Domaine de Chevalier is an estate winery located south-west of the Graves AOC‘s capital, Léognan on the left bank of the Bordeaux region. It produces red and white wines under the Pessac-Léognan AOC. The estate dates to 1763, mapped by the surveyor Pierre de Belleyme and under the name Chibaley. The estate became renowned under the Ricard family. In 1865 Jean Ricard restored the estate, and its reputation was established under his son-in-law Gabriel Beaumartin , an international timber merchant. He ran the estate from 1900–1940. Unlike others at the time Beaumartin elected to keep the estate as a Domaine rather than switching it to a ‘chateau’ as was the early 20th-century fashion. In 1948 Beaumartin’s grandson Claude Ricard (a talented pianist) took over. The vines had suffered from the 1945 frost. Claude Ricard enlisted the advice of Prof Emile Peynaud. In the late 1970s Ricard faced financial difficulties and sold the estate in 1983 to Lucien Bernard, a family firm of brandy and wine merchants.

Vineyards: In a single spot in the pine forests.

Rented vineyards: Domaine de la Solitude in Martillac.

Wines

Pessac-Léognan Blanc, Esprit de Chevalier: 1993 A selection of lesser barrels, clean wood, complex, long and tidy (Grands Blancs 1996).

Pessac–Léognan Blanc AOC, Domaine de Chevalier: 1941 Maderised and botrytic, lovely, smooth, youthful botrytic-dessicated fruit, full weight, powerful and long (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1967 Like old Burgundy or Rioja, lightness of texture though, creamy, appealing, VA at finish (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1970 Lively, energetic, real breed (Grands Blancs 1996). | 1977  Attractive acidity, good effort for the vintage (Visit, 13th April 1995). Smoky, rich, peak of maturity (Grands Blancs 1996). | 1991 Oak and spice, moderate length, bit lean (Grands Blancs 1996). | 1992 Wood not quite married yet, leaner style, less alcohol and extract compared to 1993 or 1994, pineapple and butter, persistent finish, super balance (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1993 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc Full, huge wine, wood apparent but great depth beneath, lots of extract, has all the elements (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1994 70% Sauvignon Blanc + 30% Semillon, lots of toasty oak and lots of honeyed wine, structured, weighty, powerful, complex, aromatic, uplifting, cream and tropical fruit (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1995 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc Will fatten out with age, clean and cool, full finish (Grands Blancs 1996). | 1997 75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Semillon (very aromatic in this vintage, all picked by the 9th September), yeasted with VL1 and VL3, 30% fermented in new barrels, bottled with 32 mg/l FSO2 and 150mg/l TSO2; softer, less acid than 1996, open, but ‘fragile’ according to the winemaker (circa 1,500 cases)

Pessac–Léognan Rouge AOC, L’Esprit de Chevalier: Second wine.

Pessac–Léognan Rouge AOC, Domaine de Chevalier: The red Domaine de Chevalier typically exhibits smoky, licorice, pine, mint and coffee flavours with tight tannins. | 1937 Good development in colour, amber rim, excellent aroma, full, developed, ripe tannins, slight lightness at finish, earthy tannin, no real astringency, a great wine for a poor year (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1957 Very dusty, huge thick colour, thick nose, truffle, heaavy and ripe, solid, length, blood and earth finish (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1960 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge Said to be very good. | 1967 Wide orange rim, no hardness at all on nose, very elegant in a lighter style, sweet texture, lovely acidity, lightness and creaminess of texture, creamy cedar and dumb earth (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1975 Orange, dry tannin, will never refine to grandness, not recognisably DDC (Roy Richards). |1976 Lacks DDC finesse, but good for a disappointing vintage (Roy Richards). | 1977 Earthy, stalky/sweet nose, of its vintage, hollow and underipe (Roy Richards). | 1978 Gorgeous nose, Cabernet, refined, sappy and elegant, clean, fresh fruit, one of the top 1978 Bordeauxs (Roy Richards). | 1979  Colour seems stronger than 1981-83, sweet, Merlotish nose, not as fine as the run of DDC, a little common if all there in terms of substance (Roy Richards). | 1980 Tile red, attractive sweet nose, old with some astringence, but with great charm and finesse; good example of the vintage (Roy Richards). | 1981 Deeper colour than 1982, fresh Cabernet nose, perfectly balance, considerable finesse; outstanding (Roy Richards). | 1982 Classic Graves colour, sweet meaty nose, slightly unknit on the palate, with an herbaceous edge, not the success it might have been, lacking in substance (Roy Richards). | 1983 Baked, sweet nose, warm and generous, some drying tannin; drink up- First vintage with staggered picking (Roy Richards). | 1984 Lack of freshness shows chaptalisation? however good colour, interesting, tannic and rich (Roy Richards). | 1985 Cabernet nose, grassy palate, a wine of class and distinction, in the style of 1988, perhaps less concentrated (Roy Richards); Merlot was frosted out in 1985, so Cabernet Sauvignon was dominant until 1996. | 1986 Nose of confit fruit (like Pape-Clément), very animal on palate like older Burgundy, atypical (Roy Richards). | 1987 A little stalky, lacks the matière of 1988 (Roy Richards); last vintage with Peynaud as consultant. | 1988 Well structured, with acidity, quite unlike 1989 and 1990, will be very grand (Roy Richards). Deep hue, wonderful power, black berry ripe, smokey new oak complementing, powerful, ripe and intense, lovely structure, mint, red fruit and cassis, length and balance (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1989 Heaps of extract, good acidity lots of tannin but no alcohol burn, with oak beneath the tannin (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1990  Quite porty (Roy Richards). Deep colour, lovely violet rim, smokey intensity, ripe and quite full, cherry and mint, again very good acidity, glycerol, more knit than 1991 but iron and blood here, length, structured (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1991 Liquorice, slight but fruity; contains 1990 presse (Roy Richards). Pinot Noir like, violets and cherry, warm, dry, ripe, smoke, light tannin, my style, vibrant acidity, maybe a little unknit, clean, crisp red with brick finish and light appealing sweetness (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1992 Quite and intense colour, soft wild re fruit on the nose, vanilla, charming, ripe with excellent drip, wild, red, succulent tight fruit, with more evident ripeness than 1991 (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1994 Gorgeous deep colour, lovely tannin, vibrant and youthful, powerful, length too, healthy fruit (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1995 50% Merlot (at least) + Cabernet Sauvignon + Cabernet Franc, a weaker vintage, Olivier Bernard told us (Visit, 13 April 1995). | 1996 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc (circa 10,000 cases).

Contact

Domaine de Chevalier

F-33850 Léognan

Tel+33 (0)5.56.64.16.16 | Website: www.domainedechevalier.com

Bibliography

Tasting at Domaine de Chevalier on Thursday 13th April 1995 with Roy Richards, Olivier and Anne Bernard and François Lurton.

Rose Murray Brown, ‘Secret Charms’, Wine Magazine April 1995, p.41-42.