2022 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge - Pessac-Leognan Grand Cru Classe

Decanter.com – 95 pts – GH: *Lovely detail and precision with plump, ripe fruit, good concentration and intensity, mouthfilling tannins that have a lovely texture and overall length. Feels really well made, structured and vibrant, not taken too far with a really appealing flavour and texture. Just lovely, fresh, lifted, still concentrated with underlying power but delivered seamlessly. A brilliant, compelling, utterly moreish wine. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. A yield of 40hl/ha. Harvest 15 September - 5 October. Ageing 18 months; 33% new barrels, 65% one and two wine. In organic conversion. Derenoncourt consultants.* - 04/2023

Falstaff Magazin – 95 pts – PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe. zarte Randaufhellung. Feines Bukett nach Gewürzen und reifen Kirschen, ein Hauch von Brombeere, Cassis und frischen Orangenzesten, zarte Edelholzwürze. Komplex, saftig und elegant, gute Frische, reife Tannine, schokoladig-mineralisch im Abgang, sehr gute Länge, vielversprechend und mit Potenzial ausgestattet.* - 01/2023

Vinum Magazin – 17,5/20 pts: *Sehr ausbaugeprägt; fleischiger Ansatz, fruchtige Entwicklung; langes, knackiges Finale; besitzt Rasse, Saft und Klasse.* - 04/2023

WeinWisser – 18,5/20pts – GL, TW: *65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 % Merlot, 3 % Petit Verdot, 2 % Cabernet Franc. Delikates Bouquet mit blaubeerigen Konturen, tasmanischem Bergpfeffer, Brasiltabak und edler Cassiswürze. Am sublimen, engmaschigen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur und körnigem Extrakt, ziemlich straff und muskulös, getragen von tiefgründiger Mineralik und reifem kakaoartigem Tanningerüst. Im gebündelten Finale Wildkirsche, Estragon und erhabene Adstringenz. Ein klassischer Domaine de Chevalier, der mit Tiefe und Finesse punktet.* – 04/2023

JancisRobinson.com – 18/20pts – JR: *65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc. 40 hl/ha. In conversion to organic management. Special label with a Chinese drawing of a horse to celebrate Olivier Bernard’s 40th vintage. Cask sample. Deep crimson. Intensely mineral, highly distinctive, nose. Very different from the sweet fruit-bombs elsewhere. Racy and likely to age well in the Dom de Chevalier tradition. Sinewy but by no means meagre. Very much its own style. Cool and fresh but with fruit that is quite ripe enough and massively mineral. Intense with lots tucked in there for future development. Clean, fresh, appetising finish.* - 04/2023

Vinous.com – (93-96) pts – AG: *The 2022 Domaine de Chevalier is a powerhouse. I don’t remember tasting anything like it. Black cherry, plum, graphite, licorice and spic add to an impression of virile intensity. Readers should expect to play the long game, as the tannins are pretty imposing at this stage. That has been the case each of the four times I have tasted the 2022 so far.* - 04/2023

Vinous.com – (95-97) pts – NM: *The 2022 Domaine de Chevalier was picked from 5-30 September and represents the 40th vintage under the irrepressible Olivier Bernard, who celebrates with a one-off label. It soars from the glass with take-no-prisoner aromatics: perfumed mineral-rich red berry fruit, incense and black truffle. Pessac-like earthiness with an opposing airiness defines many a great wine from this estate. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins. Slightly powdery in texture and saline in the mouth, this gets the saliva flowing. However, the arching structure on the finish suggests it will require considerable bottle age. Cellar this for a couple of decades, and you'll be repaid handsomely. 14% alcohol.* - 04/2023

Thewinecellarinsider.com – (96-98) pts – JL: *Almost opaque in color, the wine is equally dark in the nose with black cherries, black berries, black plums, licorice, Cuban cigar wrappers, smoke, burning wood and cocoa. Silky, elegant, plummy, rich and loaded with chocolate-covered, dark pit fruits, espresso and black cherries. There is intensity as well as silkiness and energy in the long finish. The wine blends 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. 13.5% ABV, 3.60 pH. The harvest took place September 6 - September 28. Yields were 35 hectoliters per hectare. Condition in the vineyards were extremely dry with only 30 MM of rain during the summer, making this the estates driest vintage in history. This is also the second 100% biodynamically farmed vintage. More importantly, bottles will feature a special label celebrating 2022 as it was Olivier Bernard's 40th vintage at Domaine de Chevalier. Drink from 2027-2055.* - 05/2023