Domaine de Chevalier 2006

The brilliant St.-Emilion-based consultant, Stephane Derenoncourt, is working his magic at this great vineyard in Leognan. The 2006, a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, is a revelation of sweet, lush, black raspberry and black currant fruit intermixed with subtle notes of scorched earth and barbecue spices. Round, luscious, sexy, and exceptionally complex, the wine is dominated by that smoky minerality that comes from this area. It is the quintessentially elegant yet substantial Pessac-Leognan with class, complexity, and potential. Despite wanting to drink most of the bottle when I was tasting it, I know it will be even better with 2-4 years of bottle age, and should keep for two decades.

There’s attractive blackberry and light vanilla, with a hint of licorice. Full-bodied, with a caressing texture, very pretty fruit and notes of chocolate and licorice. Best from 2014 through 2018.

Fragranced and dried herbs on the nose, really lots of violet and rose with rosemary and dark chocolate, liquorice, coffee, baked pastry and cedar. Full and fleshy, round with fine but chalky and ripe tannins at the fore giving the wide expansive mouthfeel. Still, despite the texture, this feels youthful and too young to approach. Still got a serious face on at the moment. I love the cool blue fruit though and the mineral flintiness underneath. The texture is rich so there's a big mouthfeel and you feel the power - and the alcohol here. Still, this will be a charmer, excellent crunchy, ripe and chalky cherry and blackcurrant fruit, clear salinity, sleek, defined, focussed with muscle on show. A very good showing with lots of potential. 5% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Raspberry, wet-earth, stone and iodine character here. It’s medium-bodied with firm tannins and a fine, linear finish. A little austere at the moment, but attractive. Drink now or hold.

Bright ruby-red. Black fruits, licorice, tobacco and cedary oak on the nose. Dense and fine-grained, with a distinctly cool quality to the black fruit and floral flavors. Pliant in the middle palate but with cedar, floral and herbal notes providing very good lift. This rich, chewy wine boasts lovely depth of flavor and finishes with sweet tannins and noteworthy energy.

Displaying secondary notes of tobacco, cigar box, red berries, cassis, earth and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, with spicy, earthy fruit, olive tapenade accents and a hint of dust in the tannins, the wine will improve with a few more years in the bottle.

Medium-dark ruby-garnet. Elegant, finely fruity bouquet with wild raspberries, rose petals, coconut notes, and a delicate hint of vanilla in the background; direct and finely tailored. Juicy palate, intoxicating sweetness in the tannins that are rich and silky, already beautifully balanced by the acidity, long and very elegant. While certain highly rated estates struggle somewhat with finesse in this vintage, Domaine de Chevalier is an absolute delicacy.

Medium-dark ruby-garnet. Elegant, finely fruity bouquet: wild raspberries, rose petals, coconut notes, with delicate vanilla behind, coming across direct and finely poised. Juicy palate, intoxicating sweetness in the tannins which show rich and silky, already beautifully balanced by the acidity, long and very elegant. While some highly rated estates struggle a bit with finesse in this vintage, this Domaine de Chevalier is an absolute delicacy. (18/20). 11: I presented this wine at Pony Sigigen at a Wine & Dine for 50 people. After my introduction, explaining that this is a particularly fine, slightly lactic, red-berry-perfumed wine, the audience was blown away!

Spicy, taut, sappy, ripe grapes, very Léognan, still in its austere phase but the substance is ripe and will develop beautifully.

Dark color, slightly evolved. Nose of wet leather. Rather discreet. Caressing, flavorful palate, becoming suave after the mid‑palate with tannins still present. Normal length.

While it doesn't have huge power, this wine does have many great attributes. It is smoothly ripe, its open structure a fine reflection of the elegant style, edged with minerality. The acidity is pure, not too dominant, but lifting the generous fruit and final dry character.