Domaine de Chevalier, Blanc Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan 2018

This is dense and very structured with phenolic tension and depth. Full-bodied, lightly phenolic with sliced apples, cooked pears and lemons. Lively and intense. Solid as a rock. This is one to watch.

The 2018 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc has come together beautifully over the last two years. Rich and unctuous in feel, the 2018 offers terrific nuance to match its creamy, enveloping personality. Dried pear, marzipan, lemon confit and white flowers all build as the 2018 blossoms in the glass. The poised, deeply resonant finish is striking. I am so impressed with the 2018, a wine that is far more convincing in bottle than it was from barrel.

One of the whites of the vintage is the 2018 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, which is both powerful and fresh in the vintage. Crushed citrus, tart melon, lemon curd, and crushed rock-like minerality all give way to a pure, full-bodied dry white that has integrated acidity and a great, great finish. A blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Sémillon that will spend 18 months in 35% new French oak, it’s going to be relatively accessible in its youth (unlike the 2015) yet should age beautifully.

The Domaine de Chevalier 2018 Blanc, a blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon, slowly reveals beguiling scents of lemongrass, lime leaves, fresh grapefruit, allspice and ginger with a core of fresh lemon and grapefruit. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers bold citrus and spice layers with fantastic tension and a chalky finish. Aging on lees in barriques, 35% new, is anticipated to go for 16 months.

The 2018 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc has opened up since I tasted it from barrel; this half-bottle was allowed 30–45 minutes to open. It has a little more zip on the nose, the orchard fruit and touches of black currant and orange pith bursting from the glass. The palate is finely tuned with a superb bead of acidity, and more citric than the nose, still with that energy and tension and a light tang of marmalade and lemongrass toward the finish. While I maintain that it is not the best Domaine de Chevalier Blanc that I have ever encountered, it has gained more personality during its maturation and it should drink well for 20-plus years.