Domaine de Chevalier 1996

While I have been critical of Domaine de Chevalier, because the wines have contained entirely too much aggressive oak for the amount of fruit, recent vintages reveal a more subtle touch with the wood. The 1996 has turned out beautifully from the bottle. It is an exceptionally elegant wine, with well-integrated oak, and tobacco-tinged, cherry and cassis fruit. It appears to be a return to the style of the seventies and early eighties. Lush, with excellent concentration, a beautiful texture, and a flattering, potentially complex aromatic profile, this medium-bodied wine should be at its finest between 2003-2016.

Ripe berry aromas, with hints of smoke and earth. Medium-bodied, with firm, sleek tannins, pretty raspberry and mineral flavors and a medium finish. Tight and closed. Best after 2001. 22,000 cases made.

Dark chocolate, roses, dried herbs and cigar box, but all subtle, not too much — a lovely, evocative nose. Sharp, sleek, almost sour but in a good way in terms of freshness and lift. Ripe tannins fill the mouth, giving this broader appeal, textured and fleshy while keeping a vein of cool freshness, blue fruit and cola with salty liquorice. This is excellent; I love the cool nature, not trying too hard, delivering lots of flavour and texture and generous weight. Calm and collected, still youthful, this will keep on giving. A delicious, juicy, fun, approachable glass of wine, with succulence but also really tasty, grippy tannins and a long, still-fresh red cherry and berry finish with salt. Totally moreish.

Subtle maturation on the nose. Very lively and dancing with a good core of fruit. Good for now but supported by exceptionally fine tannins. Delicate, dancing. (JR)

Fully mature, the wine is light in color, medium-bodied and elegant on the palate. A bit more interesting on the nose than on the palate, with its bright red fruit, tobacco, smoke and cigar character.

Medium purple, bright. Still closed, slightly herbal bouquet, mixed with Amarena cherries and fine woods, still a bit muted due to its restraint. On the palate, shows good concentration, with supporting astringency; potential is there, but it (still) lacks harmony, thus it needs plenty more bottle age. Potential rating.

97: Barrel sample (17/20): spicy, deep terroir and roasted bouquet, noble woods, beech nuances, very concentrated on the nose. On the palate, finely sandy texture, almost grainy, slightly floral notes, plenty of tannic reserve, rather slender; only on the finish does the typical Chevalier elegance come into play. Tasted again in autumn 1998 with Olivier Bernard: open, gently floral bouquet, a lovely Cabernet note within, roast notes in coffee form from the barrique. On the palate, extract acidity dominates, it feels medium-bodied and still hasn’t quite found its harmony. 99: Still closed, slightly herbal bouquet mixed with Amarena cherries and noble woods, yet still a bit muted. On the palate, the wine shows good concentration, supporting astringency. The potential is there, but it (still) lacks harmony, so it will need a lot of bottle age (17/20). 02: An interesting experiment at Domaine de Chevalier: on the left in the glass—without announcement—a Domaine 1996 decanted about three hours earlier. On the right, the same wine freshly from the bottle. Audience survey: more than two-thirds of the roughly 30 guests rave about the non-decanted wine. This once again proves my theory of fruit phase and reduction phase. Fine spicy, gently green Cabernet note, dark mushrooms, but also minty traces. On the palate, finely sandy, gently firm with balanced astringency, needs about five more years to reach first maturity. Thus decanting doesn’t help, as the example itself proved. 17/20 2006–2025

Mineral, austere, peppery bouquet, strawberries, rosehip, cardamom, black pepper, slate, smoke. Aromatic, rustic, powerful palate with a muscular structure, intense, dark aromatics, long, austere finish. 18/20 drink - 2030

Bordeaux-red color. Medium intensity. Nose of medium intensity. Discreet. Fruity. A more vegetal touch. Opens up with swirling. Damp earth and fruit very well intertwined. This won’t be a great 96 like other crus. The wine is discreet on the attack and develops in a long, narrow line, without much substance, thin on the mid-palate. A tannic finish strengthens the structure without, however, having a fleshy envelope. It will need time and could still offer a pleasant surprise, but this wine lacks flesh. I prefer the 97 despite its interesting nose. Ambivalent wine.