Domaine de Chevalier L'Esprit de Chevalier 2016
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
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Wine
Spectator
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Wonderful, fragrant blackberry and cherry nose with a delicate touch of oak. Concentrated and elegant with a beautiful balance of finely etched dry tannins and very bright acidity. Long, crisp and minerally finish with a ton of energy. Second wine of Domaine de Chevalier. A blend of 45 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 45 per cent merlot and ten per cent petit verdot. Try in 2021.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The second wine of the estate is the 2016 L'Esprit de Chevalier, one of the top second wines out there. Offering a deep ruby color as well as a classic Graves bouquet of mulled cherry and blackberry fruits, leafy herbs, tobacco, and loamy earth, it’s medium to full-bodied, textured, and loaded with character. Drink it over the coming decade or so.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 L'Esprit de Chevalier offers up exuberant black cherries, blackberry and warm plums scents with touches of baking spices and tobacco. Medium-bodied, it has a firm, grainy texture and plenty of freshness supporting the generous, juicy black fruit in the mouth, finishing spicy.
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Decanter
Lovely, well-judged extraction here with a kick of spice and black cherry fruits. The body is rich and dark purple with a clear elegance to the core of the wine. The tannins are evident, and give an extra kick. Good quality.
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Wine Spectator
This has a nice polished, rounded feel, with alluring tobacco and toasty cedar notes amidst gently mulled plum and cherry fruit flavors. Accessible in feel too.
Other Vintages
2019-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck - Decanter
Only a great terroir can produce a great wine... I often start out with these words when speaking about Domaine de Chevalier. They convey our fundamental philosophy, not only with regard to viticulture, but also the spirit that pervades the estate and the men and women who work here. They improve their already considerable skills year after year on behalf of that which is most essential to a fine wine; in my opinion balance.
Olivier Bernard
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.