Winemaker Notes
Beautiful pale gold color, green tints. Very clear. Magnificent freshness, lively and complex aromas. Citrus fruits, vineyard peaches, white flowers. On the palate, creaminess and mineral freshness followed by intense fruitiness. Beautiful structure with tension, coated by a fruity and refreshing acidity. Balance, purity and finesse are expressed with elegance.
Blend: 65% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Semillon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Refined and complex nose with a touch of cream and mineral to the salted lemons, chalk and gooseberries. Bright and fluid on the palate with a medium body and a pure, zesty finish. Long, bright and dissolved. 60% sauvignon and 40% semillon. Lovely now, but can hold, too.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A top-notch second wine, the 2021 L'Esprit De Chevalier Blanc is ripe and medium-bodied, with beautiful purity its honeyed lemon, minty herbs, and chalky, mineral-like aromas and flavors. It's beautifully balanced, has good acidity, and a kiss of salinity on the finish. I love it today yet see no reason it shouldn't evolve nicely for a decade.
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Vinous
The 2021 L'Esprit de Chevalier Blanc is a gorgeous dry white. Crushed flowers, mint, lemon peel and light tropical notes all run through this inviting, wonderfully nuanced second wine from Domaine de Chevalier. Bright acids and lifted floral accents perk up the delineated, nuanced finish.
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Decanter
Pear, red apple and lemon zest as well as grapefruit and satsuma - this is really fruity and alive on the palate, so much fun and freshness but also harmony and serenity. It's well worked and balanced, not too sharp or sour just gentle. I like the styling here, feels purposeful and delicious. Easy to appreciate with texture and structure. Excellent work.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Matured for nine months in barrels, the 2021 L'Esprit de Chevalier Blanc possesses a floral, elegant bouquet with aromas of verbena, lime tree leaves, spring flowers, pear and peach intertwined with nutmeg hints. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and juicy, it’s seamless and broad, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. It’s tenser and more vibrant than the 2022 counterpart.
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
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.