Domaine de Chevalier 2023 Rouge Pessac-Léognan Grand Cru Classé

James Suckling
(97-98)/100 punten
Plenty of blackberry, blackcurrant, chocolate and flint aromas that follow through to a full body, yet it’s in check and focused with a beautiful framing of fine tannins. The purity of ripe fruit is impressive with cabernet really showing through. 63% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 5% petit verdot and 2% cabernet franc.

The Wine Cellar Insider
(95-97)/100 punten
Blackberries, back cherries, barbecue smoke, cedar, smoked mint, and cigar box aromatics create the perfume. The wine is chewy, fresh, long, concentrated, and complex. The finish is like eating peppery currants dripped over Cuban cigars. Long, spicy, and intense, this is a vintage that will benefit from time in the cellar. The wine blends 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. 13% ABV, 3.68 pH. The harvest took place September 7 - September 30. Yields are among the lowest in the appellation at 31 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2029-2055.

William Kelley (Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate)
(94-96)/100 punten
The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier reveals a perfumed, incipiently complex bouquet of dark wild berries, cassis, rose petals, spices and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and rich, with a fleshy core of fruit framed by powdery tannins and bright acids, it concludes with a long, saline, gently oak-inflected finish. This blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc is maturing in 40% new barrels.

Jane Anson
95/100 punten
Always one of the benchmark wines of a vintage, and here showcasing the quality of Cabernet Sauvignon in 2023 (as well as the potential for varying yields, as they are down at 30hl/h here). Well balanced, great depth of ink, cassis, bilberry and damson fruits, rises through the palate, with tannic grip and plenty of grilled but carefully judged oak. A great Chevalier, not perhaps at the very top of recent vintages here, but one that will give huge amounts of pleasure, and captures the great classicsm of the year. 35% new oak for ageing, Bernard family owners.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independent)
(94-96)/100 punten
The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier has a deep garnet-purple color. It is a little broody and oaky to start, needing coaxing to bring out a gorgeous core of black cherries, redcurrants, and cassis, with underlying hints of violets and forest floor. The medium to full-bodied palate has a solid frame of firm, grainy tannins and bright acidity supporting the muscular fruit, finishing long and minerally. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc.

Jeb Dunnuck
(94-96)/100 punten
Cassis, spring flowers, graphite, black cherries, and some smoky nuances all emerge from the 2023 Domaine De Chevalier, another medium to full-bodied, concentrated, incredibly impressive Pessac that has ripe tannins and a great finish. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 5% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, and it's aging in one-third new oak, mostly in barrels, but there's a small portion in foudre.

Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
(94-96)/100 punten
The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier is beautifully resonant in the glass. Deep, layered and quite persistent, the 2023 has so much to offer. In many vintages, this red needs time to be at its best, but this edition has enough forward fruit to make me think it will drink well with minimal cellaring, even if the acids remain brisk. Graphite, dried herbs, menthol, licorice and rose petal build into the tense, saline-infused finish. The 2023 is all finesse.

Neal Martin (Vinous)
(94-96)/100 punten
The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier was picked from September 7 to 30 and contains 13% alcohol. This is quintessential “DdC” on the nose: black fruit, sous-bois and hints of black olive at first, subtle marine notes emerging with time in the glass. There’s wonderful focus and delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with pencil-shaving-tinged black fruit on the entry. Perhaps a bit grippier with more spine than one would expect (especially following the more sensual 2022), this is very traditional in style, with a tremendously long and satisfying saline finish. Superb.