Well, everyone has been receiving a slew of Bordeaux en primeur offers, many with dramatic claims and highlighting high point scores. Despite the common rhetoric, we have been advising clients to hold off jumping into the 2015 en primeur campaign and to date we have been very circumspect with what we have elected to endorse. Not everything is as compelling as is being claimed and the campaign has stuttered rather than flown.
It is hard to talk about en primeur these days without qualifying or debating price. In general, prices are up considerably on the 2014s. In some instances we have judged this to be unwarranted, in others we have been happy to endorse a given wine on account of the quality on show. To repeat my message, 2015 does have some dramatic peaks of quality, which even with a price increase could still justify a purchase. We have also stressed that the high points tend to emanate from Pessac-Léognan (Graves), Margaux and Pomerol as well as St. Emilion to some extent.
One such wine that captured our attention is Domaine de Chevalier. I have been a fan of Olivier Bernard’s Pessac-Léognan estate for many years, having been impressed by some less heralded vintages as much as by the more touted. The 2015 has terrific balance, with succulent ripe fruit and a level of richness that is not always in evidence. The classic mineral accent is present and so is the hallmark elegance, perhaps here taken to a higher level. Domaine de Chevalier has excelled in 2015 and this vintage would rank with some of their very best. I would certainly advocate grabbing a case here.
2015 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge
(95-97) Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate
£465 per 12 bottle case in bond
The 2015 Domaine de Chevalier is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot picked from 23 September until 15 October at just 35 hl/ha, matured in 35% new oak. It has a sophisticated bouquet that is more reserved than its peers. It possesses one of the most precise, detailed aromatic profiles that I have encountered from this estate, wonderfully poised with black fruit, incense and cold stone. It has wonderful focus and class. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin, very complex with lightly peppered black fruit. What marks this Domaine de Chevalier is the reserve and precision on the finish, a wine that is holding something back for its secondary evolution, a salinity that beckons you back for another sip. What a fabulous, intellectual wine from Olivier Bernard. Expect four decades of drinking pleasure - probably more - given my experience of ancient vintages. Tasted three times with consistent notes. Drinking : 2022 to 2055