Domaine de Chevalier 2013

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is excellent. Blueberry, black currant and stone aromas and flavors. Medium body, lovely density, fine tannins and a bright finish. A triumph for the vintage. Drink or hold."

DECANTER: "Extremely easy to immediately enjoy the rich and ripe fruit character on the nose on this wine, it’s not got the complexity of some vintages but is delivering gorgeous depth of expression, charcoal, cassis, liquorice, heather, soft black pepper spicing, a great job in a tough year with a lovely touch of exuberance. One that will surprise people."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "One of the successes from Pessac-Léognan, this refined, structured wine is singing already with its fruitiness. Ripe and forward, it is developing into a medium-bodied, perfumed wine that will be ready to drink relatively quickly. Drink from 2019."

WEINWISSER: "Tiefes Purpur, satt in der Mitte, Granatschimmer am Rand. Süssliches Bouquet, rotes Kirschenkompott, Redcurrant-Pastillen, laktische Noten, er hat aber auch etwas Verspieltes in sich. Im Gaumen mit frischer Frucht, Veilchentöne, angenehmes Extrakt, dezent kernige Rasse im Innern zeigend. Nicht zu unterschätzender Wein mit einem Potenzial von gut 20 Jahren."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Elegant, medium bodied, forward style of Domaine de Chevalier, with sweet, fresh, bright cherries, spice, cassis and hints of tobacco to round things out. The blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, coupled with severe selection are a large part of what helped this wine become so successful in this difficult vintage."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2013 Domaine de Chevalier has a refined bouquet, laid back and languorous with blackberry, briary notes, a touch of bay leaf developing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, quite edgy tannin, nicely balanced and fresh with a simple but harmonious finish. It's the kind of 2013 that you'll just enjoy as a fine Claret, leaving you with a smile on your face. This constitutes a very commendable effort in such a challenging vintage, the bottom line being that it is one of the most pleasurable releases in 2013."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, schwarzer Kern, violette Reflexe, reifes schwarzes Beerenkofit, feine Kräuterwürze, ein zarter Hauch von Edelholz. Saftig, frisch, stoffige Kirschenfrucht, lebendige Struktur, mineralischer Nachhall, dezente Fruchtsüße im Finale, ein facettenreicher Essensbegleiter."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This has a dark, almost brooding persona, with plum, black currant and black cherry fruit, inlaid with an ample warm road tar note. Shows lots of smoldering tobacco on the finish. Slightly rustic tannins pinch just a bit at the end, but otherwise this is a gutsy and solid effort."