2020 Domaine de Chevalier
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Tasting notes
Could this be the best Domaine de Chevalier yet? This is beautiful. It’s fresh and pure, with remarkable concentration – with a firm and solid core of dark blackcurrant fruit. The palate offers crystal clear blackberry fruit in waves, a vibrant crunch of red fruit, with an almost sour cherry note. There’s so much going on – with layers of herbs, cedar, toasty spice all adding complexity. There’s a lovely chalky texture to the tannins, which are fine and ripe, softly melded but with a velveteen grip. There’s a creaminess to the finish that makes this feels quite voluptuous. Aristocratic.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
James Lawther MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Tasted from a half-bottle. 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Sémillon. This is a bit fruitier than the 2016, but not excessively so. Starfruit, kiwi and passionfruit along with fennel and pencil shavings. The acidity is elevated but less intense than that of the 2016. (JRL)
Tasted blind. Marked by a vanilla/oak aroma and fresh lemon and grapefruit. Tight, mouth-watering and really clean-cut on the palate. Balanced, fresh, and needs time. (JH)
The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier has a refined and understated nose, well-defined with blackberry, briar, gravel and earth. Sensual in style, it gradually unfurls in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins and a little creaminess toward the back end, but there is still decent structure here. Give this four to five years in bottle—the class shines through. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
About the producer
Since buying the property in 1983, the Bernard family has cemented Domaine de Chevalier’s reputation as one of the Graves’s finest red and white wine producers, known for their sophisticated and elegant wines.