weight at all. There is a feeling of airiness and precision here that is simply mind-blowing. Readers will find a Blanc of tremendous pedigree that evokes the great vintages at this property. There was some variation in samples, but barrel samples are especially finicky at this stage, especially whites. This is a tremendous showing. Drinking range: 2029 - 2051 Rating: 95-97 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2022)
A blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Semillon, the 2021 Domaine de Chevalier blanc bursts from the glass with vivacious notes of fresh lemons, yuzu zest, and lime leaves, plus hints of green apples, dill seed, and sea spray. Medium-bodied, the palate is tightly wound with loads of mineral and citrus layers, delivering amazing tension, finishing very long and minerally. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: 94 - 96+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent (May 2022)
This is so finely textured with very precise, tight tannins. Medium to full body. Lots of layers here with black and blue fruit, stones, tar, dark cocoa and spices. Dried herbs. Long and persistent. Stays focused all the way. So precise. 52% cabernet franc, 43% merlot and 5% cabernet sauvignon. Rating: 97-98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2022)
Impactful from the first moment, reinforcing the success they have had in both colours in the vintage. So much flavour and texture, with lemongrass, gunsmoke, orange peel, pineapple, mango, slate, apricot pit, offering grip and length. Tasted several times and it always delivered juice, control and excitement. One of the wines of the vintage. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2022)
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.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.