Domaine de Chevalier 2018

Diam 30 closure.Tasted blind. Ripe and rather glorious with very bright fruit. Complete. Dry, stony finish. Rather 21st-century! 14.5%Drink 2025 – 2040

Black core, cherry rim. Subtle and scented on the nose, even though it looks like a big wine. When I tasted this two days later, it was more open and rich on first impression. Plenty of oak on the nose, as you might expect at this stage. Crushed stones entwined with black, black fruit. Relative to the vintage, this has real tenderness on the palate, the finest of dry tannins and a finish that leaves your mouth clean, as 75% chocolate does. Very impressive. Drink 2025-2038

Possibly one of the finest wines ever to come from the Bernard family’s flagship estate near Léognan, the 2018 Domaine de Chevalier checks in as a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot that hit 13.5% alcohol and will spend 18 months in just 35% new French oak. Its saturated purple/plum color is followed by a mammoth bouquet of cassis, black currants, gravelly earth, smoked herbs, and tobacco. Full-bodied, deep, brilliantly balanced, and seriously concentrated, it has polished tannins, no hard edges, and a finish that won’t quit. It’s a heavenly Graves that will keep for 30+ years.

This is flashy, with mesquite, licorice, black tea and fruitcake aromatics leading the way to a frankly ripe core of steeped raspberry and plum flavors. Seems pretty liberal with the toast, but this has what it needs to come together in the end.

(65 Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 Merlot, 5 Petit Verdot) There is no doubt that this is a classy wine and it is certainly well-structured, but there is a tender mulberry tone in the core which signals a degree of complexity to it and even though the tannins are fairly rustic, they are sure to calm, too.

The 2018 Domaine de Chevalier has a compelling bouquet with copious black cherries, raspberry coulis, crushed stone and rose petal scents, suggestions of black olive developing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins. This is silky smooth in texture with hints of brown spice and dark chocolate infusing the black fruit, a touch of curry powder towards the finish that sets the tongue tingling after the wine has departed. This is a seriously fine Domaine de Chevalier from Olivier Bernard and his team. Does it rank alongside the 2016? Well, yes, it might well do that. Drink 2023-2045.

Wow. I can’t get over the pureness of fruit in this wine with so much currant, tar and wet-earth character. Flowers, too. So aromatic. Full body, yet pureness and brightness of fruit. Layered. Incredible depth and beauty. 65 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 30 per cent merlot and 5 per cent petit verdot. Greatest ever?

This wine is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot to be aged for approximately 18 months in oak barriques, 35% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Domaine de Chevalier starts a little closed before bounding out of the glass with bold expressions of fresh blackcurrants, kirsch, black raspberries and fragrant earth plus nuances of lilacs, Sichuan pepper and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, the palate maintains elegance and sophistication, with a lovely ripe, finely grained frame and plenty of freshness to back up the floral and black fruit layers, finishing long and perfumed.