DOMAINE DE CHEVALIER Blanc Grand Cru Classe de Graves, Pessac-Leognan 2022 Bottle

Description

IN BRIEF
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2022 opens with bright, poised clarity: white peach, quince and green apple threaded with citrus blossom and honeysuckle, while wet stone and chalk provide a focused mineral seam. With air, grapefruit, preserved lemon and jasmine unfurl, underpinned by gentle spicy toast. Medium–full-bodied, it delivers a satiny entry, vibrant acidity and a plush mid-palate of white peach compote, lemon curd and brioche, framed by almond kernel and crushed sage. Fine persistent acidity and a saline, flinty thread propel a long, precise finish. Drink now or cellar five–twelve years. Top scores: James Suckling 98–99 (“rich and intense”); Vinous 94–96 (“wonderful purity”); Decanter 94 (“round, full, compelling”). Serve 10–12°C with shellfish or lobster. Elegant, food-friendly and built to age gracefully and evolve.

ABOUT THIS WINE
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc Grand Cru Classé de Graves, Pessac-Léognan 2022 opens with bright, poised clarity, a refined white Bordeaux that marries aromatic lift with tactile depth. The bouquet offers white peach, quince and green apple, threaded with citrus blossom and honeysuckle, while a pronounced mineral seam of wet stone and chalk gives immediate focus. With gentle aeration, ripe grapefruit, preserved lemon and a hint of jasmine unfurl, underscored by delicate spicy toast from judicious oak élevage.

On the palate the 2022 is medium to full bodied, delivering a satin entry, vibrant natural acidity and a plush mid-palate that balances weight and lift. Primary fruit is concentrated and pure, orchard and citrus fruits framed by a savoury almond kernel note and a subtle herbaceous twist of crushed sage. The mid-palate builds with layered complexity, showing white peach compote, lemon curd and a whisper of brioche that adds breadth without heaviness. Fine, persistent acidity drives the architecture, while a flinty, saline thread provides tension and propels the long, focused finish.

Winemaking for 2022 emphasised careful plot selection and restrained elevage to preserve freshness in a warm vintage; parcels were vinified separately with cool fermentation and a measured use of new oak, allowing the fruit to remain primary while benefitting from added texture and spice. Oak influence is integrated and supportive, lending gentle vanilla and toasted spice that frame rather than dominate.

Texture is polished and tactile, the mouthfeel combining silk and tensile energy as savoury secondary notes of toasted almond, light hazelnut and a hint of beeswax emerge. Drink now to enjoy its vibrancy, or cellar for five to twelve years to allow tertiary notes of honeyed toast and dried herb to develop. Serve chilled at 10 to 12°C with lobster, scallops, white fish in beurre blanc or goat cheese tart. Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2022 is precise, expressive and food friendly, a classic Pessac-Léognan white with both immediate charm and medium-term reward.

JAMES SUCKLING 98-99 Points
13 Apr, 2023 – A deep and layered white with rich and intense structure. It’s full yet agile with so much energy and intensity. Cooked apple, lime zest and nougat with oyster and sea bed undertones. Fascinating already.

VINOUS 94-96 points
Drinking window: 2028 - 2050
The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc was picked from August 28 to September 6 at 45hL/ha. It’s a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon. This has wonderful purity on the nose, revealing scents of lime, green apple and crushed stone—one of the most precise I have encountered at this early stage. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity that lends this white Pessac-Léognan superb focus. There’s real intensity here, building with a sense of nascent confidence toward the mineral, almost slate-like finish. Very long and tender, this is a white Domaine de Chevalier from the top drawer. - Neal Martin. Tasting date: April 2024

DECANTER 94 points
Drinking Window: 2023 - 2030 - Round, full, compelling, charming and confident, this has a width and density that is really well worked, calm, not super vibrant but really rich in terms of fruit expression with coolness, white stone fruit flavours and some subtle toasting. Feels structured and well worked, serious but not as tense as many with more fruit persistence and depth than a lot of the whites this year. Perhaps missing a touch of acidity bit this is very good indeed and ends with a zestiness that is really appealing. Tasted twice. Derenoncourt consultants. - Georgina Hindle Apr 23

THE WINE ADVOCATE (93 - 96) points
The 2022 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc offers up aromas of pear, nectarine, crushed mint jasmine and lemon, followed by a medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated palate with a mineral-driven profile. It's lively and bright, with a delicate, penetrating finish animated by racy acids. This blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon, matured entirely in large wooden foudres and 500-liter barrels instead of the traditional barriques, is one of the finest white wines of the vintage, and one of the few that transcends its limitations. - Yohan Castaing, 28th Apr 2023

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ABOUT DOMAINE DE CHEVALIER
Domaine de Chevalier, a Grand Cru Classé of Graves in Pessac Léognan, is one of Bordeaux’s most respected estates, celebrated for producing both red and white wines that combine precision, depth and a clear sense of terroir. Set on well drained gravelly soils with clay pockets that impart minerality and complexity, the property farms classic Bordeaux varieties, with the red blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and the whites built around Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Vineyards are worked parcel by parcel, with careful attention to vine age, rootstock and clonal selection, and yields are strictly managed to concentrate flavour and ensure typicity across vintages.

In the winery traditional know how is married to modern precision, grapes undergoing meticulous sorting and gentle handling before fermentation in temperature controlled vats, with vinification adapted to each parcel to preserve aromatic clarity and balance. Élevage in fine French oak, a considered proportion of which is new, gives structure and subtle spice to the wines while respecting varietal purity and the site’s mineral signature. The estate’s cellars and facilities support careful maturation and blending, allowing winemakers to craft wines that age gracefully.

The red Domaine de Chevalier is typically characterised by a poised bouquet of blackcurrant and dark cherry, floral lift, cedar and tobacco leaf, framed by a refined yet persistent tannic framework and fresh acidity that support long term cellaring. The white is widely admired for its aromatic intensity, citrus and stone fruit notes, toasted almond and a mineral thread, combining vivacity with a textured mid palate and the capacity for ageing. Secondary cuvées and parcel selections offer earlier approachability while reflecting the domaine’s stylistic emphasis on balance and precision.

With sustained investment in vineyard renewal, parcel selection and cellar technology, and an increasing emphasis on sustainable viticulture to safeguard long term site health, Domaine de Chevalier continues to stand as a benchmark of Graves, producing wines that marry elegance, structure and enduring character.