2020 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge - Pessac-Leognan Grand Cru Classe

Decanter.com - 94 pts - EM: *Layered elegance and savoury tobacco and blackcurrant – the château’s hallmark. It’s a textbook expression of the appellation, and one of the best of the 2020 Pessac-Léognans. Spring rains helped the vines weather the hot, dry summer and preserved the wine’s bright freshness. The estate is cru classé for both red and white, but in this vintage I prefer the red.* - 06/2023

Falstaff Magazin – 95 pts – PM: *Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dunkler Kern, zarte Randaufhellung. Reife Pflaumen, schwarze Kirschen, süße Gewürznuancen, etwas Vanille. Saftig, Herzkirschen, feine Fruchtsüße, reife runde Tannine, mineralisch, zeigt gut Länge, wird von weiterer Flaschenreife profitieren.* - 02/2023

LPB - 05/21 - 95-97+: *Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Domaine de Chevalier comes skipping out of the glass with energetic scents of ripe red and black currants, fresh blackberries and boysenberries, plus nuances of wild sage, cloves and cedar with a waft of lavender. The medium to full-bodied palate surprises and delights with an unexpected richness and depth that remains locked away on the nose, revealing layers of fragrant earth and floral notions framed by fantastic freshness and firm, finely grained tannins, finis-hing with the most gorgeous, long-lingering perfume.*

Vinum Magazin – 18,5/20pts: *Recht intensive, aber komplexe Aromatik von Backgewürzen, Beeren und frischen Kräutern, gut abgestimmte Eiche; fülliger Auftakt, besitzt grosse Spannkraft und beeindruckende Dichte,Rasse und Länge; von ausgesuchter Klasse; gehört zu den grossen Weinen des Jahrgangs.*

WeinWisser – 19/20pts – GL, TW: *Erhabenes Bouquet, Sandelholz, reife Schattenmorelle, Himbeermark und Burley-Tabak. Am kompakten Gaumen straff geschnitten, engmaschiges Tanninkorsett, stützende Rasse, athletischer Körper. Im konzentrierten Finale edle Cassiswürze, tiefschürfende dunkle Mineralik und erhabene Adstringenz, ein Langstreckenläufer, dem man Zeit geben sollte!* – 03/2023

jancisrobinson.com - 18/20 pts - JR: *55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc. Aged in barrels for 18 months. Interesting to taste this immediately after Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2020, which tastes as though it’s sort of aiming for Domaine de Chevalier style but possibly with younger vines? Or less experience? This Domaine de Chevalier 2020 effortlessly triumphs over the heat and drought of the 2020 vintage to produce a nuanced, promising wine that seems to have so much potential for future development without following any exterior trend – just expressing its location, with its trademark freshness. Bravissimo!* - 11/2022

JMQ - 04/21 - 94pts: *Couleur sombre, intense et pourpre. Nez très aromatique, au fruité mûr et suave, avec un fond de cuir mouillé et de crème. Moelleux à l’attaque, juteux en milieu de bouche, très caressant, le vin prend de l’ampleur avec douceur entre le milieu et la finale. Il s’achève savoureux et long, délicatement tramé, sans angle tannique.*

JamesSuckling.com - 96-97pts - JS: *Iron, black mushroom and dark berry with some burnt orange peel. Flowers, too. It´s full-bodied with round tannins that turn linear and tight at the end. Excellent energy. Brightness and purity.* - 05/2021

Vinous.com – 96 pts – AG: *The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier is brilliant. Bright, poised and wonderfully pure, the 2020 Domaine de Chevalier marries the radiance of the year with tremendous freshness. Red cherry fruit, blood orange, mint, star anise and cinnamon all meld together. The 2020 is a wine built on aromatic presence and persistence, more so than heft, with all the elements very nicely balanced. What a wine! Tasted two times.* - 12/2022

Vinous.com – 95 pts – NM: *The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier has a concentrated, well-defined bouquet with blackberry, raspberry, tobacco, hickory and wild hedgerow. Touches of pressed iris flower surface with aeration. Generous, yet it maintains ample delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, white pepper and touches of tobacco, very fine depth, focused and perhaps a little more muscular than other vintages with a sapid finish that is surprising given the growing season. Superb.* - 12/2022

Thewinecellarinsider.com – 97 pts – JL: *Showing a solid depth of color, the moment the wine hits the glass you find a wealth of black raspberries, cigar box, mint, oceanic influences, smoke, licorice, black currants, blackberries, bay leaf, and black raspberries in the nose. On the palate, the wine exudes an incredible purity of fruit, dark chocolate, and layers of ripe, dense, sensuously-textured black, red, and blue fruits that unfold seamlessly across your palate, and linger for close to 50 seconds. There is lift, energy, volume, and depth on the palate finishing with waves of dark red currants, creme de cassis, tobacco leaf, blackberry, savory herbs, and a gentle wisp of spearmint on the backend. Clearly, this is one of the great vintages of Domaine de Chevalier that fans of the estate should run, (not walk) to buy! Drink from 2026-2055.* - 03/2023