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

Description

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.

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

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.

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.