Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan Rouge 2020

Deep dark red color in appearance, with a shiny black shimmer in the center. Great nose. Intense, flowery expression mainly on the fruit. Black cherry, blackcurrant, blueberry. Delicately peppery and vanilla spices. Aromas of tannins and earth. On the palate, an impressive sensation of density of tannins, without any astringency. The flesh of the wine is fine, firm and freshly fruity. The fruit, precise and intense, is everywhere. Power, balance, maturity, concentration, length, freshness, tension. Everything is there for a great vintage to keep.

55% cabernet sauvignon, 35% merlot, 5% petit verdot, and 5% cabernet franc.

The history of the Domaine de Chevalier goes back to the archives of the XVIIth century which recall that the small estate of Chivaley (knight in Gascony) includes “houses, outbuildings, gardens, land, vines, woods and meadows” and thus represents a farm in which the vine cohabited with breeding and food crops. The name of the Domaine de Chevalier would be linked, without knowing exactly why, to the presence of the very old Way of Saint Jacques de Compostelle which still borders the property.

Terroir & Vinification

The Domaine de Chevalier is a clearing in the middle of the forest that protects it, a sort of secret garden away from the media circuits. This is a bit of a paradox for this cru of excellence, which competes with the greatest vintages of Bordeaux.

However, one could think of Chevalier’s terroir as difficult, capricious…

But it is exceptional and capable of producing a remarkably early harvest, provided that we take care to treat it with the respect it deserves. We can say that a great wine is always born in extreme conditions, on a difficult terroir, and even, paradoxically, that it is from this difficult character that it derives its greatness.

In reality, a great terroir gives a great wine where nothing else grows but the vine.

Indeed, this prestigious terroir is of great complexity and aromatic finesse capable of sublimating the grape varieties to obtain their quintessence. But this requires a total respect for the soil and the plant, orchestrated by Man, who is the revealer.