Domaine de Chevalier, Rouge Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan 2024

Deep garnet-purple in color. Pops from the glass with wonderfully fragrant notes of red roses, cardamom, and mossy tree bark, leading to a core of cassis and red currant jelly. The light-bodied palate is energetic and shimmery, delivering fine-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and minerally.

The 2024 Domaine de Chevalier is soft, fruity and relatively simple, given its typical personality. Plum, black cherry, licorice, chocolate and sweet oak are pushed forward in this open-knit, easygoing Pessac-Léognan. There may be more here than meets the eye. We will see. Today, the 2024 is on the light side. Tasted two times.

Based on 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2024 Domaine de Chevalier was brought up in 30% new oak and reveals ripe red and black fruits, loamy earth, tobacco, and graphite. Medium-bodied and nicely balanced on the palate, it has juicy acidity, a pure, classic character, and outstanding length. It's a beautiful wine that brings to mind the best vintages from the 1980s and 1990s.

Stands out for its deep ruby red colour, soft grilled cedar and sandalwood aromatics, and its slow build through the palate, with juice and character, a ton of gorgeous slate and liquorice. Not at the peak of 2023 or 2022, but this has depth and balance, and estate character. Great job from the team at Domaine de Chevalier. Harvest 20 September to 8 October. 30% new oak for ageing, Olivier Bernard owner.

The 2024 Domaine de Chevalier was cropped at 48 hl/ha between September 20 and October 8. This is almost Burgundian in style, with a fragrant bouquet revealing pure blueberry and blackcurrant aromas alongside crushed violet and iris flower scents emerging with aeration. It is very comely and alluring. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins. It's very harmonious and already in this prenatal stage, seductive. With finely chiseled tannins and more mineralité compared to the L'Esprit, this seems to glide on the finish. Just a lovely Pessac-Léognan for the vintage, though this year it must accept the silver medal as Olivier Bernard's white takes the gold.

A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 2024 Domaine de Chevalier reveals a spicy, brooding bouquet of oak, dark berries and gentian. Medium to full-bodied, juicy and round, it's firm and has an assertive tannic frame, concluding with a somewhat chewy finish. Despite a respectable yield and a clear stylistic shift toward less oak influence, the estate’s sandy terroirs struggled to achieve full ripeness in this delicate vintage.