Domaine de Chevalier vertical: 2000 – 2017

Jane Anson tastes a vertical of Domaine de Chevalier wines, exclusively for Decanter Premium members.

The Bordeaux 2017 vintage was no doubt a bittersweet vintage for Domaine de Chevalier. For once, they were not alone in being affected by frost, and in many ways were far better prepared than almost any other property in the region.

Owner Olivier Bernard has long used wine machines and even helicopters in certain vintages because its location, with vines on the far west of Léognan in a single 45ha gravel, black sand and clay plot surrounded by forest gives it a very particular micro-climate where budding begins earlier than many local properties, and its swings in temperature (warm days, cold nights) often make it particularly vulnerable to low temperatures in springtime.

This situation may also be why Bernard and winemaker Remy Edange are extremely well regarded for their ability to produce quality in difficult vintages.

It makes tasting Domaine de Chevalier both a great learning experience to understand terroir influence, and just a good bet for discovering one of the most consistent estates in Bordeaux – proof of the adage that ‘no great wines come without a struggle’ – and that often the learnings of those struggles make them particularly well equipped for events that make other more easily-situated estates panic.

• Scroll down to see Jane Anson’s tasting notes and scores

A few weeks ago I was reminded of this again through a vertical of recent vintages back to 2000, presented single blind (so we knew the estate – we were sitting in it – but didn’t know which order the vintages were presented in). It’s a brilliant way to really focus on what is in the glass, and a subtle reminder of the craziness of judging Bordeaux wines simply by a blanket approach to binary good-bad years.

There were a number of surprises here – notably the 2003, 2007 and 2013 delivering huge finesse and quality while still being pretty much perfect for opening now, and for me a 2009 that beat out the 2010 if you are looking to drink it any time soon.

These guys are the maestros of tannins that subtly hold everything together – again perhaps a result of their location that gives a long, slow ripening, so allowing the tannins to smooth and stretch along the way as long as the vines are treated fastidiously.

Domaine de Chevalier is located on one of the highest points of Pessac-Léognan, up at 60m on the plateau, and one of Bernard’s first actions when he took over in 1983 (at the time of purchase by the Bernard family, only the third family to head up the estate since 1865) was to remove some of the trees, to reduce their thermal impact and to increase Cabernet Sauvignon for the red plots, a grape that likes to struggle and needs a long growing season to give its best.

Bernard has also emphasised Sauvignon Blanc for the 5ha of whites, and this is one of the few properties in Bordeaux to truly excel in both colours.

The tasting here focused only on the reds, but offered further proof, for me, that many of the skills you need to make great reds are learnt most surely by making white wine – finesse, subtlety, an emphasis on aromatics and an understanding of balance.

Jane Anson tasted the 2000 – 2016 vintages in a vertical tasting at Domaine de Chevalier. The 2017 vintage was tasted separately, at the Bordeaux 2017 en primeur tastings. 

See Jane Anson’s overview of the Bordeaux 2017 vintage, plus all of her en primeur tasting notes