December 31, 2022 - Deep yellow honey colour .
Honey, crushed herbs, sweet and zesty.
Richly flavoured , dried herbs and honeysuckle , excellent acidity and long length, straw and honey with citrus fruits.
December 25, 2022 - Christmas Day 2022 (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Honeyed, richer nose than the 2001, a little butter and cream accompanies the apple notes. Feels a little more forward, there is a little umami note here as well. Medium plus intensity acidity feels a little sharp, apple and bruised apple flavours with honey, wet stone and umami, quite tangy as well, complex, Interesting
February 23, 2022 - Coravin fun - Domaine de Chevalier; 2/23/2022-3/6/2022 (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Like the 2001 a little lanolin, lime, but also sweet spice, very slight menthol and a touch of cats pee. With time herbs and tomato leaf as well as a little honey, cream and butter. It's quite rich on the palate but still with medium plus intensity acidity, plenty of tannic grip on the mid palate and gums, lime and slight herbaceousness sit beneath this. All travel long.
July 25, 2021 - First of three bottles.
Cork in excellent condition.
Not decanted but probably should have been.
Pale hue; especially considering the barrel fermentation.
At first, the oak was very present on the nose but with time it subsided.
Beautiful savory notes emerge including some pine notes, kumquat, white flowers, melon.
Very nice texture with just a gentle presence of oak, good acidity and freshness. Long, clean finish on the citrus side.
This still had substantial life left in it ( 5-10 years) Held up for 48 hours in open bottle. Not bad for a 19 year old wine...
October 3, 2020 - Initially presented as old and over the top but then after 30 mins took on a new life, showing almonds and marzipan, caramel and roast lemons. freshness still backing the medium bodied wine. Long and complex. Drink up.
August 26, 2020 - Perfect cork and level.
Lightly golden but really quite pale for such an age.
Clean, pure fragrance of dried herbs, citrus, soft spice. Nothing oxidative.
Classic flavours, delicacy from its age, soft lanolin and crushed herbs, great acidity, long clean crisp finish. Nothing heavy, a delight to drink.
December 7, 2019 - From Coravin. Honey, lemon, green apple, slight cedar and dry wood, floral top notes, a little butter and cream. medium plus acidity, tastes like beechams cold and flu lemon and honey flavour with a soft mid palate burr. Long. Kind of yum.
February 25, 2018 - Domaine de Chevalier lunch (Macleay Street Bistro, Potts Point): The appearance is clear and pale lemon in colour. Tears are present.
On the nose, the wine appears to be oxidised (walnut) and has a medium(+) intensity. The oxidised character is quite prominent initially, but dissipates slightly with swirling, allowing the wine to reveal notes of green fruit (green apple), oak (vanilla), and very subtle bottle age (honey). The wine is developing.
On the palate, the wine is dry with medium acidity, medium alcohol, and medium(-) body. The flavours have a medium intensity and show notes of oxidation (walnut), green fruit (sour green apple), oak (vanilla), vegetable (peas), and bottle age (honey). The finish has a medium(+) length, with the honey note building on the finish.
This is a good quality wine. The flavours are distinct and concentrated and have a great balance with the alcohol and the acidity. The oak treatment is well-integrated complementing the flavour profile. The oxidised character was concerning at first but did mellow out, and surprisingly enough worked well with the bottle age note. That said, I believe the wine would have been more enjoyable if the fault was not present. The wine is complex showing primary, secondary, and tertiary characteristics. The finish is pleasant and has a great length.
The wine drinks well now, and is not suitable for further ageing. This conclusion was tricky due to the oxidisation. On the nose I called it developing; it is showing primary, secondary, and tertiary notes. I would prefer to consume it now however, as it may not improve with age, particularly if the oxidisation becomes overpowering. [Those of you with more experience, help me out and provide your thoughts below.]
February 25, 2018 - Domaine de Chevalier Birthday lunch (McLeay Street Bistro, Potts Point): Oxidised and maderised though still drinkable. Apple and honey, slight stone fruit, juicy tangy, slight lemon and apple. Nice despite it's forwardness.
February 21, 2018 - Coravin fun - Dom. de Chevalier checking (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Gooseberry, marzipan and green pea with honey, toast, slight butter and lime and an oxidised and maderised note. That oxidised note is more to the fore on the palate and the flavours a little subdued. It has some mid palate breadth and finishes with an almond meal, almost oaty, note. Puts me in mind of aged Hunter Semillon. Might be on it's uppers.