Domaine de Chevalier 2016

JAMES SUCKLING: "Aromas of blackberries, red and dark plums, cedar and gravel, as well as red flowers and brown-leaf tea. It offers a very sleek and powerful array of ripe dark fruit and a very plush, focused and elegant bed of fresh, fine and powerful tannins. Plenty of aging potential, this is still quite tight. A blend of 55 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 35 per cent merlot, five per cent cabernet franc and five per cent petit verdot. Try from 2024."

WEINWISSER: "Tiefes Granat. Schon im verführerischen Bouquet mit dunklen Kirschen, blumigen Veilchennoten und Brombeergelee – was für eine Eleganz, zum Ausflippen! Dahinter Schokopralinen. Am burgundischen Gaumen mit grosser Raffinesse, das leicht mehlige Tannin zeigt noch weitere Reserven an, im langen Finale mit viel Frische, Charme und feinen Aromen von schwarzer Johannisbeere und Pflaume. Ein ganz grosser Domaine de Chevalier! Bravo!"

JEB DUNNUCK: JEB DUNNUCK:"As to the reds, the 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc that saw an extended maceration, malo in barrel, and 18 months in just 35% new French oak. This deep purple-hued beauty boasts a powerful bouquet of tobacco smoke, damp earth, gravelly, rocky minerality, wood smoke, and loads of dark fruits. Full-bodied, deep, concentrated yet incredibly elegant and seamless on the palate, it’s a legendary Chevalier in the making. While I rated this as high as 99 points on one of the four separate occasions I was able to taste it, I’m being conservative with the score. it has some upfront charm but needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will keep for 3-4 decades."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER:"There is a depth of color and an even better depth of flavor. Smoke a Cohiba Behike in a fruit orchard and you get the idea of the perfume. On the palate, there are layers of elegant, silky textured fruits with sweetness, purity and richness. The finish keeps on going. The wine here is known for aging, so give it 12 years or more before opening a bottle and drink over the next 20-25 years, at least! There is no doubt, this is the finest vintage of Domaine de Chevalier Rouge ever produced, although the 2018 could be even better in the years to come!"

DECANTER: "The nose is a little less open at this stage than some of the others, but it’s clearly hiding layers of complexity. Chevalier suits a year like 2016, when the fruit was able to take its time to ripen. It's notably more tannic than most of the other wines in the line up, and will take its time to come round. It has brooding cassis and blackberry fruit, firm tannins and touches of tobacco and smoked sarments. There's no question that this will age well."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: WINE ENTHUSIAST:"This elegant wine wears its firm tannic structure lightly. It is densely textured, just starting on its road to maturity. Black-plum and berry fruits give the wine its weight as much as the tannins. It will age well over many years. Drink from 2026."

WINE SPECTATOR: "The core of fruit flavor here is sappy and dense, with lots of kirsch, raspberry pâte de fruit and plum reduction notes, yet this stays fresh and racy overall, with a bright iron spine, flashes of tea and tobacco and a long finish that shows a wonderful infusion of alder and tobacco flavors. Offers a lovely combination of prodigious fruit details, with a tug of earth. Best from 2024 through 2038."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it rocks up with expressive warm plums, blueberry compote and cassis scents with suggestions of sandalwood, baking spices and potpourri. Medium-bodied and delicately styled yet with a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins, it sports restrained earth-laced fruit and a long finish."

FALSTAFF: FALSTAFF:"Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, dezente Randaufhellung, zarte Edelholzwürze, reife schwarze Kirschen, tabakige Nuancen, mineralisch unterlegt. Saftig, elegant, feines Brombeerkonfit, präsente, integrierte Tannine, würzig und anhaltend, extraktsüßer Abgang, sicheres Reifepotenzial."