HWS Bordeaux 2009 vs 2010 (By me): Beautiful and luxurious, complex bouquet with dark berries and violets. On the palate delicious juice with beautiful acidity and tannin with still a good bite and a great length. Very tempting wine already but with a few more years of cellaring it will show even more finesse.
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Opened and poured out a glass and let the bottle site for a few hours. Ready for drinking. I don’t have tremendous experience with aged Bordeaux, but I don’t think this would benefit from further cellaring. Ripe raspberries and eucalyptus flavors. Delicious!
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Decanted 2 hours and drank over another hour. Not Wowed at all. Pretty one dimensional really. Tannins are soft. More cellaring isn’t going to improve it. Smooth drinking but really average. Why I’m inclined not to spend a lot for these Modern Bordeaux’s. It’s good but not great.
Dekantert lenge. Vanskelig å holde fingrene unna denne tilnærma perfekte pessacen. I perfekt balanse, mørk, herrevin, sikkert perfekt til mat, men jeg tar den bar. Minst like god dag 2. Dette er bare herlig.
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It needed no more thatn a 2-hour decant...had already lost much of its fruitiness after three hours. It met my expectations for a Chevalier. We really enjoyed it.
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Mark supplied for our CKH French wine dinner. Nose was a bit reticent, some feint aromas of black cherry. Medium body, on the lush side in terms of fruit--cassis and blackberry. Some chocolate notes too. Fairly short finish. The wine is mostly just fruit right now. Still very much in its primary stage. Needs time. Decant if you must open now
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Opened poured a small glass and left open for 2h. Beautiful but still primary. Kept improving over the following 1 to 2 hours. Will need a few more years to reach maturity, yet irresistible now.
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Started off.. tight with a shy nose. Then.. after an hour, develops cassis and layers of dark chocolate on the palate.
Such a silky mouthfeel too. As this developed and blossomed over our 3 hours lunch, the ripe blackfruits revealed themselves, with that medium-level acid spine.
64% Cab, 30% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot.
With the concentration, I struggled to identify this as a LB Bordeaux! This is from the magnificent 2009 vintage, and it just goes to show there are gems such as this which are so enjoyable today. Has it already been 15 years!
28th Jan 2024 Farm to Plate - Damansara Kim, Malaysia
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The nose had perfect balance between blackberry, minerals, rocks, dried meat and cedar.
Fantastic in the mouth, archetypical Bordeaux and Graves with minerals and a vast array of dark berries. Still present tannins, but for me, super for drinking now.
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Lovely wine, in its prime. 30 min to breathe and ready to go. Not a profound wine, but good drinking and worth the price! Has years ahead of it as well. I’d say peaking until ‘27?
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Dark red in colour. 2 hour decant in cellar. Nose is somewhat muted, but is there is classic Bordeaux. Woodsy forest floor and dark berries. Medium body, but overall light, mainly good (floats in the air) but perhaps a little hollow in the middle. Tannins have softened beautifully and balance nicely with the acidity. Lingers for a good long while. This seems more than ready to enjoy now, why wait when it is this darned yummy now.
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Absolutely wonderful. 2.5 hour decant thru Rabbit. Nose very restrained, but super forest fruit flavours. Delicious now, but further improvement to come. This was a second bottle, the first being corked.
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Decanted for 2-3 hours. Thick with nice mouthfeel and deep colour. But not giving up much by way of nose or palate. Longer decanting may help (will try another bottle soon to test) but I suspect it just needs a few more years in bottle. I last had this in January 2018 and it was wonderful, so it's probably in an adolescent phase and I have confidence it will come round eventually.
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Oh wow this is wonderful, albeit very 2009 and denser than you might expect. Give it at least 3 and better 4 hours in a decanter and it will reward you. Has at least 5 more years of development I would say. First of two bottles.
Drank at Between the Trees. I had half of the bottle. Vvv
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Dark ruby/purple. After 1 hour decant, the nose pops from glass with red and black fruits and loads of earthiness. Perhaps some smoke. The tannins are beautifully rounded and soft and expressive. The body is medium full, and while juicy and delicious, seems a little light in taste - it doesnt really carry that long. Perhaps it could use more time. Maybe I should decant longer - lets see what it is like tomorrow.
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Coravin fun - Domaine de Chevalier rouge (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Reticent. With time and vigorous agitation it starts to show ripe plums and blackcurrant that has a concentrated note, alcohol prickle. Juicy, densely fruit but not overdone, alcohol present but not dominant, tannins are talc textured, all persist long. Better than I remember previous tastings.
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Decanted about an hour before dinner. Two hours might have been better. I like this wine a lot, it has the complexity that marks fine Bordeaux. It is very pleasant in the mouth, and a wonderful, lingering finish.
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Decanted 4 hours before serving. This was singing and the extra hour seemed to be the difference between this bottle and the bottle last week? Not that the bottle last week was bad - it was very good. But same conditions and the extra hour seemed to matter. A-/A
Decanted 3+ hours. This is really nice with the decant. It does show the heat of the vintage and frankly I preferred the 2010 tasted along side of it but it is still really good and others preferred it this evening but it is very 2009. A-
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Pristine bottle, perfect level and cork. Opened four hours in advance, decanted for two hours. Firing on all cylinders. Wonderful nose, open and expressive, red and black cherries, raspberry, warm bricks and tobacco, cardamom, fresh and minerally, spicy depth; ripe and flowing palate, rich but fresh and elegant, gentle grip from powdery tannins, energetic; finishes with a hint of smoky tea, very good length. Ready for business, especially with food (we enjoyed it with steak au poivre), good future.
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1st bottle of 12. 3.5 hour decant; served at 20C. CS66%, M28%, PV 6%. 13.5%.
I love Domaine de Chevalier and have been privileged to drink 1982, 1983, 1985, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2014 dating back to 1995. Later wines are dramatically different to earlier wines; bigger, richer, more PV, consistently well-made, substantial and rarely thin, under-ripe, and weedy. Olivier deserves so much praise for what he has done with this vineyard and Bordeaux in general!
2005 is probably my favourite vintage of this wine, but it is still not in its optimal drinking window. So, what about 2009 . . .
First, the colour is impressive; rich, dark, dense with brilliant luster. It just looks rich and plush. You definitely want to drink this wine on appearance alone.
The nose is black fruit, a tiny bit of smoke, bramble, a bit of cherry pipe tobacco. Subdued, but hints of Pessac-Leognan. It smells plush and rich but not alcoholic.
Indeed, plush it is from the first sip. Wow, amazing. It is SO 2009. And that so 2009 profile is a blessing and a curse.
Taste; it is plush as, totally delicious, drinkable, and enjoyable. You really can't fault this wine. But it is totally not classic DdC or Pessac-Leognan. The 2005 is classic, when you drink it, you know it is Bordeaux, Pessac-Leognan, and maybe DdC. The 2009: if tasted blind, I would never guess DdC at this stage in its evolution. It could so easily be described as a well-made Australian Bordeaux blend (Mount Mary, Shadrach, Cullen Diana Madeline, Wantirna Amelia) but richer than all but the Shadrach.
Rich but not overblown, black and red fruit, 100% smooth. Again, plush. It's liquid velvet. Oak was noticeable upon opening, after 4+ hours completely integrated. Tastes richer than 13.5% but no alcohol heat. Fantastic with food. Impressive, enjoyable, entertaining and a real talking point to any meal.
This wine reminds more of the later harvest vintage 2014 (but with a lot more oomph) than it does of 2010, 2005, or 2000. It is so much better than 2003 which meteorologically might be the closest vintage. The wine grew on me considerably over the course of the meal as I accepted it for what it was (2009), and not a bigger version of my favourite vintage, 2005. That's the beauty of great wine. Like art, it's 100% subjective.
I have been opening more and more 2009 over the past six months and here are my general thoughts. The entry level wines almost always punch above their price point and prestige. Are the top tier wines distinct enough and worthy of the price and praise? Still to be determined, but I hope so. Time will tell, but you can really enjoy this wine now with a 3 hour decant. Try it, and write about it.
This was in a lovely place. Rounded fruit, just enough Cabernet leafy bite to it to retain freshness. A real sense of fruit purity came through, complemented by tertiary that became more pronounced with air. So much better than the first bottle I had several years ago. Drink now with no regrets, but doesn't feel like it's falling apart either.
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This is still in a primary stage, and to be honest I can't see through the tannin at this stage, particularly end palate and on the finish. You get a sense of its nuance and potential complexity, but at present it is a bit of a rustic drinker. Another example of critics being over optimistic on drinking windows. Admittedly a few 2009s are enjoyable at present, but most need another 5 years. A post note. I saved a glass for the next day and it was transformative, and I am optimistic that I could be scoring this mid 90s or higher in a few years.
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Fleshes out with air, medium to full bodied, great texture with graphite, pencil lead and forest floor/bramble notes adding interest to the cacao and dark fruit notes.
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Ouvert 3 heures puis dégusté durant 3 heures. Robe prune brillante. Au nez, cassis, framboises, havane, âtre. En bouche, suave, rond, sexy avec un bel équilibre, une petite touche herbacée en fin de bouche. On peut commencer à le boire avec de la réserve.
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Coravin fun - Domaine de Chevalier (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. A little ripe dark hued fruit tends to the slightly jammy almost stewed notes, also smells 'dense', a little cedar, touches of cola, plenty of sweet spice and a tiny almost tomato leaf underpin. Medium plus intensity acidity, it's juicy with those overripe fruits, but also slightly green notes and a touch of bitterness for me, slight non-intrusive alcohol warmth, tannins are quite talc textured. Hmm.
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9 years since my last (en arrivage) note on this wine but I thought I had it once or twice in the meantime. A wine that has always shown superbly and one of the best values in 2009 in my eyes. Deep dark fruit but also beautiful freshness that provides a lift that sometimes is missing in 2009, particularly in Graves and the Right Bank. Oak, and also tannins are nicely integrated in the still fairly youthful fruit so not a mistake to open now but can wait just as well. Hence drink over the next 30 years at your leisure.
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Black fruit, olive, mint, dry tobacco, and stony pepper round out a dark and lush looking red. Certainly would benefit greatly for a decant but tannins are decently integrated with more to come in 3-5 years. Long and tight finish improving w time. Upside from here.
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4-5 hour decant is necessary at this stage, otherwise the wine is muted.
Still lots of primary fruit at this stage but leather cedar and tar starting to show. Drinking good now but peak is still a long way tk go. I would say 5-6 years for more tertiary aromas to come tk the forefront.
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Pronounced nose intensity with notes of green, black fruits, toast, earth. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Drinking perfectly now. Drank from magnum.
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So primary at first taste. Decanted and let sit in the cellar for 5 hours. Nose closed until it warmed up a little, revealing some singed alder and slight tobacco and forest floor. Palate was sorta monolithic to me. Dark cherry at the front with certainly deeper flavors underneath that have yet to unfurl themselves, hiding within a thick scaffolding of tannin and acid. Seemed too young.
Since the bottle was opened and there being other taty beverages around, I sampled this slowly over the course of 6 to 8 hours. Nose opened up to such nice aromas: graphite, iron, smoked meat, cassis, eucalyptus. The palate also opened up to allow some of those layers of red fruited flavors to unfurl.
Def will only get better...maybe wait another year for next bottle since this is the first of the case, and probably with more air.
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Opened 5 hours before drinking. Youthful, deep ruby in color and very intense. Nose of dark black fruit, cedar, eucalyptus, bramble, anise. On the palate, soft tannins and consistent with the nose. Medium acidity. This should last well into the 2030s and will likely improve with time.
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I really like how this Pessac matures! Showing even better on day two. Medium to full body and true to its terroir, showing poise and heaps of graceful elegance. The long and soft finish carries still some unresolved tannins which offers a solid backbone at the moment. This is really enjoyable now, but the best is yet to come. (93-95pts) Super lovely.
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Notes from memory. Was accessible after an hour in the decanter. The Merlot gives this nice, round edges. Lots of plums, blackcurrant, crushed rock, and dark cherry spices. Still good acidity for the vintage, but not sure how much better this will get. Drink 2022-2026. Technical score: 92. Enjoyment score: 92.
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Recently purchased and paid top dollar to see if I like this producer enough to buy younger vintages and then hold until mature. The cork was dry and broke apart. Wine was flat, not rotten, just no fruit or backbone.
Blackcurrant and graphite with a touch of undergrowth (which I like) followed by a smoky, bittersweet chocolate finish. Big bodied and not overblown by the hot vintage. There are plenty of soft tannins to keep this wine for decades. Drinking well now but almost too big bodied for my taste so I may enjoy it more in time. A dark tasting wine that lacks a few high notes.
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This is evolving slowly and hasn't really budged since I last tasted this in 2019. Black cherry, gravel, ink, subtle potpourri on the nose with nice depth on the palate. There is an interesting viscosity to the mouthfeel, but it stays just on the right side of the line. Gravelly, smoky finish.
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Decanted one hour and 20 minutes. Tasted and thought it didn’t need more air so poured back in the bottle. Poured half glasses 45 minutes later. Now it is like butter. So smooth and round but much softer than I imagined. Not tannic at all. I don’t see how more ageing helps this wine. Some barnyard, Old world nose that no Napa wine can duplicate. Keep trying Napa.
2 hour decant. Dark fruit, including a hint of cherry. Tannins were smooth, making this a pleasurable drinker. I may have been expecting something different here. I loved it, regardless.
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30 Min decant and this was ready to go. Very enjoyable quite ripe red and black fruits plums cherries some Spice quite fresh medium body which gives an easy plush freshness. Drinking really well now but has the stuffing to hold together and reveal complexity over time.
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Deep dark reddish-purple garnet in color with no signs of aging. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, cassis & plums with earthy/dusty & herbal overtones, floral notes, spices, leather, coffee, minerals, some dark cocoa & a hint of vanilla/oak in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, plush, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries & plums with herbs, minerals, olives, spices & oak. Lingering finish. Drinks well at present with decanting & extended airing although it should develop further with additional aging.
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Fresh and ripe plums, mulberries, leather and toasted cumin on the nose. Spicy palate, the fruity and dried herbs dominated the medium-bodied mid-palate. Finish is velvety and slightly bitter. Still evolving, try again in 3-5 years.
Drinking very nicely now but as other noted, room to evolve. Lovely nose of plums and leather. Very fruity on the palate. This was slow oxed for a few hours before lunch on the boat. Some found the finish slightly bitter, I did not. I would say that I prefer reds in the evening, not at lunch in the middle of the heat. We have asked the chef to switch our meals around so we have a lighter fish lunch (with white wine or champagne) and then a heavier dinner where we can enjoy our reds. I think under these circumstances we will prefer our second bottle more.
Opened the bottle and let it breathe for one hour. Refined nose with blackcurrants, cassis, some plums, some oak and forest floor, plus a hint of alcohol.
Nice balance with good acidity, dark fruits, a bit of oak, coffee, tobacco, and pencil; tannins seemed integrated almost fully, with a medium long ending that showed a hint of hot alcohol and refined vanilla.
Overall, still young but already in its drinking window - I would drink within the next 7-8 years and probably I will wait 2-3 years to open my next bottle to see how it develops. Excellent!
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Decanted for 2 hrs, deep ruby, dark fruit with a touch of vanilla, med. tannins, long finish, very Californian on both nose & palate; outstanding, drink or hold. I find this profile is common in the 09s. For those that do not want their Bordeaux reds to taste like CA reds, I would rate this lower.
Decanted 1.5 hours. Lifted bouquet of cassis and some floral topnotes. Palate is concentrated kirsch/casssis liquer with notable sweetness and some cigar leaf notes adding complexity. Tannins resolved. Great heft and mouthfeel, and a long, balanced final.
Very complete and balanced, just entering a long plateau of goodness.
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One of the best Bordeaux’s I’ve had in a while. Paired with Butcher Boy steak tips ( best you can find anywhere) and gone in a flash. Really smooth you can’t stop drinking it. It’s really about the mouthfeel and balance. Red currant, shade of sour dark cherry. Yum.
Decanted an hour, but needed a bit more than that. Quite closed on the nose at open. Dark, concentrated fruit that is enjoyable with a good decant but still a few years from ready. A hint of roasted fruit on the nose that seemed to go away at about 2 hours, at which point this was very enjoyable but still all about the rich fruit and not yet showing any secondary elements. Would decant at least 2 hours if drinking now but better in a few years. A-/?
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Helder donker robijnrode kleur - Neus van toast, champignons en braambes - In de mond krachtige wijn, nog primaire smaken van zwart fruit, kruiden, tabak, romige chocolade, grafiet en wat groene appel - Lange zijdezachte afdronk.
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Very dark, almost impenetrable ruby purple. Great nose of pure clean red- berry fruit along with a hint of wood smoke and minerals. On the palate, the first thing that grabs you is the purity of the fruit. Not overpowering or extracted, just clean and concentrated and healthy. It reminds me very much of the Haut Bailly 2009 in this respect. There is some real tension and power here, like a coiled spring, but the overall impression is of shimmering healthy fruit. A delicious glass of wine. Perhaps needs a few more years to really shine. Drink the excellent 2012 while you're waiting.
Monthly Tasting Group HWS: Bordeaux 2005 vs 2009 (by DJ): The bouquet is still locked but shows dark berries and a firm and good dose of cedar and oak. On the palate dark berries, beautiful oak and a pleasant amount of bitterness. Round and mouth filling juicy black and red berry fruits e.g. blackberries. Beautiful acidity and round tannin. In the long finish espresso and a pleasant touch of sweetness. 94+
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I continue to be slightly underwhelmed by this wine. Characteristic lead pencil, but with more abundant fruit than the 05. Overall a smooth and pleasant drinking experience but sadly the complete absence of acidity prevents any claim to greatness. Final wine of a wallet lightening evening at Shanahans.
Notes similaires à ceux du 04/24/2021. Triste...ma dernière bouteille. Nose: cedary spice, raspberry jam, brown sugar, dusty old leather... Ripe red fruit flavours with oak spices. Supple and round. Soft umami feel...with a medium finish. Beautiful now. 93++
You certainly need a lot of patience with Bordeaux I was optimistic that this would be an enjoyable and approachable vintage. My advice would be if you intend sampling this give it a long decant at least 4 hours or let this rest in the cellar for another few years at least if it’s your only bottle. Initially this was very tight but with aeration this did open up and by the second half of the bottle with friends it was much more expressive and I did enjoy the contents . 92 for now but I can see this worthy of a few more points with further aging.
Getting to the stage much like stick or twist, fading rim no discernable improvement since the last bottle, still has all the hallmarks of a classic Bordeaux without being a great wine, very enjoyable, but no real change and time to drink up in my humble opinion, no rush but no cause to leave any longer.
Coravin fun - Domaine de Chevalier; 2/23/2022-3/6/2022 (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Slightly metallic, cream, plenty of sweet spice and red and blackcurrant fruit, with time a little wet earth, plum and liquorice. The fruit has a slightly jammy quality on the palate. Tannins are chalky but in a supporting role, a creamy note joins on the long finish. Hmm.
Ouvert et bu durant 2+ heures. Robe prune grenat, brillante. Arômes de cassis, d’âtre froid, de havane, d’épices aussi, un soupçon de selle de cheval. Belle attaque généreuse, souple mais droit, concentré, plutôt hédoniste que complexe, un filet d’acidité, des tanins polis et une belle finale qui donne envie de se resservir. Digeste et excellent, se boit déjà très bien…pour mes goûts.
Takes a bit to come together, but afterwards, really on point. Toast with jam, red currants, cigar tobacco….. Great showing. Should continue to evolve positively.
Gang of 4 in Covid19 times; Bordeaux, Pessac (@ RW): The bouquet is lush but still quite locked. There are plenty of ripe dark berries though. On the palate juicy dark and red berry fruits. chocolate, some sweetness, and juicy acidity. A refined and still youthful wine with a promise for the future. Wait another 5 – 10 years for even more finesse. 93 – 94++
Started off relatively restrained but with time it got sweeter and more plummy. This is the spoofy, modern kind of Bordeaux that I really dislike - over-ripe dark fruit with a smooth and polished texture that ended up like a milkshake. Worse on the second day as the make-up disintegrated.
Fourth bottle from my case and the best so far. This is really starting to open up and show what it's made of. The colour has mellowed with some lightening at the rim now and some foxy hints creeping in. The nose is all dark brambly fruit, ash and gravel - typical Graves. Rich and mouth filling on the palate with some grippy tannings and acidity keeping everything in balance. Quintessential left bank Bordeaux. As in previous bottles, there is a hint of funk on the nose but in a good way. Delicious.
Current pricing puts this at about £75 on the table, a (relative) bargain for the vintage and quality and 30% the price of some of the Medoc second growths. I can see a long future ahead for this wine but if you have few bottles, definitely worth opening one and enjoying now.
VinoLaprisco Tasting (Restaurant Fifth, Eindhoven, NL): A blend of 60% Cabernet-Sauvignon 30% Merlot, with 6% Petit Verdot. Complete and rich wine, tobacco and crushed red fruits,smooth texture with powerful tannins covered in flesh. A classic Domaine de Chevalier, drinking well now – 2040+.
What a great wine- needed the full three hours but could have used more. Lots of dark red fruit, some hints of black fruit, leather, earth; soft tannins and acid greatly complement the overall mouthfeel. Great wine now but will improve even more over the next couple of years. Hold until 2023 or decant for 4-5 hours. 92+
Fruits (blackberry, cassis) are well balanced with acidy and melted tannins. The wine is dark and full. Tertiary notes will improve over time but it's not a crime to pop a bottle now (min. 2 hours decant).
Appearance: dark ruby/cherry. Nose: medium intensity, blackcurrant, plum, kirsch, tobacco leaf, earth, cloves and a hint of lavender. Palate: medium bodied, great harmony. Persistent finish. Fine, well integrated tannins. Understated style. Outstanding.
Needs some time in the glass to mellow. Upon opening this was quite tannic and very ripe. With some time the aromatics opened up a little (not much) and this became much more approachable. Still ripe and has low acidity so not the best food pairing. Disappointing given the reviews on CT. I would have guessed California, but that was the style in this time period.
Beautiful cassis, blackberry earthy nose. Dark berry fruit, balanced acidity and tannins produce a lovely mouthfeel that continues in a lengthy savory finish. Yum!
Arômes : sous-bois, café torréfié, groseille et cassis, ainsi que des notes florales...très beau ! Rond et gras avec des tannins fins bien intégrés. Velouté, frais et fruité...fruits rouges et noirs mûrs. Le tout en finesse ! Un vin élégant et harmonieux. Finale moyenne à longue. Boire d'ici 2029 mais délicieux maintenant ! 93+
Such a delight to sniff the wonderful cedar, tobacco and baked cherry aromas, mellow with softened tannins and easy acidity, balanced with delicate and fine tuned nuances of red plum, tea leaves, orange bitters, earthy stones and dried cranberry, a capsule of weightless glory awaits my every sip, such a classic, drinking perfectly now with more life ahead, enjoyed with filet mignon after a rough day
Quick decant and pour. Followed over a couple of hours. Very primary but the tannins are fairly integrated and the mouthfeel is very smooth. Second day no more complex or expressive on the nose. Finish goes a bit bitter.
Excellent as per my last two bottles. Speaks to the vintage. Ripe, red fruits. But focused and balanced. Vanilla. Tannins present but not jarring. Rich mouthfeel. Long finish. So good with japanese yakiniku.
Notes after 6 hours open. Extra dark ruby color with a thin hint of garnet at the rim, small amount of sediment. Profound aromas that take me straight to Left Bank, but the palate is just ripe and New World-ly enough that I would find myself hard-pressed to guess Bordeaux if given blindly. A term that I have rarely, if ever, used in a tasting note:”fleshy” is what I think applies here as well. It’s as if someone peeled a beautiful bunch of grapes and left nothing but the meat for me. I think it’s happy to serve now with extended aeration but also won’t see any decline for a very long time. 5+12+17+9= 93
Not very aromatic - some oak and vanilla, dark berries and a spice that I can't identify. Soft tannins, dark fruit and some leather. Wine became noticeably soft after the bottle had been open for more than 4 hours. Paired very well with Korean beef bulgogi and other more acidic side dishes.
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Still stubborn at this stage but the material is there for unwinding over the next few years. Barely discernible blackcurrant bouquet with still primary drak fruit & tannins on the edge of relaxing. Wait
Quite impressive, colour as you expect, bouquet partly closed (even at day two), elegant wood/vanilla, soft peppers, cherries, black currents, a hint of leather. The taste, like the bouquet, still hides a part of its dimensions, structured, dense, close to smooth, finishing with lovely bitters and lots of noticeable, but ripe tannins. Give it another 4 to 5 years.
Nearly two years on since the last bottle, this was my Christmas dinner wine with rib of beef, it went well with the beef, and is like most Bordeaux of any quality a good food wine, the fading rim was there as before, the nose was a bit softer and the balance is good, quite easy drinking, but not in the great league despite being enjoyable, the last four of these I have will be consumed in the not to distant future, I see no point in waiting.
Dark ruby red starting to rust at rim. Earthy with lots of structure and tannins which are smooth and integrated. Lots of black fruit, cherry, strawberry & a hint of liquorice and black pepper at the end. Long finish, stays in the mouth. Really enjoyable now but interested to try again in 5-10 years
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There's a good bit of oak here, more so than I'd prefer. Aside from that the wine is nice with pure fruit and good texture. If I had another bottle I'd hold for a bit to see if the oak will integrate further.
Une bouteille différente de celle bue il y a 6 mois... Ouverte 1 heure avant dégustation. Robe prune, grenat. Le nez est moins expressif ce soir, cassis, graphite, très primaire encore. La bouche offre davantage d'éclat, complexité et finesse sont présentes, les tanins sont bien intégrés et la finale est de belle longueur. Très beau vin vin qui devrait encore s'épanouir durant ces 8-12 prochaines années.
Apples, berries, cherries, plums, roses, violets, pencil shavings, and truffles in the rich and elegant nose; berries, cherries, cocoas, light wood spices, wet pebbles, and honey-coated tannins on the fruity, smooth, and structured palate; very long finish; overall, 94-95 points at this stage; very enjoyable already but could evolve further in another 5-10 years; paired well with crispy roast baby duck at Le Palais restaurant in Taipei.
This wine has really come around and is drinking beautifully right now. Dense blackberries and plum with smokey tobacco. Tannins are smooth and silky with a medium long finish. Wonderful.
Gorgeous wine. Incredible structure, well balanced, wonderful acidity, long finish. Plum compote, lots of rich black fruit. The nose is a bit muted. This wine needs more time. I have 5 more and don’t plan to touch another for 3-4 years. Paired with a rib eye and sautéed mushrooms.
Coravin fun - Domaine de Chevalier rouge; 8/4/2020-8/12/2020 (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Aromas of plums, blackcurrant, a little cassis, sweet spice and a smidge of black cherry. Under this is a touch of pencil shavings, cedar and a touch of wood glue. It's a little ripe and a little soft on the palate for me and, arguably, it's a touch anonymous. Flavours are quite Ribena with a lick of black cherry, tannins are quite soft and all carries long. I would hope that time will help here as the nose promises much.
Bordal chez RPB (Margaux, Palmer, Mouton, Cos...): Aveugle. Pas de notes formelles. Mon préféré ce soir… Couleur prune, arômes sur les fruits noirs et rouges après 30 minutes, graphite, havane, tanins assimilés, long. J'ai pensé à Mission. On peut sans autre le goûter. 94-95
Dark garnet, bricking at rim. Cassis and spice on fragrant bouquet. Palate is cassis driven with a licorice aspect, fine drying tannins start with the final which draws out effortlessly here. Beautiful balance. This was my first of 12 and looking forward to enjoying the others.
From half bottle to pair some roasted high class ecological chicken legs, overripeness on the nose at first, like some mature Rioja GR, this blows of after an hour, now ripe black fruit, meaty, cigar tobacco, right from the start a rich, nearly jammy fruit, blueberry, plums, blackberry, reminds me of an very good Priorato, so this bottle is not a typical classic Bordeaux due to this very unusual vintage and the small format of this bottle, mid- to fullbodied, quiet silky driven, but with a very good structure through the lively tannin, long+ juicy dark fruit finish, I do think now it will start its prime in normal bottles in 3- 5 years, **(**-?), 91-93(+) potential
Lovely wine, improved since last summer. From 375. Blackcurrant and graphite followed by saline overtones and a bittersweet chocolate finish. Big bodied and not overblown by the hot vintage this will continue to improve for some years. I may have to get some 750s.
Inviting bouquet, complex layered fruit, very well balanced. The full-bodied '09s are drinking beautifully now and the vintage will evolve for years to come. Tip: A healthy decant will reward you.
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Dark & intense purple, cassis, blackberries, oak & toast (vanilla hints), tabacco, chocolate, strong and powerful but yet still very fresh and with good acidity and structure. Opened up after about 90min. Still juvenile but already very approachable.
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Bordeaux 2009 Grand Cru / 10-years on / tasted blind: Expressive nose of farmyard, toast and forest floor. Light palate, almost a bit too light for a higher score, but good stuff for sure and another fresh and classic wine in this wonderful and ready to drink flight.
Such a lovely wine. Blackberry, plum, tobacco, cloves. Great length, with fine tannins that flow through to the end. The acidity is just in the background. this is a wine where the elements are in harmony. Young still - I can't see this getting past its best for another decade at least.
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Clear deep ruby; clean medium nose of jammy cassis, graphite, blackberry, vanilla, black licorice and toast; dry; medium plus acidity; medium plus tannins; high alcohol; medium plus body; medium plus flavour intensity; pfn with addition of cocoa and dense jammy goodness; medium plus finish; outstanding quality; drink now or age for another 10 years; seems more new world than old world - not a bad thing! :)
Drank over 48 hours, after pnp this has a very meaty fragrance? on the nose, this blows away after the first 24 hours leading to a predominant delicious rich plum fruit, some dark cassis too, on the first day a little restrained, dominant tannin, ripe but in the foreground, on wednesday this one needed food, baked fish or meat, in the second 24 hours this bottle is the pure elegance with finesse and superb fruit, a creamy tasty flow on the midpalate, some mineralic hints like graphit, long finish, long life ahead, would recommend to wait another 5 years for a more open showing, in its really prime in approximately a decade, **(**-*****), 93,94(+) potential
Just now beginning to wake up, the wine is all about Cuban Cigars, truffle, wet earth, tobacco leaf and red plums. Medium/full-bodied, with soft, elegant, silky tannins and a ripe, sweet, luscious, fruit-filled finish with just a bit of oak left to integrate. Give this about 5 more years in the cellar and you are in for a sublime vintage of Domaine de Chevalier.
Strong dark cherries and fruit. Slight floral aromas. Silky smooth mouth feel with a medium finish. Dark color. appears to be very young still with many more years left to age in bottle.
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Tasted next to a barrel sample of 2018. Generous and expressive on the nose, notes of tobacco, spices, red and dark fruit, cedar. Polished tannins on the palate, oodles of fruit, spicy, good acidity. Nice tannic bite towards the finish, but really quite approachable at this stage. 92-94
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Berry Brothers 2018 Bordeaux en primeur (plus back vintages) (Lindley Hall, London): Somehow not as good as I remember. Feels like it has shut down a bit. The underlying material is clearly here and even in this form it is good value. But I remember a terrific bottle a few years back. So I recommend to hold as I think it is in a dull phase.
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2009 Bordeaux 10 years in the bottle 2-day horizontal; 6/23/2019-6/24/2019 (Fribourg): Part of a grand Bordeaux 2009 tasting spanning 2 days that revealed 1) a right bank struggling with overripe fruit and overwhelming tannins, 2) wide spreak between top performers and laggards, 3) left bank, and especially Margaux, outshone the right bank cousins, 4) Top wines: Palmer, Margaux, Cheval Blanc, Vieux Chateau Certan.
Tasting note: Dark berry, a tad jammy but not overripe, fresh herbs, floral aromatics and faint animal notes. Fine structure with lots of fruit and flowers on the palate. Good balance with soft tannins. Elegant and fun. A crowd pleaser and not necessary for the purists, but definitely to my liking. 95+
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Bordeaux 2009 - 10 Years On - 47 Reds; 6/23/2019-6/24/2019: 2009 Bordeaux after 10 years. 48 red wines. The left bank (average rating 94.2) clearly trumps the right bank (92.6): Elegance, purity and freshness vs over-extraction, ripeness and oxidation. But there are some winners on the right bank (Cheval, Petrus, Hosanna for now, Lafleur, Trotanoy medium-term) but the highest scores were given to left bank wines (Margaux #1 overall, Palmer, Mouton, for now, Latour, St. Juliens medium-term). I guess purists will not like the loads of oak-derived aromas which in some wines are great but can make the wines a bit slutty (Cheval, Margaux, quite a lot of right banks). But there are plenty of more classically shaped wines too. Overall, the 2009s are a lot of fun with many pockets of greatness but I would be very selective on the right bank. If you like more elegant, subtle and classic wines I would focus on 2005/2010/2016. All wines tasted blind and without decanting.
TN: Dark, ripe but not overripe fruit, roasted herb, some crushed rock on the nose. Same aromas along some crushed rocks and some red fruit on the palate. Round, suave with just slightly dry tannins. Not overly complex nor long but makes a lot of fun to drink. One that can be opened now, even without a long decant.
Average blind score 4 tasters: 93.3 Rank: 33th out of 48 wines
Excellent. I don't like to decant wines so opened a couple hours early and swirled in a Zalto glass. Warm plum pie and red licorice in nose,more of the same on the palate with a bit of pencil lead. It is a touch loose so I wouldn't wait too long to start drinking up.
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From half bottle. Opened up very quickly in decanter - say 15-20 minutes - and feels open and ready for business, if still primary. Nose began very fruity but after 2-3 hours has become much woodier (sandalwood rather than cedar?). Palate very juicy, delicious and welcoming. Cassis and a long finish that becomes more savoury and demands another sip. Doesn't seem that structured - silky and plush rather than taut - but has sufficient freshness to avoid being flabby. Doesn't have enough seriousness or magic to merit a higher score, though.
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Dinner at Wah Lok. Decanted for 3 hours. Dark purple. Pronounced aromatics. Softened tannins after decant compared to first sip. Velvety smooth. Quite dense, plush ripe fruit yet there is freshness and good balance. Already drinking well.
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Decanted and drank over 2 hours. Some Brett taint, although did not not detract much as it was subtle. Dark cherries, beef, silky and lush mouthfeel, somewhat of a short midpalate, and a medium finish.
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Two bottles decanted for an hour. Very dark, interesting nose of brambles, sweet and smooth with ripe tannins. Starting to drink well but I will hold back for another five years before trying more.
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Wow this has really come around since I first tried it two years ago. Nose was explosive after a short half hour decant. Balanced and still somewhat fruit forward. Good structure, though tannins starting to resolve. Didn't take detailed notes.
VinoLaprisco Tasting (Restaurant De Karpendonkse Hoeve *, Eindhoven, Netherlands): Finesse and intensity, understated elegance, balanced and harmonious, juicy and seamless, just entering its plateau of maturity, cedary, classic claret, smooth texture, drinking beautifully but with twenty years ahead of it. Style and substance.
A little flabby. Not sure if indicative of '09 vintage or this producer. I do think 2009 won't be as long lived as other big vintages of the same decade.
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Weekly tasting group RWP #322; Four flights of four wines; we knew nothing. (@ RW): Beautiful bouquet with dark berries, sweet spices, herbs, cedar, chocolate and vanilla. On the palate beautifully ripe dark berries, sweet spices, some sweetness and round tannin. A youthful and great wine which is already a great pleasure. (This note is a fully blind note of exactly the same wine I opened myself with some friends two days ago. The notes differ slightly, but the score was the same.)
An easy afternoon with close friends; Pessac, Pomerol, Pauillac. (@ My place): In the bouquet sweet spices, ripe dark berries, chocolate, oak and cigar box. On the palate sweet spices, graphite, dark berries, chocolate, beautiful acidity and tannin. Full bodied and a good length. Already a great and very complete wine. Can easily last another 10+ years.
Un autre belle réussite pour ce domaine. 2005 et 2010 sont superbes, 2005 commencent à peine à entrer dans sa fenêtre, 2010 y sera mais faudra l'attendre un peu plus. Complexe, racé et fin. Un fruit gourmand, des tanins fins et une finale assez longue. Tout simplement délicieux et le plus approchable des 3 millésimes cités.
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2009 Blind Tasting: Sweet and soft, blueberry, oak, cherry compote, slightly smoky and bricky, faintly floral. Suave, silky palate with excellent depth, focus and length boding well for the future? Domaine de Chevalier? Correct.
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Rich colour, youthful ruby with some brown at the edges; Jancis nailed this one when she described the nose as sandalwood lifted by Cabernet Franc notes; very classical palate, savoury, restrained and elegant for a 2009, fresh and energetic, balanced and poised, well-structured and striking a lovely balance between powerful but finely grained tannins and the ample stuffing of fruit; very good persistence, leaves the mouth dry but perfumed. At ten years of age still youthful and full of promise. Clearly a Chevalier for the longer haul - 25/30 years perhaps, well above average for modern Domaine de Chevalier rouge, which often peaks ten years earlier than that.
Certainly ready, gave it a couple of hours decant, sandalwood nose, dark cherry with an orange rim already, soft in the mouth with cherries, tannins softened, as others have noted, no need to wait for this, wonder how it will go on as it has matured quite quickly . Nice wine easy to like and drink, but not great.
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Enjoyed next to the '89. Two warm vintages, 20 years to melt the tannins in what was a fascinating lesson in texture. What was gravelly and velvety in the '09 was silky in this '89, which did show some tertiary characteristics but was no where near over the hill. Assuming this '09 has the advantage of more advanced techniques in the vineyard and cellar, it's at least a 35-year wine. -2044
Two years since my last bottle. Back then this was a tightly wound tannic beast but now it's good to go. Some colour at the rim, there's dark berries, crushed rocks and minerals on the nose along with a slightly feral element creeping in. Ferret? Much softer on the palate now, it seems to have shed the wall of fruit and tannin and seems slightly dilute even in the middle. Dry finish. Some of these 2009s seem to be evolving mighty fast.
First bottle from case of 6. Decanted for an hour. Slightly muted nose, but a gorgeous deep colour with very little change at the rim. Classic dark ripe berries - huge hit of cassis with a touch of leather. The tannins are silky smooth already. Although a gorgeous wine, I think this may be in a slightly dumb phase and I think it has even more to offer.
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Has a freshness and precision as good as most I have found in a 2009 claret. There is an exquisite balance with the fruit well defined. Restrained elegant and complex. ****(*)
Based of the region, year + the previous reviewer notes, I was really looking forward to this wine. Maybe my hopes were too high. It was balanced and mildly structured however lacked any depth, tannins or lingering aftertaste to consider it memorable. I dont think it will improve with time as it threw considerable sediment. Cheers.
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Interesting nose. Forrest and dried fruit like plums and figs, some chili powder. Very nice palate, balanced, powerful with good present fruit. Long finish, very good wine.
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after the opener without decanting blue fruits salt was an interesting acid in the wine, however, to drink intensively, half an hour later the wine was softer, the wine is ready to drink 93 points
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From a half bottle bought from the wine society. Smoky blackcurrant nose, seems quite alcoholic but is only 13.5pc - perhaps it’s the hot weather. Big bodied, dark chocolate bitterness and huge finish. Tannins are hardly noticeable and wine is drinking perfectly now yet will improve for at least 5 years. Good value.
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Might be above my pay grade as a wine taster - everything was rather muted (even after 4 hours in decanter). Nice balance, not too much alcohol. But also not too much length, palate of graphite, chocolate, forest floor. Correct and pleasant rather than wonderful.
Mini Horizontal of 2009 Left Bank: So different from the Pauillac and Margaux. Surprisingly perhaps,much more spice on the nose, otherwise all red fruit. Some acidity for sure on the palate, less tannins, and terrific balance with the red fruit. Still very young but enjoyable, the best of the three (and also more expensive, how depressing...)
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Cabernet Sauvignon 66%, Merlot 28%, Petit Verdot 6%, alcohol 13.5%. Dense crimson still with a hint of purple. But the nose and palate are already ripe. Sweet alcohol of nail remover, plum jam, blackberry, oak, vanilla, oriental spices. Very nice Pessac-Leognan. Almost full bodied. Considerable amount of sediment. Drink on the day.
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Nose is fairly muted. Ripe black plum, some cocoa. This comes to life on the palate, rich layers of red and black fruit with some stony/woody notes. Ripe present tannins. Long finish. Very satisfying wine. It will likely develop well but it's pretty good to go right now as it's just beginning to get some mature notes.
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decanted 2 hours, fragrant, with extroverted scents of mountain flowers, dried cherries and leather, traverses the mouth with a caressing mouthfeel, this has gained depth since the last bottle, wild strawberry preserves, blackberry, currant, red licorice and earthy flavors, elegant, long, the 2009 has reached a seductive state and is drinking well right now for me, however, it is still youthful and will age for a long time
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After 1 day even more intense, balance, length. Earthy notes and fruit still there, the wine opened up. Appealing sweetness. Now its future is safe to me, although the threat of loosing all tension and freshness with aging is there.
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Lots of black fruit, some tabacco/earth aromas, nice freshness, mostly well balanced but still some hard edges and tannins. Not as complex at this stage. Needs more time or a few hours of decant (popped and poured).
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Decanted 2 hours. Surprisingly well drinking. Niet sure if this promises a great future. Now delicious with restricted notes of earth, and even tobacco, besides the dark fruit. Well balanced despite its youth.
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Wine of the night in a good flight. Astonishingly approachable with 2 hours decanting - difficult to resist as it is already so delicious! However, this clearly has the density, freshness and balance to age for an eternity. Exceptional.
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Fresh blackberries, fine oak, subtle nuances, delicate after nougat and mint. Elegant, fresh, almost delicate, red berry nuances, balanced, a finessereicher wine, Extraktsüßer reverberation, remains however altogether quite slim.
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Tobacco mixed with cassis and chocolate nose. Quite subtle and fruity. Palate was also quite fruity with plum and chocolate. Tannin was quite smooth and very easy to drink even in its youth. Chocolate finishing. I would suggest to drink now instead to age it longer. Quite a modern Bordeaux.
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Nicely done; dark berries, black cherries, earth, and spice aromas. Elegant and round, with textures of silk, powerful and well-structured palate, the balance is exceptional, ends with a long finish. Will be 95 + with some more time.
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This is both the best Chevalier and one of the best 2009s I've ever had. Absolutely beautiful and wonderfully elegant! Slow-oxed this for 6h and it is totally ready to drink. Great nose of course but it is the intense fruit (red and black actually) on the attack and seamless transition into an intense, silky, long finish that really gets you! at GBP 60 it is really great value! I only got 6, I will have to buy more.
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Has the bones to age for a long while. Concentrated and dark. Lots of cocoa, coffee, chocolate tones. Perhaps should have given it more air (decanted for 2 hours) as it got better and more complex with time in the glass. Currently lacking some of the flamboyance one would expect of the 2009 vintage, and didn't quite find the minerality of the Graves. Still excellent, but perhaps entering a bit of a dumb phase. Either wait or give plenty of air.
has a pristine, ruby appearance, scents of mountain flowers, red berries and red licorice, very enjoyable in it's youthful and fresh state, wild strawberries, cherries, cinnamon and mineral flavors, clean fruit, medium bodied, perfectly balanced acid, beautifully feminine, every sip is invigorating rather than tiring, a well-made, fine wine, will continue to cellar well, but drinking well now, this claret is kind to your mouth
Wow, this was great! Very silky tannins, strawberry, other red fruit, smooth and a long finish. Totally rounded and harmonious. This is still very young so I am sure it will add complexity and more points in a few years.
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Blacker than a thousand midnights.Fabulous nose of dark sweet fruit and a savoury element, like the smell of hot meat juices in a roasting pan. Great fruit concentration - a real tooth stainer - but also very supple and refined. Blind I might have guessed California. Very much a product of the vintage. Despite the ripeness there are still considerable tannins and this seems years from being ready.
Bordeaux 1959 – 2014 (blind)”, flight 7, wine 2. The wine was medium to dark ruby in colour and offered ripe fruit (mostly dark), chocolate and spices on the nose and palate, with medium-level acidity, ripe tannin and very good length. Until revealed I had never guessed that this was Domaine de Chevalier – an unusually ripe and modern style; true to the vintage, but not among my favourite Domaine de Chevaliers. At least not young, maybe in 20 years?
Very dark. Intense, yet slightly tight nose. Lots of black fruit. Palate is long. Tannins are tight. Intense and high flavor intensity. This will be a lot better in 5+ years, but drinks excellently now. 3/4 = Very good to outstanding
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My Grade: EXX-. An outstanding effort from a Chateau that flys under the radar somewhat. After 3 hours of air the color developed into an exceptionally deep, almost black, purple with a black cherry rim. Expressive and gorgeous nose of blue and black fruit, menthol, vanilla, mushrooms, burnt toast. Lively and complex on the palate, with waves of intense briar fruit, fine grained tannins, succulent and mineral mid-palate, long sour-blackberry finish, great structure and acidity to last for decades (see my profile for grades).
This will undoubtedly continue to improve, should be stunning in 7-10 years ( see my profile for grades)
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Nose of cigar box, black cherry, and plum, slightly fruit forward after an hour in the glass/ bottle opened, very supple, mouth filling with rich fruit, medium/big body, long, long flavorful finish, almost at it's peak and should be there the next 5 years. At $70, a reasonable value in Bordeaux.
DRC Tasting Group: Bordeaux Night (Seattle, WA): Tasted blind. Smoky, burnt wood on the nose. Juicy black fruit, plum, spice, and wood on the palate. This is young, big, and juicy. Finishes with fine tannins. Enjoyable.
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Drank at dinner party at home. Accompanied beef wellington and cheese. Fruity, smooth and incredibly well balanced. Less earthy on the nose than most Claret. A young and vibrant wine and one to definitely revisit. Guests all loved it.
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Huge wofts of red fruit, cedar and pencil straight from the get go. Class. To taste incredibly smooth and well balanced. Modern. Delicious wine and easy to glug and enjoy.
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Opened bottle at 1pm and poured half a glass. Decanted at 5pm follwed by dinner at 6.30pm to 8pm. Kept improving during the dinner and was best at the end.
This is truly exceptional. So much fruit and elegance at the same time it is hard to comprehend. To smell is amazing with copious amounts of red and blue fruit mixed with well integrated oak, lead pencil (starting to show at higher temp) and spices with some underbush behind the corner. So pure, balanced and long. In the moth there is still improvements to come but this will definately be a complete bluckbuster in a 5 years or so. Hard to resist but will be worth the wait.
All this at 13.5% alcohol makes me say wow!
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Great bottle. Young, really young. But already with 3-4 hours of air showing its potential length. on the nose is strawberry, tobacco and earth. Palate shows cranberry, strawberry, tar, pencil and some fantastically integrated oak, this is really crisp, long and fresh. It will be a total mind bender I am sure in 10 years if you can wait. This wine is alive, awesome.
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This needs time if opened now. pop-n-pour and you may feel it is a soft and lush fruity wine with some oak. But with a few hours' air this develops beautifully with lush plum and blackberry fruit mixed with graves' tones of tar and smoke. Nice and long finish and the tannins are not intrusive. Still I have no doubt this is the tip of the iceberg and anyone waiting (say) 5 to 10 years will have a much improved wine. 94+
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dark opaque red-purple, intense rip dark fruits aroma, full bodied, firm round tannins, powerful, mouth filling, excelent complexity and structure, elegant long finish
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Young and primary, tasting of grapes, licorice and tar. Distant whiffs of coconut indicate subtle, high-end oak. The palate is dark and tangy, and seems well balanced despite the opulence of the vintage overall. The fruit is almost cool and the alcohol level is appropriate. Good fleshy midpalate and a nice finish, showing a lot of merlot. The texture and tannins (which are very soft and subtle for a young claret) have a spit polished feel, which gives this a semi-slick, modern vibe. Gets deeper, better with air. This is a good wine, still too young but approachable now. Very well-made and sleek, you can tell how competent the wine makers are, what it lacks is a sense of place or terroir. There is little Graves character right now and blind I'm not sure I would think Bordeaux either. Still, this strikes me as modern Bordeaux done right and I'd love it if you told me it was a Cali blend. Give this 10 years and hope that more character develops in the cellar. Very Good.
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Decanted for 3 hours or so and left in wine fridge. Beautifully rich cigar box rose vanilla bracken with big plummy fruit wrapping it all. A crowd pleaser. Tannins smooth out to a long long finish.
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Elegant, refined, classic Bordeaux blend. Black plum, violets, and gunflint on the nose with a clear old world character. Balanced flavors of black plum, licorice, and forest floor on the palette. Smooth, fine tannins round it all out... and it goes on and on with a long finish. Domaine de Chevalier is one of our favorite winemakers. 93 points.
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(Decanter's Bordeaux '05, '09, '10 tasting) :: Much more open than the 2010. Lifted red fruit, tobacco leaf, touch of pepper and a mineral undercurrent. Like the '10, still quite compact; but feels like tertiary characters / earth tones will start to unfurl in coming years. Very good.
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Even more impressive on the nose than the 2010. Opulent fruit notes, tobacco, spices, smoke.Less tight than the 2010, this is very expressive and rich on the palate without being heavy. Fresh and well balanced. Good tannic structure, fine length. Excellent. 93-94+
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Pulled the cork on half a full bottle left after "taking nibbles" over the past weeks via Coravin - decanted for 3 hours. Similar to my previous notes - after decant I got a wider palate and lovely chocolate notes. Beautiful wine. I really think this can be drunk now if you like young Bdx. I like how the wood is so very much in the background here seamlessly integrated, fruit forward and alcohol is not overdone at 13.5% compared to some other 09s, this just is effortless and not forced. I can't wait to follow this wine over the next decades. I have one case stashed away and I am thinking of either buying another of the 09 or a case of the 10. Any thoughts on 09 vs 10 on this one very welcome (have not tasted the 10 yet)...
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KR's Farewell (Imperial Treasure, Great World City): Very good indeed – this is about as solid a young Domaine de Chevalier as I have ever had. It had such a lovely nose, ripe and warm and inviting, with dusty earth and warm herbs wafting out of the glass alongside sappy cassis and dried flower aromas, then some sweet roasted capsicums and just a kiss of fragrant spice and toasty oak. This was complex, perfumed and alluring. The palate was first class too. It shared the same warm depth as the nose, but was at once clean, clear, juicy and just really delicious, with pure, sappy tones of cassis and blueberry that brought to mind fruit pastilles in their gentle sweetness, and then gentle notes of warm wood spice and lovely wafts of tobacco filling the back-palate. In spite of its youth, the velvety finesse of the wine’s tannins and the lovely integration it had made it really easy to drink after short decant. Beautiful stuff. The wine was still clearly structured under all its sappy fruit, with wonderfully bright and juicy acidity and a slight grip of drying tannins showing up right at the finish. While it is delicious now, I would leave it aside for another 8-10 years at least. It probably will age for just about forever though.
Really beautiful wine. Accessed from Coravin at 12 degrees and left in the glass for around an hour. It already drank fabulously well at this point - such lovely red fruit coming through, very suave, no hard edges whatsoever. I am glad I have a case in storage, almost thinking of buying one more case. Must be one of the true great "value" buys from the 2009 vintage in today's market.
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Great wine. Red berries, nice oak, leather and maybe some vanilla. Smooth taste. Believe I can taste that famous mineral note too. Fine tannins. Looking forward to drinking this wine again.
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Decanted 2h prior to consumption. Drank it way too early. However, I very much wanted to ascertain where, in its development, the wine was. Not very approachable, closed with a lovely concentration on the nose (m+), more red fruits that I expected. The classic notes of cassis and other dark, blue and red forest fruits were present, as well as a hefty dose of oak spice. Not fully integrated oak, which I'm guessing can be attributed to its modest age. A powerful yet elegant wine (behind all the baby fat). Medium+ length, about m+ body, fruit-to-tannin (m to m+) seemed at the time to be pretty on point. Absolutely lovely.
Earth on the nose to begin. Decanted for 3 hours and then started to come together. Nice notes of cherry and hints of oak. Drank even better on night two. Will like to try again in a few years.
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This is really nice and evolved for a 5-year old bordeaux. Plenty of fruit on the black side with some nice acidity and balance. Not huge, more elegant. We had a feeling that as good as this was with restaurant dinner, at an entirely reasonable price, its not getting any better. Not a lot of headroom in the mouthfeel or structure. Not too complex. Reminded me a bit of a Brunello. Built on a fairly subtle foundation of eucalyptus, add some cherry and concentrated raspberry and top it off with a very nice, simple nose. Thoroughly decanted, with no residual sediment, also an indication that its built for the here and now. Great color, too.
A matter of taste - Singapore (Singapore): Forest floor on the nose, fine texture and tightly knit on the palate, medium to long finish. This is a great 2009 and perhaps the best Bordeaux at the tasting. 94-95
This is a great wine! We drank this wine on my son celebration and it was very good decisions. Everybody liked it. In a hort time was the time gone. It is pitty that we couldnt wait to open it more (how would wait if this wine is already great). After that we tasted a wine from Toscana and it was not coparable to this great Chevalier. Medium and balanced tannins with taste of cedar wood. Sweet cherry, red fruits with long finish. I will open the next bottle after 2-3 years. I am glad I have more bottles from this vintage.
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Tasted out of a .375 along side a 2009 Force Majeure Collaboration I. Both wines were fantastic and were very clearly drinking on the young side.
The Chevalier was opened the night before and allowed to slow ox. From the small taste from the pop and pour, the vanilla influence from the oak dominated the nose and the richness was echoed into the palate with very intriguing savory notes of sun dried tomatoes, herbs and dried currant. After sitting overnight, the strong oak influence was less apparent and the fruit and herbal complexity was showing through strongly. Notes of tobacco, dark cherry, tar, graphite, and exotic savory notes of beef jerky and cherry tomatoes drove the very structured finish. The interplay between the red fruit and savory herbal tones here was really interesting while the richness from the vintage kept the tannins from becoming too imposing. While the wine showed splendidly after a night if given 10 years to let the structure round out a bit this wine has the potential to be a show stopper - 95+.
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Tasted @ big Bordeaux tasting in Zurich. Amazing aromatics of red fruits, but also cassis/black currant, lead pencil, forest floor and some smoky oak-notes and sweet spices as well as some cigar. Medium-full bodied with medium-high acidity and medium-high tannin that is super silky. It's dense, but leaves an impression of being weightless despite its body. Great length. A very beautiful and complete Domaine de Chevalier that is very fresh and elegant (as always). I love it!
Bordeaux 2009 vs. 2010 - Check in on 50 well known Chateaux: Discrete nose of cedar wood, toast, red fruit and spices. Opening up more after 1h. Delicate palate with good balance of tannins, fruit and acidity, quite some oak though that needs to integrate. Difficult to assess now, elements are here but they need to fall into place. Wait till 2018.
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A Long Wine Night (Various locations): Tasted blind. Appearance is clear, deep intensity, garnet colour. Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of licorice, creme de cassis, and ripe black fruits. On the palate, medium+ acidity, big but somewhat silky approachable tannins, full body, long finish. Flavours of ripe dark fruit, plums, blueberries, coffee. From the rich fruit and flavour profile, I actually guessed that this could be an aged Aussie Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet-Shiraz blend. Surprised to find out that this was a Left Bank Bordeaux! How 'fail' of me. As Jancis said about the 2009 'Vintage of the decade/century': "This growing season seemed to have it all. A long, fine, warm summer but, crucially, with refreshing nights to help retain acidity. Dramatically ripe, voluptuous wines, especially on the left bank."
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drank over three nights, improved each night, color was consistently dark purple, looks like an over-extracted Cali cab only six months in bottle, nose was fine but nothing to write home about, palate started off with great fruit / acid balance, by night three there were grainy tannins for awesome texture and some cedar and spice elements that made this spectacular… wonder what this puppy will taste like in 15 years?!?!?!?
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Domaine de Chevalier Tasting with Adrien Bernard (Crystal Wines Valley Point): This had a similarly perfumed nose like the 2007, I had trouble deciding which one I liked better in that aspect. Felt it was a bit thin on the palate although rather pleasant and much more drinkable compared to the 2004 and 2007. Lacks the opulence of the vintage which is reflective of Adrien's comments that the wine produced is true to the domaine's style and certainly not Mr Parker's.
Domaine de Chevalier tasting with Adrien Bernard (Crystal Wines): The sweetness of the vintage really stands out after tasting the '04 and '07 DdC side by side. Sweet, ripe black fruits and high level of concentration. Big mouth coating tannins but the huge fruit somehow keeps the wine relatively approachable. Can definitely taste the oak here but am guessing it will all integrate nicely given some time. Long and dry finish. This wine definitely has a long runway ahead of it; should be very good in 8-10 years. This wine was not decanted prior to drinking.
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Deep Purple appearance. Lovely nose of cream, liqorice, cassis, copper. Quite herbaceous profile and very silky mouthfeel. Very long finish and super acidity. Another 8 years will be fantatsic, balanced wine with lots of secondary characteristics.
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(Decanted for four hours.) The color is an almost impenetrable, opaque purple that fades slightly to a comely black cherry at the edge. The nose is beautifully multi-faceted: ripe cassis and plum, vanilla bean, orange rind, Syrian tobacco, candied violet and just a suggestion of toasted oak. (This has a classic young Bordeaux olfactory profile, yet with a distinctly exotic, perfume-like element that is hard to pin down at this early stage.) It is ripe, opulent and pleasingly mouth-coating. The flavors of blackcurrant, redcurrant, blueberries, Damson plum, coffee and cocoa are impressively long and nearly seamless. The acidity is vivacious and commensurate with the ripe flavors. The tannins are big and firm but remarkably fine. This wine performs well above its weight class and will be a real marvel one day. While approachable now, I am waiting for it to shed some baby fat and tannins. 94+++ points for now.
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Dark raspberry in color. The fleshness of the vintage give this an expressive nose and palate of dark cherry but balanced by redcurrant and minerality that gives the fruit some lift. This is rich, racy, and structured. Can't wait until this sheds its baby fat. An excellent balanced wine in a ripe vintage. I won't think about opening another until after 2020.
Very youthful and in need of more time, but this is a great wine in the making. Fleshy in the mouth, with complex earthy notes alongside very nice fruit. I would wait until 2015 at least before opening another. Could easily merit 94-95 in a few years.
I adore this wine. Decanted for 1 hour and it would benefit from a longer decant. There is a beautiful, dark violet color, blackberry, red fruit, chocolate, plum, spice, wonderful mid palate, the bouquet is somewhat restrained for now. There is a gentleness about the wine. It is not ready to drink; there is a lot of tannin. I look forward to getting older along with this wonderful, special wine.
The '09 sweetness on nose and palate. This is lovely now, in two years time, 10 or 20 years.. What a great wine! Blackberry and blueberry and a hint of mint. Balance will become better but this is good! Full bodied and lovey tannins. Impressive
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Ripe, spice, voluptuous. Bit tannic needed a few hours. Not as complete and juicy as other 09 I've had eg the superb d'issan and spectacular pape clement.
What a nose! Dark berries, liquorice, cherries. A hint of tobacco, spices, wood. Nice with dominant fruit characters on the palate, this is a very balanced and quite subtle wine with good acidity. Tannins kicking in late, not unpleasant, they are quite sweet and not too drying. Medium finish. All in all an elegant, already quite approachable wine, but no doubt this will be even better in, say, 10 years time.
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decant 1 hr.a veri classic wine.nice integration.a veri balance wine.nice depth with some complexity.nice smooth tannins.a approchable wine to drnk nw.minus point:it lack some omph factor here.conclusion:it may nt b a wow wine,but for those who like classic stuff,tis is the bttl.i luv classic.tis bttl shud reach its peak in 5 yrs time
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Thick and somewhat syrupy, but polished in texture and comes through as smooth and velvety from the meaty mid-palate until the finish. Flavors of maple, cardamom, blueberry jam, mulberry, espresso, vanilla, chocolate and mild graphite are present with, a hint of mint on the finish. Very balanced, expressive and approachable at a very young age (with 20 minutes of decanting). This is by far my favorite from Domaine de Chevalier.
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K&L Top Bordeaux Tasting (K&L, San Francisco): Deep purple color; blackberry, black currant, dusty notes, ripeness; balanced but lacking typicite (lacks the minerality that I would expect), tannic, concentrated, good acid; medium finish. Hard to judge at this young age. 90-92
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A Really Nice Bordeaux Tasting Including 1986 Haut Brion and 1990 Climens (K&L Wines, San Francisco): Dark color. Not much in the way of aroma right now. Smooth, oaky base but overall, medium weight and not too fat. Cedary on the palate, roasted but not overripe fruit, powerful acidity, round tannins. Closes with olive flavors and some welcome austerity that is partially due to the wood but entirely appropriate for this young age. When I tasted the 1990 later in the series, it was amazing to reflect upon how much the style of vinification had changed over the intervening 20 or so years. This was very good but much more marked by the oak than by sense of place.
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Very nice and big nose. Complex! Cassis, flowers, perfume and some meat. Big on the palate as well, but not heavy. Quite complex, blanced and very fruity.
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375ml bottle. 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot. 13.5% alcohol. Subtle nose. Notes of mint, raspberry, and strawberry with hints of oak. Medium-bodied with sour tannins. Aftertaste is bitter like pomelo skin. Long and dry finish. Elevated level of acidity. Not approachable unlike a lot of young Bordeaux 2009 wines which are delicious now. Will require long term cellaring to soften the tannins and hope acidity will not overwhelm other components. Showing a bit better on 2nd day, gains weight, softer tannins but still very dry aftertaste. 90-92 pts.
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This wine wine has closed up substantially since the last tasting earlier this year. Dark, sweet fruits. Dense and thick with smooth tannins. Need to let this sit for a while to let it wake up and show its true potential before drinking again.
I saw today that I have noted this wine as the Blanc but it is of course the Rouge.
Options7/7/2012 - I WROTE: 94 points (Edit) In future this wine will defeat the du Tertre, due to its core of concentrated power and elegance. The bouquet offers the beginning of the cedar and earthy tones of Pessac and a kind of cool impression in the mid- and aftertaste. Give this wine at least five years and you will have a wonderful bottle. As beautiful as this wine will become in future, there is still an immense gap between this very good wine and the other world Pontet-Canet.
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Decanted for two hours, utilizing a funnel. The perfect colour: dark-violet, garnet and the rim is a thin beam of maroon. An erotic nose of black cherry, orange peel, currant paste, all spice, tobacco and gravel. Refined, and literally seamless, silky tannins; an endearing mid-palate that is echoing a lot of dark fruit. Very approachable, yet suitable for long, long-term aging - in fact, this will be exquisite fifty years from now. A deep pool of flavor, with a savory and long aftertaste. A modern classic. This might go through a relatively short dumb phase in the next year or two. Drink 2018 -.
Dark red in color. Rich nose of candy, brambly red fruits, very pure! Dense on the palate, fruits, smooth tannins, but tannins dominate here! Smoky finish, a bit shy at the moment!
Popped, poured into a decanter and served the first glass immediately; consumed over four days. The wine gained colour with air and ended up bright dark purple in colour. It offered violets, sweet fruits (black currant, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry), cherry cream liqueur, coffee and chocolate on the nose; from day two it also developed an intense vanilla aroma. On the palate the wine was a little closed at first, but opened-up within minutes, showing mixed fruit flavours (blueberry, blackberry, cherry, raspberry, currant), chocolate, roasted coffee, and from day two also an intense and creamy vanilla/crème brûlée flavour. In fact, the oak-flavours became very prominent from day two and will need time to integrate. The medium-bodied wine had a smooth and creamy texture and was ripe but round and somewhat elegant, with an incredibly long finish.
The wine was enjoyable right after popping the cork, but not as "I-take-no-prisoners"-seductive as the Château d’Aiguilhe 2009 I had recently, and drank consistently well over four days. It showed lots of California sunshine and I probably had not guessed Bordeaux in a blind tasting. The tannins were so ripe that they were barely noticeable underneath the ripe fruit and some of the 2009s, including this Domaine de Chevalier, are the most drinkable young Bordeaux I came across so far. The wine is very young, fruit-driven and oak-dominated and although it is drinkable now I would recommend holding your bottles for three to five years. For drinking now I clearly prefer the Domaine de Chevalier 2005 to the 2009. With view to 2009 Bordeaux, at their current stages I prefer the Château d’Aiguilhe 2009 to the Domaine de Chevalier 2009, but I am also sure that the Chevalier will be able to turn the tables in a few years.
No decant but opened 2 - 1/2 hours before drinking. Tonight with steaks. Dark, almost opaque purple color. Mineral & fresh dark fuit nose. Seems like classic Graves with lead pencil, cedar, rare meat and mineral driven flavors combines with dark cherry. Medium bodied. Focused, tight, balanced and fresh but very very youthfully primary and tanic. Didn't move a whole lot over the evening and could be closing down. Paid $80 and would have prefered to be buying this for around $50 -$60. OTOH, could be worth every penny of the $80 spent after 10 -15yrs of btl age. Call it a solid 90pt wine as it drinks, right now.
Cherry pipe tobacco, smoke, licorice and plum notes create the perfume. In the mouth, the wine is rich, plush and round with a chocolate covered, fresh blackberry finish.
nose: good dark fruit core to this with tones of earth, spice box tones, dark red berries and dark red fruits. Good depth and fairly open right now.
taste: medium/full bodied with real smooth but firm tannins. The feel is on the plush side with good depth and tones of dark red fruits, spice tones, dark berries and cedar tones as well.
overall: there is a real attractive dark red fruit quality to it. It isn't overdone, but there is a ripeness to the wine. Good structure, but the tannins aren't overpowering at this time. It does need some time, but comes off as fairly open for this age.
Immediately on the nose, you sense this is a step up from either the Haut Bergey or Carbonnieux. In line with recent vintages of this wine, this shows some coffee on the nose, high quality fruit, and a touch of Graves mineral coming through. On the palate, very smooth, more power here than the ’06 or ’08 editions, but retains great balance. Has the right fruit, and power but is not overextracted. Will be a beautiful wine in its maturity. A great cheaper alternative to the Pape Clement, to which this wine bears some similarity. 93-94
UGC 2009 Bordeaux Tasting - NYC - 1.25.12 (New York City): Last tasted a year ago almost to the day via barrel sample. The wine has “grown up” quite a bit. Before it was primordial, backward and embryonic. In this setting it has calmed down and begun to settle into infancy. The wine shows far more class on the nose compared to the prior Graves. More floral lift (almost Margauxesque) and a beautiful red berry element to the fruit. I can’t wait until the telltale smoke begins to develop with more time in bottle. D d Chevalier rouge seems to be nipping at the heel of the 2nd tier graves rouges. Excellent. (92-96)
Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux 2009 Tasting K&L, nose of blackberry, plum, cinnamon, and coffee, same on the palate, big body, rich fruit, needs 4 years to peak, delicious, medium/long finish.
Union des Grands Grus 2009 Bordeaux Tasting (Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles): Rich and concentrated on the nose, giving off aromas of freshly ground coffee beans, black pepper, tar, and cassis. Some tartness on the palate, showing plum, red cherry, black currants, and black pepper. Quite dense and concentrated on the palate, this is a big wine. Silky tannins, with a medium finish ending with a note of cranberry. Good.
Good depth of colour; dark spicy fruit here, rich and concentrated; lovely tannins and extract on the palate. Very well-judged, this has great potential. Very complex on the finish. 93-95+
Domaine de Chevalier Tasting (Blacksalt): Barrel sample. Probably the most atypical of all of the reds. Silky, supple, beautiful hedonistic fruit, but spoke more of 2009 than of Domaine de Chevalier.
Domaine de Chevalier Wine Lunch (Blacksalt): (from barrel sample) Nose had dense coffee, black cherry and crushed rocks. Concentration of the wine far exceeded the 2008, but the fruit was elegant. Again, this wine had really nice acidity and minerality throughout with worked well with the dense fruit. Should be interesting to see where this one ends up down the line.
2009 Domaine de Chevalier opens with smoke, dark berries, earth, and spice aromas. Elegant and round, with textures of silk, the wine ends with a fresh blast of spicy black cherries. 92/94 Pts
Cool fruit expression, crushed berries, very sweet fruit, crushed rock, mushroom, very fresh, nice silky palate, excellent concentration, complex fruit expression, long finish 95-97 pts
4/24/2024 - Zweder Likes this wine: 94 Points
HWS Bordeaux 2009 vs 2010 (By me): Beautiful and luxurious, complex bouquet with dark berries and violets. On the palate delicious juice with beautiful acidity and tannin with still a good bite and a great length. Very tempting wine already but with a few more years of cellaring it will show even more finesse.
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4/19/2024 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nice wine if outshone by some other heavy hitters that evening. Light strawberry nose and palate. Earthy finish.
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4/7/2024 - GregB57 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Opened and poured out a glass and let the bottle site for a few hours. Ready for drinking. I don’t have tremendous experience with aged Bordeaux, but I don’t think this would benefit from further cellaring. Ripe raspberries and eucalyptus flavors. Delicious!
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3/31/2024 - WineGuyDelMar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 2 hours and drank over another hour. Not Wowed at all. Pretty one dimensional really. Tannins are soft. More cellaring isn’t going to improve it. Smooth drinking but really average. Why I’m inclined not to spend a lot for these Modern Bordeaux’s. It’s good but not great.
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3/25/2024 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dekantert lenge. Vanskelig å holde fingrene unna denne tilnærma perfekte pessacen. I perfekt balanse, mørk, herrevin, sikkert perfekt til mat, men jeg tar den bar.
Minst like god dag 2. Dette er bare herlig.
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2/14/2024 - Richardrw Likes this wine: 93 Points
It needed no more thatn a 2-hour decant...had already lost much of its fruitiness after three hours. It met my expectations for a Chevalier. We really enjoyed it.
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2/10/2024 - cephomer Likes this wine: 92 Points
Mark supplied for our CKH French wine dinner. Nose was a bit reticent, some feint aromas of black cherry. Medium body, on the lush side in terms of fruit--cassis and blackberry. Some chocolate notes too. Fairly short finish. The wine is mostly just fruit right now. Still very much in its primary stage. Needs time. Decant if you must open now
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2/6/2024 - olalar wrote: 94 Points
Opened poured a small glass and left open for 2h. Beautiful but still primary. Kept improving over the following 1 to 2 hours. Will need a few more years to reach maturity, yet irresistible now.
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1/28/2024 - Juliansi Likes this wine: 91 Points
Started off.. tight with a shy nose. Then.. after an hour, develops cassis and layers of dark chocolate on the palate.
Such a silky mouthfeel too. As this developed and blossomed over our 3 hours lunch, the ripe blackfruits revealed themselves, with that medium-level acid spine.
64% Cab, 30% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot.
With the concentration, I struggled to identify this as a LB Bordeaux! This is from the magnificent 2009 vintage, and it just goes to show there are gems such as this which are so enjoyable today. Has it already been 15 years!
28th Jan 2024
Farm to Plate - Damansara Kim, Malaysia
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1/28/2024 - Hugo Hilde wrote: 95 Points
A mixed bag Wednesday (Tøyen, Oslo): Slow-oxed 3 hours
The nose had perfect balance between blackberry, minerals, rocks, dried meat and cedar.
Fantastic in the mouth, archetypical Bordeaux and Graves with minerals and a vast array of dark berries. Still present tannins, but for me, super for drinking now.
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1/19/2024 - Storms38 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely wine, in its prime. 30 min to breathe and ready to go. Not a profound wine, but good drinking and worth the price! Has years ahead of it as well. I’d say peaking until ‘27?
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1/15/2024 - Bottle Dog Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark red in colour. 2 hour decant in cellar. Nose is somewhat muted, but is there is classic Bordeaux. Woodsy forest floor and dark berries. Medium body, but overall light, mainly good (floats in the air) but perhaps a little hollow in the middle. Tannins have softened beautifully and balance nicely with the acidity. Lingers for a good long while. This seems more than ready to enjoy now, why wait when it is this darned yummy now.
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1/13/2024 - calypse wrote: 90 Points
6h dekantiert: Tiefe, dunkle Frucht gepaart mit überzeugender Säure. Prominente Röstaromen und gute Länge. Mit Luft harmonischer!
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1/13/2024 - ThompsonandFrench Likes this wine: 95 Points
Absolutely wonderful.
2.5 hour decant thru Rabbit.
Nose very restrained, but super forest fruit flavours. Delicious now, but further improvement to come. This was a second bottle, the first being corked.
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1/3/2024 - LIE-user wrote:
Right now not really a pleasure. Let’s hope, this one gets back on track within the next 5-10 years. Judging right now, i am not so sure.
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11/28/2023 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 91 Points
Ikke dekantert. Likevel meget tilgjengelig. Balanse. Og god. Stadig meget pen dag 3.
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11/18/2023 - TheGreenFrog wrote:
Decanted for 2-3 hours. Thick with nice mouthfeel and deep colour. But not giving up much by way of nose or palate. Longer decanting may help (will try another bottle soon to test) but I suspect it just needs a few more years in bottle. I last had this in January 2018 and it was wonderful, so it's probably in an adolescent phase and I have confidence it will come round eventually.
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11/3/2023 - Rossodio Likes this wine: 93 Points
Oh wow this is wonderful, albeit very 2009 and denser than you might expect. Give it at least 3 and better 4 hours in a decanter and it will reward you. Has at least 5 more years of development I would say. First of two bottles.
Drank at Between the Trees. I had half of the bottle.
Vvv
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11/3/2023 - Bottle Dog Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark ruby/purple. After 1 hour decant, the nose pops from glass with red and black fruits and loads of earthiness. Perhaps some smoke. The tannins are beautifully rounded and soft and expressive. The body is medium full, and while juicy and delicious, seems a little light in taste - it doesnt really carry that long. Perhaps it could use more time. Maybe I should decant longer - lets see what it is like tomorrow.
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10/20/2023 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Domaine de Chevalier rouge (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Reticent. With time and vigorous agitation it starts to show ripe plums and blackcurrant that has a concentrated note, alcohol prickle. Juicy, densely fruit but not overdone, alcohol present but not dominant, tannins are talc textured, all persist long. Better than I remember previous tastings.
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9/24/2023 - Ibetian wrote: 94 Points
Decanted about an hour before dinner. Two hours might have been better. I like this wine a lot, it has the complexity that marks fine Bordeaux. It is very pleasant in the mouth, and a wonderful, lingering finish.
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9/19/2023 - MC wrote:
Decanted 4 hours before serving. This was singing and the extra hour seemed to be the difference between this bottle and the bottle last week? Not that the bottle last week was bad - it was very good. But same conditions and the extra hour seemed to matter. A-/A
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9/16/2023 - MC wrote:
Decanted 3+ hours. This is really nice with the decant. It does show the heat of the vintage and frankly I preferred the 2010 tasted along side of it but it is still really good and others preferred it this evening but it is very 2009. A-
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9/2/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 94 Points
Pristine bottle, perfect level and cork. Opened four hours in advance, decanted for two hours. Firing on all cylinders. Wonderful nose, open and expressive, red and black cherries, raspberry, warm bricks and tobacco, cardamom, fresh and minerally, spicy depth; ripe and flowing palate, rich but fresh and elegant, gentle grip from powdery tannins, energetic; finishes with a hint of smoky tea, very good length. Ready for business, especially with food (we enjoyed it with steak au poivre), good future.
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8/26/2023 - CharlesHK Likes this wine: 94 Points
1st bottle of 12. 3.5 hour decant; served at 20C. CS66%, M28%, PV 6%. 13.5%.
I love Domaine de Chevalier and have been privileged to drink 1982, 1983, 1985, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2014 dating back to 1995. Later wines are dramatically different to earlier wines; bigger, richer, more PV, consistently well-made, substantial and rarely thin, under-ripe, and weedy. Olivier deserves so much praise for what he has done with this vineyard and Bordeaux in general!
2005 is probably my favourite vintage of this wine, but it is still not in its optimal drinking window. So, what about 2009 . . .
First, the colour is impressive; rich, dark, dense with brilliant luster. It just looks rich and plush. You definitely want to drink this wine on appearance alone.
The nose is black fruit, a tiny bit of smoke, bramble, a bit of cherry pipe tobacco. Subdued, but hints of Pessac-Leognan. It smells plush and rich but not alcoholic.
Indeed, plush it is from the first sip. Wow, amazing. It is SO 2009. And that so 2009 profile is a blessing and a curse.
Taste; it is plush as, totally delicious, drinkable, and enjoyable. You really can't fault this wine. But it is totally not classic DdC or Pessac-Leognan. The 2005 is classic, when you drink it, you know it is Bordeaux, Pessac-Leognan, and maybe DdC. The 2009: if tasted blind, I would never guess DdC at this stage in its evolution. It could so easily be described as a well-made Australian Bordeaux blend (Mount Mary, Shadrach, Cullen Diana Madeline, Wantirna Amelia) but richer than all but the Shadrach.
Rich but not overblown, black and red fruit, 100% smooth. Again, plush. It's liquid velvet. Oak was noticeable upon opening, after 4+ hours completely integrated. Tastes richer than 13.5% but no alcohol heat. Fantastic with food. Impressive, enjoyable, entertaining and a real talking point to any meal.
This wine reminds more of the later harvest vintage 2014 (but with a lot more oomph) than it does of 2010, 2005, or 2000. It is so much better than 2003 which meteorologically might be the closest vintage. The wine grew on me considerably over the course of the meal as I accepted it for what it was (2009), and not a bigger version of my favourite vintage, 2005. That's the beauty of great wine. Like art, it's 100% subjective.
I have been opening more and more 2009 over the past six months and here are my general thoughts. The entry level wines almost always punch above their price point and prestige. Are the top tier wines distinct enough and worthy of the price and praise? Still to be determined, but I hope so. Time will tell, but you can really enjoy this wine now with a 3 hour decant. Try it, and write about it.
Can't wait to try the 2010 DdC in about 5 years.
Long review, but this DdC is worth it.
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8/13/2023 - Swajln Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tasted when we opened the bottle and wine was strong and tannic. Beautiful nose……Decanted 3 hours and wine was spectacular.
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7/20/2023 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dekantert. Meget stort behag fra glass 2. Vidunderlig dag 2, selv om sekundær utvikling er ferdig. Super dag 3.
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7/7/2023 - R J Lewis wrote:
This was in a lovely place. Rounded fruit, just enough Cabernet leafy bite to it to retain freshness. A real sense of fruit purity came through, complemented by tertiary that became more pronounced with air. So much better than the first bottle I had several years ago. Drink now with no regrets, but doesn't feel like it's falling apart either.
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5/11/2023 - djhammond Likes this wine: 91 Points
This is still in a primary stage, and to be honest I can't see through the tannin at this stage, particularly end palate and on the finish. You get a sense of its nuance and potential complexity, but at present it is a bit of a rustic drinker. Another example of critics being over optimistic on drinking windows. Admittedly a few 2009s are enjoyable at present, but most need another 5 years. A post note. I saved a glass for the next day and it was transformative, and I am optimistic that I could be scoring this mid 90s or higher in a few years.
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5/9/2023 - vancouvermatt wrote: 94 Points
Very impressed... been cellaring this since 2017.
Fleshes out with air, medium to full bodied, great texture with graphite, pencil lead and forest floor/bramble notes adding interest to the cacao and dark fruit notes.
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4/22/2023 - Ericsson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Ouvert 3 heures puis dégusté durant 3 heures.
Robe prune brillante.
Au nez, cassis, framboises, havane, âtre.
En bouche, suave, rond, sexy avec un bel équilibre, une petite touche herbacée en fin de bouche.
On peut commencer à le boire avec de la réserve.
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4/14/2023 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Domaine de Chevalier (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. A little ripe dark hued fruit tends to the slightly jammy almost stewed notes, also smells 'dense', a little cedar, touches of cola, plenty of sweet spice and a tiny almost tomato leaf underpin. Medium plus intensity acidity, it's juicy with those overripe fruits, but also slightly green notes and a touch of bitterness for me, slight non-intrusive alcohol warmth, tannins are quite talc textured. Hmm.
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3/28/2023 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 94 Points
9 years since my last (en arrivage) note on this wine but I thought I had it once or twice in the meantime. A wine that has always shown superbly and one of the best values in 2009 in my eyes. Deep dark fruit but also beautiful freshness that provides a lift that sometimes is missing in 2009, particularly in Graves and the Right Bank. Oak, and also tannins are nicely integrated in the still fairly youthful fruit so not a mistake to open now but can wait just as well. Hence drink over the next 30 years at your leisure.
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3/19/2023 - mchern02 wrote: 93 Points
1 hour of air and no decant.
Black fruit, olive, mint, dry tobacco, and stony pepper round out a dark and lush looking red. Certainly would benefit greatly for a decant but tannins are decently integrated with more to come in 3-5 years. Long and tight finish improving w time. Upside from here.
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3/8/2023 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dekantert. Stort behag dag 1 og 2.
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3/5/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 94 Points
Académie des Cinquante Tasting and Dinner with the Académie du Vin de Bordeaux (Restaurant Entrepot, Amsterdam, NL): Walkaround tasting, brief note. Classic Domaine de Chevalier, with more power and extraction than usual, but with fleshy fruit to match, and it does not lose its sense of elegance.
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3/4/2023 - lim.calvinb Likes this wine: 93 Points
First bottle in a case.
4-5 hour decant is necessary at this stage, otherwise the wine is muted.
Still lots of primary fruit at this stage but leather cedar and tar starting to show. Drinking good now but peak is still a long way tk go. I would say 5-6 years for more tertiary aromas to come tk the forefront.
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2/6/2023 - jlfarry Likes this wine:
Wait
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1/29/2023 - vide Likes this wine: 93 Points
Intriguing nose of mineral and lemon. Great balance in mouth, but quite mature with a touch of farmyard.
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1/9/2023 - Sean Tay Likes this wine: 96 Points
Pronounced nose intensity with notes of green, black fruits, toast, earth. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Drinking perfectly now. Drank from magnum.
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12/31/2022 - Stufonhead wrote: 93 Points
So primary at first taste. Decanted and let sit in the cellar for 5 hours. Nose closed until it warmed up a little, revealing some singed alder and slight tobacco and forest floor. Palate was sorta monolithic to me. Dark cherry at the front with certainly deeper flavors underneath that have yet to unfurl themselves, hiding within a thick scaffolding of tannin and acid. Seemed too young.
Since the bottle was opened and there being other taty beverages around, I sampled this slowly over the course of 6 to 8 hours. Nose opened up to such nice aromas: graphite, iron, smoked meat, cassis, eucalyptus. The palate also opened up to allow some of those layers of red fruited flavors to unfurl.
Def will only get better...maybe wait another year for next bottle since this is the first of the case, and probably with more air.
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12/25/2022 - LT98 wrote: 94 Points
Opened 5 hours before drinking. Youthful, deep ruby in color and very intense. Nose of dark black fruit, cedar, eucalyptus, bramble, anise. On the palate, soft tannins and consistent with the nose. Medium acidity. This should last well into the 2030s and will likely improve with time.
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12/7/2022 - bordeauxman777 Likes this wine: 94 Points
I really like how this Pessac matures! Showing even better on day two. Medium to full body and true to its terroir, showing poise and heaps of graceful elegance. The long and soft finish carries still some unresolved tannins which offers a solid backbone at the moment. This is really enjoyable now, but the best is yet to come. (93-95pts) Super lovely.
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11/20/2022 - jlhkiss Likes this wine: 92 Points
Notes from memory. Was accessible after an hour in the decanter. The Merlot gives this nice, round edges. Lots of plums, blackcurrant, crushed rock, and dark cherry spices. Still good acidity for the vintage, but not sure how much better this will get. Drink 2022-2026. Technical score: 92. Enjoyment score: 92.
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11/12/2022 - ChristoBretts wrote: flawed
Recently purchased and paid top dollar to see if I like this producer enough to buy younger vintages and then hold until mature. The cork was dry and broke apart. Wine was flat, not rotten, just no fruit or backbone.
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11/7/2022 - wineforth Likes this wine: 94 Points
Blackcurrant and graphite with a touch of undergrowth (which I like) followed by a smoky, bittersweet chocolate finish. Big bodied and not overblown by the hot vintage. There are plenty of soft tannins to keep this wine for decades. Drinking well now but almost too big bodied for my taste so I may enjoy it more in time. A dark tasting wine that lacks a few high notes.
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10/24/2022 - englishman's claret wrote:
This is evolving slowly and hasn't really budged since I last tasted this in 2019. Black cherry, gravel, ink, subtle potpourri on the nose with nice depth on the palate. There is an interesting viscosity to the mouthfeel, but it stays just on the right side of the line. Gravelly, smoky finish.
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10/22/2022 - WineGuyDelMar Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted one hour and 20 minutes. Tasted and thought it didn’t need more air so poured back in the bottle. Poured half glasses 45 minutes later. Now it is like butter. So smooth and round but much softer than I imagined. Not tannic at all. I don’t see how more ageing helps this wine. Some barnyard, Old world nose that no Napa wine can duplicate. Keep trying Napa.
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10/22/2022 - Ishay wrote: 92 Points
Yummmy. full body, rich and bold. Ready now but can be cellared for a few more years.
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10/15/2022 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dekantert. Meget pen fra start. Meget stort behag dag 3. Opptur på vei!
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9/4/2022 - Les Raisins Du Aron Likes this wine: 93 Points
2 hour decant. Dark fruit, including a hint of cherry. Tannins were smooth, making this a pleasurable drinker. I may have been expecting something different here. I loved it, regardless.
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8/13/2022 - jmoon Likes this wine: 93 Points
30 Min decant and this was ready to go. Very enjoyable quite ripe red and black fruits plums cherries some Spice quite fresh medium body which gives an easy plush freshness. Drinking really well now but has the stuffing to hold together and reveal complexity over time.
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8/12/2022 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep dark reddish-purple garnet in color with no signs of aging. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, cassis & plums with earthy/dusty & herbal overtones, floral notes, spices, leather, coffee, minerals, some dark cocoa & a hint of vanilla/oak in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, plush, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries & plums with herbs, minerals, olives, spices & oak. Lingering finish. Drinks well at present with decanting & extended airing although it should develop further with additional aging.
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8/9/2022 - Psdycp wrote: 92 Points
Fresh and ripe plums,
mulberries, leather and toasted cumin on the nose. Spicy palate, the fruity and dried herbs dominated the medium-bodied mid-palate. Finish is velvety and slightly bitter. Still evolving, try again in 3-5 years.
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7/28/2022 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dekantert. Super dag 1 og 3!
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7/26/2022 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking very nicely now but as other noted, room to evolve. Lovely nose of plums and leather. Very fruity on the palate. This was slow oxed for a few hours before lunch on the boat. Some found the finish slightly bitter, I did not.
I would say that I prefer reds in the evening, not at lunch in the middle of the heat. We have asked the chef to switch our meals around so we have a lighter fish lunch (with white wine or champagne) and then a heavier dinner where we can enjoy our reds. I think under these circumstances we will prefer our second bottle more.
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7/24/2022 - Condrieu82 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened the bottle and let it breathe for one hour. Refined nose with blackcurrants, cassis, some plums, some oak and forest floor, plus a hint of alcohol.
Nice balance with good acidity, dark fruits, a bit of oak, coffee, tobacco, and pencil; tannins seemed integrated almost fully, with a medium long ending that showed a hint of hot alcohol and refined vanilla.
Overall, still young but already in its drinking window - I would drink within the next 7-8 years and probably I will wait 2-3 years to open my next bottle to see how it develops. Excellent!
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7/11/2022 - jviz wrote: 92 Points
Ripe, rich, polished and quite modern with some late harvest red fruit that comes across as silky rather than roasted. I hope these stay in balance.
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7/2/2022 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for 2 hrs, deep ruby, dark fruit with a touch of vanilla, med. tannins, long finish, very Californian on both nose & palate; outstanding, drink or hold. I find this profile is common in the 09s. For those that do not want their Bordeaux reds to taste like CA reds, I would rate this lower.
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6/25/2022 - David Meddings wrote: 93 Points
Decanted 1.5 hours. Lifted bouquet of cassis and some floral topnotes. Palate is concentrated kirsch/casssis liquer with notable sweetness and some cigar leaf notes adding complexity. Tannins resolved. Great heft and mouthfeel, and a long, balanced final.
Very complete and balanced, just entering a long plateau of goodness.
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6/23/2022 - yeti575rider wrote: 95 Points
One of the best Bordeaux’s I’ve had in a while. Paired with Butcher Boy steak tips ( best you can find anywhere) and gone in a flash. Really smooth you can’t stop drinking it. It’s really about the mouthfeel and balance. Red currant, shade of sour dark cherry. Yum.
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6/10/2022 - MC wrote:
Decanted an hour, but needed a bit more than that. Quite closed on the nose at open. Dark, concentrated fruit that is enjoyable with a good decant but still a few years from ready. A hint of roasted fruit on the nose that seemed to go away at about 2 hours, at which point this was very enjoyable but still all about the rich fruit and not yet showing any secondary elements. Would decant at least 2 hours if drinking now but better in a few years. A-/?
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5/29/2022 - Suzyquatro Likes this wine: 92 Points
Helder donker robijnrode kleur - Neus van toast, champignons en braambes - In de mond krachtige wijn, nog primaire smaken van zwart fruit, kruiden, tabak, romige chocolade, grafiet en wat groene appel - Lange zijdezachte afdronk.
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5/4/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very dark, almost impenetrable ruby purple. Great nose of pure clean red- berry fruit along with a hint of wood smoke and minerals. On the palate, the first thing that grabs you is the purity of the fruit. Not overpowering or extracted, just clean and concentrated and healthy. It reminds me very much of the Haut Bailly 2009 in this respect. There is some real tension and power here, like a coiled spring, but the overall impression is of shimmering healthy fruit. A delicious glass of wine. Perhaps needs a few more years to really shine. Drink the excellent 2012 while you're waiting.
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4/30/2022 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dekantert lenge. Deilig, stort behag, bedre og bedre nedover i flasken. Super dag 3!
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4/13/2022 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Monthly Tasting Group HWS: Bordeaux 2005 vs 2009 (by DJ): The bouquet is still locked but shows dark berries and a firm and good dose of cedar and oak. On the palate dark berries, beautiful oak and a pleasant amount of bitterness. Round and mouth filling juicy black and red berry fruits e.g. blackberries. Beautiful acidity and round tannin. In the long finish espresso and a pleasant touch of sweetness. 94+
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3/19/2022 - Cockneyred wrote: 91 Points
I continue to be slightly underwhelmed by this wine. Characteristic lead pencil, but with more abundant fruit than the 05. Overall a smooth and pleasant drinking experience but sadly the complete absence of acidity prevents any claim to greatness. Final wine of a wallet lightening evening at Shanahans.
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3/13/2022 - ChateauDutremble Likes this wine: 93 Points
Notes similaires à ceux du 04/24/2021. Triste...ma dernière bouteille.
Nose: cedary spice, raspberry jam, brown sugar, dusty old leather...
Ripe red fruit flavours with oak spices. Supple and round. Soft umami feel...with a medium finish. Beautiful now. 93++
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3/9/2022 - stkilda Likes this wine: 92 Points
You certainly need a lot of patience with Bordeaux I was optimistic that this would be an enjoyable and approachable vintage. My advice would be if you intend sampling this give it a long decant at least 4 hours or let this rest in the cellar for another few years at least if it’s your only bottle. Initially this was very tight but with aeration this did open up and by the second half of the bottle with friends it was much more expressive and I did enjoy the contents . 92 for now but I can see this worthy of a few more points with further aging.
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3/5/2022 - angelcyn Likes this wine:
Getting to the stage much like stick or twist, fading rim no discernable improvement since the last bottle, still has all the hallmarks of a classic Bordeaux without being a great wine, very enjoyable, but no real change and time to drink up in my humble opinion, no rush but no cause to leave any longer.
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3/2/2022 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Domaine de Chevalier; 2/23/2022-3/6/2022 (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Slightly metallic, cream, plenty of sweet spice and red and blackcurrant fruit, with time a little wet earth, plum and liquorice. The fruit has a slightly jammy quality on the palate. Tannins are chalky but in a supporting role, a creamy note joins on the long finish. Hmm.
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3/2/2022 - Ericsson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Ouvert et bu durant 2+ heures.
Robe prune grenat, brillante.
Arômes de cassis, d’âtre froid, de havane, d’épices aussi, un soupçon de selle de cheval.
Belle attaque généreuse, souple mais droit, concentré, plutôt hédoniste que complexe, un filet d’acidité, des tanins polis et une belle finale qui donne envie de se resservir.
Digeste et excellent, se boit déjà très bien…pour mes goûts.
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2/19/2022 - magyarsvensk Likes this wine:
Takes a bit to come together, but afterwards, really on point. Toast with jam, red currants, cigar tobacco….. Great showing. Should continue to evolve positively.
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2/4/2022 - bordeauxman777 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nicely matured, yet there is room for improvement. Classic Pessac. Lovely!
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1/26/2022 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Gang of 4 in Covid19 times; Bordeaux, Pessac (@ RW): The bouquet is lush but still quite locked. There are plenty of ripe dark berries though. On the palate juicy dark and red berry fruits. chocolate, some sweetness, and juicy acidity. A refined and still youthful wine with a promise for the future. Wait another 5 – 10 years for even more finesse. 93 – 94++
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12/24/2021 - matlee89 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Consistent with earlier notes. Open and ready. Tannins well resolved. Red fruit still present, starting to develop secondary and tertiary notes.
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12/23/2021 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dekantert. Fortryllende fra første glass. Parfymert, nesten super dag 2, også.
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11/20/2021 - Drankard Likes this wine:
Drinking nicely with some maturity yet still youthful. Everything in place for a positive evolution.
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10/1/2021 - melvinyeowq Does not like this wine:
Started off relatively restrained but with time it got sweeter and more plummy. This is the spoofy, modern kind of Bordeaux that I really dislike - over-ripe dark fruit with a smooth and polished texture that ended up like a milkshake. Worse on the second day as the make-up disintegrated.
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9/22/2021 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fourth bottle from my case and the best so far. This is really starting to open up and show what it's made of. The colour has mellowed with some lightening at the rim now and some foxy hints creeping in. The nose is all dark brambly fruit, ash and gravel - typical Graves. Rich and mouth filling on the palate with some grippy tannings and acidity keeping everything in balance. Quintessential left bank Bordeaux. As in previous bottles, there is a hint of funk on the nose but in a good way. Delicious.
Current pricing puts this at about £75 on the table, a (relative) bargain for the vintage and quality and 30% the price of some of the Medoc second growths. I can see a long future ahead for this wine but if you have few bottles, definitely worth opening one and enjoying now.
66% Cabernet, 28% Merlot, P Verdot 6% 13.5%
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9/16/2021 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 94 Points
VinoLaprisco Tasting (Restaurant Fifth, Eindhoven, NL): A blend of 60% Cabernet-Sauvignon 30% Merlot, with 6% Petit Verdot. Complete and rich wine, tobacco and crushed red fruits,smooth texture with powerful tannins covered in flesh. A classic Domaine de Chevalier, drinking well now – 2040+.
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9/4/2021 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 92 Points
What a great wine- needed the full three hours but could have used more. Lots of dark red fruit, some hints of black fruit, leather, earth; soft tannins and acid greatly complement the overall mouthfeel. Great wine now but will improve even more over the next couple of years. Hold until 2023 or decant for 4-5 hours. 92+
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8/15/2021 - carlturcotte Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fruits (blackberry, cassis) are well balanced with acidy and melted tannins. The wine is dark and full. Tertiary notes will improve over time but it's not a crime to pop a bottle now (min. 2 hours decant).
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8/13/2021 - kidsmurf2000 wrote: 94 Points
Decanted 1 hour, lots of bold dark fruits, satisfying back end. Great now, might give it another couple of years to see how it develops.
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7/25/2021 - BAJRiley Likes this wine: 94 Points
Appearance: dark ruby/cherry. Nose: medium intensity, blackcurrant, plum, kirsch, tobacco leaf, earth, cloves and a hint of lavender. Palate: medium bodied, great harmony. Persistent finish. Fine, well integrated tannins. Understated style. Outstanding.
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6/5/2021 - khmark7 wrote: 87 Points
Needs some time in the glass to mellow. Upon opening this was quite tannic and very ripe. With some time the aromatics opened up a little (not much) and this became much more approachable. Still ripe and has low acidity so not the best food pairing. Disappointing given the reviews on CT. I would have guessed California, but that was the style in this time period.
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6/2/2021 - VinVet Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful cassis, blackberry earthy nose. Dark berry fruit, balanced acidity and tannins produce a lovely mouthfeel that continues in a lengthy savory finish. Yum!
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4/24/2021 - ChateauDutremble Likes this wine: 93 Points
Arômes : sous-bois, café torréfié, groseille et cassis, ainsi que des notes florales...très beau ! Rond et gras avec des tannins fins bien intégrés. Velouté, frais et fruité...fruits rouges et noirs mûrs. Le tout en finesse ! Un vin élégant et harmonieux. Finale moyenne à longue. Boire d'ici 2029 mais délicieux maintenant ! 93+
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4/15/2021 - whits Likes this wine: 96 Points
Such a delight to sniff the wonderful cedar, tobacco and baked cherry aromas, mellow with softened tannins and easy acidity, balanced with delicate and fine tuned nuances of red plum, tea leaves, orange bitters, earthy stones and dried cranberry, a capsule of weightless glory awaits my every sip, such a classic, drinking perfectly now with more life ahead, enjoyed with filet mignon after a rough day
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4/4/2021 - provpete wrote:
Good bottle
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3/19/2021 - popopdrops Likes this wine: 92 Points
Kort dekant. Nydelig fra første glass. Dag 2 absolutt balanse, frukt, tanniner. Super!
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3/2/2021 - shifter Likes this wine: 92 Points
Quick decant and pour. Followed over a couple of hours. Very primary but the tannins are fairly integrated and the mouthfeel is very smooth. Second day no more complex or expressive on the nose. Finish goes a bit bitter.
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1/20/2021 - matlee89 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Excellent as per my last two bottles. Speaks to the vintage. Ripe, red fruits. But focused and balanced. Vanilla. Tannins present but not jarring. Rich mouthfeel. Long finish. So good with japanese yakiniku.
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1/10/2021 - hawkeye194223 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drinking well with a two-hour decant! Thankful I have two more.
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1/2/2021 - Escher Cellars wrote: 93 Points
A beautiful balance PL, drinking well right now. Cheers.
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1/1/2021 - fingers Likes this wine: 93 Points
Notes after 6 hours open. Extra dark ruby color with a thin hint of garnet at the rim, small amount of sediment. Profound aromas that take me straight to Left Bank, but the palate is just ripe and New World-ly enough that I would find myself hard-pressed to guess Bordeaux if given blindly. A term that I have rarely, if ever, used in a tasting note:”fleshy” is what I think applies here as well. It’s as if someone peeled a beautiful bunch of grapes and left nothing but the meat for me. I think it’s happy to serve now with extended aeration but also won’t see any decline for a very long time.
5+12+17+9= 93
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12/30/2020 - Wineapprentice Likes this wine: 92 Points
Not very aromatic - some oak and vanilla, dark berries and a spice that I can't identify. Soft tannins, dark fruit and some leather. Wine became noticeably soft after the bottle had been open for more than 4 hours. Paired very well with Korean beef bulgogi and other more acidic side dishes.
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12/30/2020 - Andice wrote: 91 Points
Still stubborn at this stage but the material is there for unwinding over the next few years. Barely discernible blackcurrant bouquet with still primary drak fruit & tannins on the edge of relaxing. Wait
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12/30/2020 - FransS wrote: 94 Points
Quite impressive, colour as you expect, bouquet partly closed (even at day two), elegant wood/vanilla, soft peppers, cherries, black currents, a hint of leather. The taste, like the bouquet, still hides a part of its dimensions, structured, dense, close to smooth, finishing with lovely bitters and lots of noticeable, but ripe tannins. Give it another 4 to 5 years.
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12/27/2020 - angelcyn Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nearly two years on since the last bottle, this was my Christmas dinner wine with rib of beef, it went well with the beef, and is like most Bordeaux of any quality a good food wine, the fading rim was there as before, the nose was a bit softer and the balance is good, quite easy drinking, but not in the great league despite being enjoyable, the last four of these I have will be consumed in the not to distant future, I see no point in waiting.
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12/26/2020 - phil myglass Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark ruby red starting to rust at rim. Earthy with lots of structure and tannins which are smooth and integrated. Lots of black fruit, cherry, strawberry & a hint of liquorice and black pepper at the end. Long finish, stays in the mouth. Really enjoyable now but interested to try again in 5-10 years
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12/25/2020 - pleigh wrote: 93 Points
So much structure and grippy tannins but fruits all evolving and building up to be a phenomenal bottle. Excited to see what this becomes in 5years.
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12/11/2020 - B Paul wrote:
There's a good bit of oak here, more so than I'd prefer. Aside from that the wine is nice with pure fruit and good texture. If I had another bottle I'd hold for a bit to see if the oak will integrate further.
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12/7/2020 - Ericsson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Une bouteille différente de celle bue il y a 6 mois...
Ouverte 1 heure avant dégustation.
Robe prune, grenat. Le nez est moins expressif ce soir, cassis, graphite, très primaire encore. La bouche offre davantage d'éclat, complexité et finesse sont présentes, les tanins sont bien intégrés et la finale est de belle longueur.
Très beau vin vin qui devrait encore s'épanouir durant ces 8-12 prochaines années.
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12/6/2020 - CWang wrote: 95 Points
Apples, berries, cherries, plums, roses, violets, pencil shavings, and truffles in the rich and elegant nose; berries, cherries, cocoas, light wood spices, wet pebbles, and honey-coated tannins on the fruity, smooth, and structured palate; very long finish; overall, 94-95 points at this stage; very enjoyable already but could evolve further in another 5-10 years; paired well with crispy roast baby duck at Le Palais restaurant in Taipei.
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12/5/2020 - popopdrops wrote: 88 Points
Dekantert. Primær frukt, behagelig, eller behag på det primære. Prøv igjen om 1 år.
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10/28/2020 - rougeamore Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine has really come around and is drinking beautifully right now. Dense blackberries and plum with smokey tobacco. Tannins are smooth and silky with a medium long finish. Wonderful.
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10/24/2020 - Lma1969 wrote: 94 Points
Gorgeous wine. Incredible structure, well balanced, wonderful acidity, long finish. Plum compote, lots of rich black fruit. The nose is a bit muted. This wine needs more time. I have 5 more and don’t plan to touch another for 3-4 years. Paired with a rib eye and sautéed mushrooms.
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10/6/2020 - Zafer Likes this wine: 93 Points
Plums, currants, chewy quality. Very well balanced, and promises more years.
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8/6/2020 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Domaine de Chevalier rouge; 8/4/2020-8/12/2020 (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Aromas of plums, blackcurrant, a little cassis, sweet spice and a smidge of black cherry. Under this is a touch of pencil shavings, cedar and a touch of wood glue. It's a little ripe and a little soft on the palate for me and, arguably, it's a touch anonymous. Flavours are quite Ribena with a lick of black cherry, tannins are quite soft and all carries long. I would hope that time will help here as the nose promises much.
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8/1/2020 - hargy Likes this wine: 90 Points
a lovely balance to this and it certainly has a great future - leave for a while
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6/20/2020 - Ericsson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bordal chez RPB (Margaux, Palmer, Mouton, Cos...): Aveugle. Pas de notes formelles.
Mon préféré ce soir… Couleur prune, arômes sur les fruits noirs et rouges après 30 minutes, graphite, havane, tanins assimilés, long.
J'ai pensé à Mission.
On peut sans autre le goûter.
94-95
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5/29/2020 - korniev wrote: 92 Points
Good but way too early to drink. Opened the bottles 10 in the morning and drunk 20:00 that day. Still..... it just needs time!
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4/7/2020 - David Meddings Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark garnet, bricking at rim. Cassis and spice on fragrant bouquet. Palate is cassis driven with a licorice aspect, fine drying tannins start with the final which draws out effortlessly here. Beautiful balance. This was my first of 12 and looking forward to enjoying the others.
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3/31/2020 - fc1910 wrote: 91 Points
From half bottle to pair some roasted high class ecological chicken legs,
overripeness on the nose at first, like some mature Rioja GR, this blows of after an hour, now ripe black fruit, meaty, cigar tobacco,
right from the start a rich, nearly jammy fruit, blueberry, plums, blackberry, reminds me of an very good Priorato, so this bottle is not a typical classic Bordeaux due to this very unusual vintage and the small format of this bottle, mid- to fullbodied, quiet silky driven, but with a very good structure through the lively tannin, long+ juicy dark fruit finish, I do think now it will start its prime in normal bottles in 3- 5 years, **(**-?), 91-93(+) potential
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1/25/2020 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 95 Points
Halenberg / Chevalier tasting-cum-lunch (Wine Bar 4850, Amsterdam, NL): So juicy and rich and structured and elegant and delicious, so complete and expressive, a “full organ” wine, seductive in spite of huge tannic power.
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1/25/2020 - dvansteenderen Likes this wine: 93 Points
Domaine de Chevalier 2000-2010: Most ready and complete at the moment. Very joyful!
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1/23/2020 - popopdrops wrote: 90 Points
Dekantert. Deilig fra første glass, ikke like gøy dag 2.
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1/12/2020 - wineforth Likes this wine: 95 Points
Lovely wine, improved since last summer. From 375. Blackcurrant and graphite followed by saline overtones and a bittersweet chocolate finish. Big bodied and not overblown by the hot vintage this will continue to improve for some years. I may have to get some 750s.
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12/28/2019 - Lemari Likes this wine: 94 Points
Inviting bouquet, complex layered fruit, very well balanced. The full-bodied '09s are drinking beautifully now and the vintage will evolve for years to come. Tip: A healthy decant will reward you.
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12/18/2019 - drum-wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark & intense purple, cassis, blackberries, oak & toast (vanilla hints), tabacco, chocolate, strong and powerful but yet still very fresh and with good acidity and structure. Opened up after about 90min. Still juvenile but already very approachable.
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10/29/2019 - Collector1855 wrote: 95 Points
Bordeaux 2009 Grand Cru / 10-years on / tasted blind: Expressive nose of farmyard, toast and forest floor. Light palate, almost a bit too light for a higher score, but good stuff for sure and another fresh and classic wine in this wonderful and ready to drink flight.
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10/6/2019 - Andrew67 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Such a lovely wine. Blackberry, plum, tobacco, cloves. Great length, with fine tannins that flow through to the end. The acidity is just in the background. this is a wine where the elements are in harmony. Young still - I can't see this getting past its best for another decade at least.
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10/2/2019 - Brent25 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Clear deep ruby; clean medium nose of jammy cassis, graphite, blackberry, vanilla, black licorice and toast; dry; medium plus acidity; medium plus tannins; high alcohol; medium plus body; medium plus flavour intensity; pfn with addition of cocoa and dense jammy goodness; medium plus finish; outstanding quality; drink now or age for another 10 years; seems more new world than old world - not a bad thing! :)
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9/25/2019 - fc1910 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank over 48 hours, after pnp this has a very meaty fragrance? on the nose, this blows away after the first 24 hours leading to a predominant delicious rich plum fruit, some dark cassis too,
on the first day a little restrained, dominant tannin, ripe but in the foreground, on wednesday this one needed food, baked fish or meat, in the second 24 hours this bottle is the pure elegance with finesse and superb fruit, a creamy tasty flow on the midpalate, some mineralic hints like graphit, long finish, long life ahead, would recommend to wait another 5 years for a more open showing, in its really prime in approximately a decade, **(**-*****), 93,94(+) potential
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9/20/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Just now beginning to wake up, the wine is all about Cuban Cigars, truffle, wet earth, tobacco leaf and red plums. Medium/full-bodied, with soft, elegant, silky tannins and a ripe, sweet, luscious, fruit-filled finish with just a bit of oak left to integrate. Give this about 5 more years in the cellar and you are in for a sublime vintage of Domaine de Chevalier.
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7/21/2019 - Strid3r21 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Strong dark cherries and fruit. Slight floral aromas. Silky smooth mouth feel with a medium finish. Dark color. appears to be very young still with many more years left to age in bottle.
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7/6/2019 - wineappreciation wrote: 91 Points
Blueberry, plum; full, thick, fruitful, moderately long finish; good but a little too forward
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7/3/2019 - rossi.wine wrote: 93 Points
Tasted next to a barrel sample of 2018. Generous and expressive on the nose, notes of tobacco, spices, red and dark fruit, cedar. Polished tannins on the palate, oodles of fruit, spicy, good acidity. Nice tannic bite towards the finish, but really quite approachable at this stage. 92-94
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7/3/2019 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 93 Points
Berry Brothers 2018 Bordeaux en primeur (plus back vintages) (Lindley Hall, London): Somehow not as good as I remember. Feels like it has shut down a bit. The underlying material is clearly here and even in this form it is good value. But I remember a terrific bottle a few years back. So I recommend to hold as I think it is in a dull phase.
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6/24/2019 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 95 Points
2009 Bordeaux 10 years in the bottle 2-day horizontal; 6/23/2019-6/24/2019 (Fribourg): Part of a grand Bordeaux 2009 tasting spanning 2 days that revealed 1) a right bank struggling with overripe fruit and overwhelming tannins, 2) wide spreak between top performers and laggards, 3) left bank, and especially Margaux, outshone the right bank cousins, 4) Top wines: Palmer, Margaux, Cheval Blanc, Vieux Chateau Certan.
Tasting note:
Dark berry, a tad jammy but not overripe, fresh herbs, floral aromatics and faint animal notes. Fine structure with lots of fruit and flowers on the palate. Good balance with soft tannins. Elegant and fun. A crowd pleaser and not necessary for the purists, but definitely to my liking. 95+
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6/24/2019 - Cailles wrote: 93 Points
Bordeaux 2009 - 10 Years On - 47 Reds; 6/23/2019-6/24/2019: 2009 Bordeaux after 10 years. 48 red wines. The left bank (average rating 94.2) clearly trumps the right bank (92.6): Elegance, purity and freshness vs over-extraction, ripeness and oxidation. But there are some winners on the right bank (Cheval, Petrus, Hosanna for now, Lafleur, Trotanoy medium-term) but the highest scores were given to left bank wines (Margaux #1 overall, Palmer, Mouton, for now, Latour, St. Juliens medium-term). I guess purists will not like the loads of oak-derived aromas which in some wines are great but can make the wines a bit slutty (Cheval, Margaux, quite a lot of right banks). But there are plenty of more classically shaped wines too. Overall, the 2009s are a lot of fun with many pockets of greatness but I would be very selective on the right bank. If you like more elegant, subtle and classic wines I would focus on 2005/2010/2016. All wines tasted blind and without decanting.
TN: Dark, ripe but not overripe fruit, roasted herb, some crushed rock on the nose. Same aromas along some crushed rocks and some red fruit on the palate. Round, suave with just slightly dry tannins. Not overly complex nor long but makes a lot of fun to drink. One that can be opened now, even without a long decant.
Average blind score 4 tasters: 93.3
Rank: 33th out of 48 wines
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5/26/2019 - zarped wrote: 93 Points
au début de sa (longue vie) un regal
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5/5/2019 - blackcrowb Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent. I don't like to decant wines so opened a couple hours early and swirled in a Zalto glass. Warm plum pie and red licorice in nose,more of the same on the palate with a bit of pencil lead. It is a touch loose so I wouldn't wait too long to start drinking up.
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5/1/2019 - NickA Likes this wine: 91 Points
From half bottle. Opened up very quickly in decanter - say 15-20 minutes - and feels open and ready for business, if still primary. Nose began very fruity but after 2-3 hours has become much woodier (sandalwood rather than cedar?). Palate very juicy, delicious and welcoming. Cassis and a long finish that becomes more savoury and demands another sip. Doesn't seem that structured - silky and plush rather than taut - but has sufficient freshness to avoid being flabby. Doesn't have enough seriousness or magic to merit a higher score, though.
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4/20/2019 - SGoenophile Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dinner at Wah Lok. Decanted for 3 hours. Dark purple. Pronounced aromatics. Softened tannins after decant compared to first sip. Velvety smooth. Quite dense, plush ripe fruit yet there is freshness and good balance. Already drinking well.
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4/19/2019 - bonedoc wrote: 91 Points
Decanted and drank over 2 hours. Some Brett taint, although did not not detract much as it was subtle. Dark cherries, beef, silky and lush mouthfeel, somewhat of a short midpalate, and a medium finish.
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4/9/2019 - James Macpherson wrote:
Two bottles decanted for an hour. Very dark, interesting nose of brambles, sweet and smooth with ripe tannins. Starting to drink well but I will hold back for another five years before trying more.
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4/8/2019 - matlee89 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow this has really come around since I first tried it two years ago. Nose was explosive after a short half hour decant. Balanced and still somewhat fruit forward. Good structure, though tannins starting to resolve. Didn't take detailed notes.
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3/21/2019 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 94 Points
VinoLaprisco Tasting (Restaurant De Karpendonkse Hoeve *, Eindhoven, Netherlands): Finesse and intensity, understated elegance, balanced and harmonious, juicy and seamless, just entering its plateau of maturity, cedary, classic claret, smooth texture, drinking beautifully but with twenty years ahead of it. Style and substance.
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3/18/2019 - Stefan75 wrote: 90 Points
Double-decanted four hrs prior, young and powerful, a bit new world style, will be interesting to watch develop over next 10+ years
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3/7/2019 - chanukha Likes this wine: 91 Points
A little flabby. Not sure if indicative of '09 vintage or this producer. I do think 2009 won't be as long lived as other big vintages of the same decade.
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3/4/2019 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Weekly tasting group RWP #322; Four flights of four wines; we knew nothing. (@ RW): Beautiful bouquet with dark berries, sweet spices, herbs, cedar, chocolate and vanilla. On the palate beautifully ripe dark berries, sweet spices, some sweetness and round tannin. A youthful and great wine which is already a great pleasure. (This note is a fully blind note of exactly the same wine I opened myself with some friends two days ago. The notes differ slightly, but the score was the same.)
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3/2/2019 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
An easy afternoon with close friends; Pessac, Pomerol, Pauillac. (@ My place): In the bouquet sweet spices, ripe dark berries, chocolate, oak and cigar box. On the palate sweet spices, graphite, dark berries, chocolate, beautiful acidity and tannin. Full bodied and a good length. Already a great and very complete wine. Can easily last another 10+ years.
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2/21/2019 - maxima wrote: 92 Points
Un autre belle réussite pour ce domaine.
2005 et 2010 sont superbes, 2005 commencent à peine
à entrer dans sa fenêtre, 2010 y sera mais faudra l'attendre
un peu plus. Complexe, racé et fin. Un fruit
gourmand, des tanins fins et une finale assez longue.
Tout simplement délicieux et le plus approchable des 3 millésimes
cités.
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2/18/2019 - englishman's claret wrote: 94 Points
2009 Blind Tasting: Sweet and soft, blueberry, oak, cherry compote, slightly smoky and bricky, faintly floral. Suave, silky palate with excellent depth, focus and length boding well for the future? Domaine de Chevalier? Correct.
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2/17/2019 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 93 Points
Rich colour, youthful ruby with some brown at the edges; Jancis nailed this one when she described the nose as sandalwood lifted by Cabernet Franc notes; very classical palate, savoury, restrained and elegant for a 2009, fresh and energetic, balanced and poised, well-structured and striking a lovely balance between powerful but finely grained tannins and the ample stuffing of fruit; very good persistence, leaves the mouth dry but perfumed. At ten years of age still youthful and full of promise. Clearly a Chevalier for the longer haul - 25/30 years perhaps, well above average for modern Domaine de Chevalier rouge, which often peaks ten years earlier than that.
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2/2/2019 - angelcyn Likes this wine: 91 Points
Certainly ready, gave it a couple of hours decant, sandalwood nose, dark cherry with an orange rim already, soft in the mouth with cherries, tannins softened, as others have noted, no need to wait for this, wonder how it will go on as it has matured quite quickly .
Nice wine easy to like and drink, but not great.
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2/2/2019 - Rollerball wrote: 94 Points
Enjoyed next to the '89. Two warm vintages, 20 years to melt the tannins in what was a fascinating lesson in texture. What was gravelly and velvety in the '09 was silky in this '89, which did show some tertiary characteristics but was no where near over the hill. Assuming this '09 has the advantage of more advanced techniques in the vineyard and cellar, it's at least a 35-year wine. -2044
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2/2/2019 - maaike2 wrote: 94 Points
Two years after my first tasting this wine develops quick and is powerful though elegant. A beauty.
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1/5/2019 - FransS wrote: 95 Points
The (annual) tasting at Loek's anniversary (His tasting room): Tasting note 4,997: Compared to the other '09's Domaine de Chevalier convinced me with its elegance, concentration and backbone; everything in balance.
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10/19/2018 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Two years since my last bottle. Back then this was a tightly wound tannic beast but now it's good to go. Some colour at the rim, there's dark berries, crushed rocks and minerals on the nose along with a slightly feral element creeping in. Ferret? Much softer on the palate now, it seems to have shed the wall of fruit and tannin and seems slightly dilute even in the middle. Dry finish. Some of these 2009s seem to be evolving mighty fast.
Much fatter and rich day 2.
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10/18/2018 - Ianthemac Likes this wine: 92 Points
First bottle from case of 6. Decanted for an hour. Slightly muted nose, but a gorgeous deep colour with very little change at the rim. Classic dark ripe berries - huge hit of cassis with a touch of leather. The tannins are silky smooth already. Although a gorgeous wine, I think this may be in a slightly dumb phase and I think it has even more to offer.
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9/15/2018 - baxter67 wrote: 95 Points
Has a freshness and precision as good as most I have found in a 2009 claret. There is an exquisite balance with the fruit well defined. Restrained elegant and complex. ****(*)
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8/31/2018 - Escher Cellars wrote: 90 Points
Based of the region, year + the previous reviewer notes, I was really looking forward to this wine. Maybe my hopes were too high. It was balanced and mildly structured however lacked any depth, tannins or lingering aftertaste to consider it memorable. I dont think it will improve with time as it threw considerable sediment. Cheers.
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7/24/2018 - Kriz wrote: 91 Points
Interesting nose. Forrest and dried fruit like plums and figs, some chili powder. Very nice palate, balanced, powerful with good present fruit. Long finish, very good wine.
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7/11/2018 - Michael777 wrote: 93 Points
after the opener without decanting blue fruits salt was an interesting acid in the wine, however, to drink intensively, half an hour later the wine was softer, the wine is ready to drink 93 points
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7/7/2018 - wineforth Likes this wine: 94 Points
From a half bottle bought from the wine society. Smoky blackcurrant nose, seems quite alcoholic but is only 13.5pc - perhaps it’s the hot weather. Big bodied, dark chocolate bitterness and huge finish. Tannins are hardly noticeable and wine is drinking perfectly now yet will improve for at least 5 years. Good value.
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5/18/2018 - sorp222 wrote: 89 Points
Might be above my pay grade as a wine taster - everything was rather muted (even after 4 hours in decanter). Nice balance, not too much alcohol. But also not too much length, palate of graphite, chocolate, forest floor. Correct and pleasant rather than wonderful.
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1/13/2018 - MrBrege wrote: 94 Points
Mini Horizontal of 2009 Left Bank: So different from the Pauillac and Margaux. Surprisingly perhaps,much more spice on the nose, otherwise all red fruit. Some acidity for sure on the palate, less tannins, and terrific balance with the red fruit. Still very young but enjoyable, the best of the three (and also more expensive, how depressing...)
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1/1/2018 - racerchris Likes this wine: 92 Points
Required at least 3 hours in decanter to wake up.
Lower acidity. Nice ripe fruit profile.
Medium finish.
92-93
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12/31/2017 - fotomill Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cabernet Sauvignon 66%, Merlot 28%, Petit Verdot 6%, alcohol 13.5%. Dense crimson still with a hint of purple. But the nose and palate are already ripe. Sweet alcohol of nail remover, plum jam, blackberry, oak, vanilla, oriental spices. Very nice Pessac-Leognan. Almost full bodied. Considerable amount of sediment. Drink on the day.
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12/25/2017 - R J Lewis Likes this wine:
Informal note.
Nose is fairly muted. Ripe black plum, some cocoa. This comes to life on the palate, rich layers of red and black fruit with some stony/woody notes. Ripe present tannins. Long finish. Very satisfying wine. It will likely develop well but it's pretty good to go right now as it's just beginning to get some mature notes.
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12/5/2017 - whits Likes this wine: 95 Points
decanted 2 hours, fragrant, with extroverted scents of mountain flowers, dried cherries and leather, traverses the mouth with a caressing mouthfeel, this has gained depth since the last bottle, wild strawberry preserves, blackberry, currant, red licorice and earthy flavors, elegant, long, the 2009 has reached a seductive state and is drinking well right now for me, however, it is still youthful and will age for a long time
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8/1/2017 - marshalc Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very nice. Nice structure, nose and mouthfeel. Should do well.
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7/2/2017 - maaike2 wrote: 93 Points
After 1 day even more intense, balance, length. Earthy notes and fruit still there, the wine opened up. Appealing sweetness. Now its future is safe to me, although the threat of loosing all tension and freshness with aging is there.
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7/2/2017 - Cailles wrote: 92 Points
Lots of black fruit, some tabacco/earth aromas, nice freshness, mostly well balanced but still some hard edges and tannins. Not as complex at this stage. Needs more time or a few hours of decant (popped and poured).
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7/1/2017 - maaike2 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 2 hours. Surprisingly well drinking. Niet sure if this promises a great future. Now delicious with restricted notes of earth, and even tobacco, besides the dark fruit. Well balanced despite its youth.
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6/21/2017 - Chimer Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wine of the night in a good flight. Astonishingly approachable with 2 hours decanting - difficult to resist as it is already so delicious! However, this clearly has the density, freshness and balance to age for an eternity. Exceptional.
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6/15/2017 - Michael777 wrote: 92 Points
Fresh blackberries, fine oak, subtle nuances, delicate after nougat and mint. Elegant, fresh, almost delicate, red berry nuances, balanced, a finessereicher wine, Extraktsüßer reverberation, remains however altogether quite slim.
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4/4/2017 - KCC320 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tobacco mixed with cassis and chocolate nose. Quite subtle and fruity.
Palate was also quite fruity with plum and chocolate. Tannin was quite smooth and very easy to drink even in its youth. Chocolate finishing. I would suggest to drink now instead to age it longer. Quite a modern Bordeaux.
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3/14/2017 - RolandRG wrote: 95 Points
Nicely done; dark berries, black cherries, earth, and spice aromas. Elegant and round, with textures of silk, powerful and well-structured palate, the balance is exceptional, ends with a long finish. Will be 95 + with some more time.
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3/2/2017 - MrBrege wrote: 95 Points
This is both the best Chevalier and one of the best 2009s I've ever had. Absolutely beautiful and wonderfully elegant! Slow-oxed this for 6h and it is totally ready to drink. Great nose of course but it is the intense fruit (red and black actually) on the attack and seamless transition into an intense, silky, long finish that really gets you! at GBP 60 it is really great value! I only got 6, I will have to buy more.
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2/18/2017 - matlee89 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Has the bones to age for a long while. Concentrated and dark. Lots of cocoa, coffee, chocolate tones. Perhaps should have given it more air (decanted for 2 hours) as it got better and more complex with time in the glass. Currently lacking some of the flamboyance one would expect of the 2009 vintage, and didn't quite find the minerality of the Graves. Still excellent, but perhaps entering a bit of a dumb phase. Either wait or give plenty of air.
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1/21/2017 - whits Likes this wine: 95 Points
has a pristine, ruby appearance, scents of mountain flowers, red berries and red licorice, very enjoyable in it's youthful and fresh state, wild strawberries, cherries, cinnamon and mineral flavors, clean fruit, medium bodied, perfectly balanced acid, beautifully feminine, every sip is invigorating rather than tiring, a well-made, fine wine, will continue to cellar well, but drinking well now, this claret is kind to your mouth
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12/28/2016 - pdemaio wrote: 94 Points
PDQ94+
excellent, modern style Bordeaux that is already drinking well.
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12/26/2016 - micsauer Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wow, this was great! Very silky tannins, strawberry, other red fruit, smooth and a long finish. Totally rounded and harmonious. This is still very young so I am sure it will add complexity and more points in a few years.
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12/23/2016 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Blacker than a thousand midnights.Fabulous nose of dark sweet fruit and a savoury element, like the smell of hot meat juices in a roasting pan. Great fruit concentration - a real tooth stainer - but also very supple and refined. Blind I might have guessed California. Very much a product of the vintage. Despite the ripeness there are still considerable tannins and this seems years from being ready.
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11/21/2016 - PSPatrick wrote: 90 Points
Bordeaux 1959 – 2014 (blind)”, flight 7, wine 2. The wine was medium to dark ruby in colour and offered ripe fruit (mostly dark), chocolate and spices on the nose and palate, with medium-level acidity, ripe tannin and very good length. Until revealed I had never guessed that this was Domaine de Chevalier – an unusually ripe and modern style; true to the vintage, but not among my favourite Domaine de Chevaliers. At least not young, maybe in 20 years?
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9/5/2016 - Sjontoft wrote: 94 Points
Very dark. Intense, yet slightly tight nose. Lots of black fruit.
Palate is long. Tannins are tight. Intense and high flavor intensity.
This will be a lot better in 5+ years, but drinks excellently now.
3/4 = Very good to outstanding
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7/25/2016 - BigTex22 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Needs a few hours to open up. Very nice and well integrated.
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6/5/2016 - Joesap wrote:
My Grade: EXX-. An outstanding effort from a Chateau that flys under the radar somewhat. After 3 hours of air the color developed into an exceptionally deep, almost black, purple with a black cherry rim. Expressive and gorgeous nose of blue and black fruit, menthol, vanilla, mushrooms, burnt toast. Lively and complex on the palate, with waves of intense briar fruit, fine grained tannins, succulent and mineral mid-palate, long sour-blackberry finish, great structure and acidity to last for decades (see my profile for grades).
This will undoubtedly continue to improve, should be stunning in 7-10 years ( see my profile for grades)
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5/7/2016 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose of cigar box, black cherry, and plum, slightly fruit forward after an hour in the glass/ bottle opened, very supple, mouth filling with rich fruit, medium/big body, long, long flavorful finish, almost at it's peak and should be there the next 5 years. At $70, a reasonable value in Bordeaux.
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5/2/2016 - dpolivy wrote:
DRC Tasting Group: Bordeaux Night (Seattle, WA): Tasted blind. Smoky, burnt wood on the nose. Juicy black fruit, plum, spice, and wood on the palate. This is young, big, and juicy. Finishes with fine tannins. Enjoyable.
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4/26/2016 - KenPlace wrote: 93 Points
WOTN. Excellent acidity. Still very young. Evolving quite nicely. Great value.
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2/14/2016 - asowerby30@gmail.com Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank at dinner party at home. Accompanied beef wellington and cheese. Fruity, smooth and incredibly well balanced. Less earthy on the nose than most Claret. A young and vibrant wine and one to definitely revisit. Guests all loved it.
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1/7/2016 - antkorbel Likes this wine: 94 Points
Huge wofts of red fruit, cedar and pencil straight from the get go. Class. To taste incredibly smooth and well balanced. Modern. Delicious wine and easy to glug and enjoy.
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1/5/2016 - olalar wrote: 95 Points
Opened bottle at 1pm and poured half a glass. Decanted at 5pm follwed by dinner at 6.30pm to 8pm. Kept improving during the dinner and was best at the end.
This is truly exceptional. So much fruit and elegance at the same time it is hard to comprehend. To smell is amazing with copious amounts of red and blue fruit mixed with well integrated oak, lead pencil (starting to show at higher temp) and spices with some underbush behind the corner. So pure, balanced and long. In the moth there is still improvements to come but this will definately be a complete bluckbuster in a 5 years or so. Hard to resist but will be worth the wait.
All this at 13.5% alcohol makes me say wow!
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12/31/2015 - Mad Dog Mikey Likes this wine:
still too young to be able to award it with a rating with any good consience, today a 91-92 with 3-4 hours of air. next bottle not before 2020.
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12/31/2015 - BigJ Likes this wine:
Great bottle. Young, really young. But already with 3-4 hours of air showing its potential length. on the nose is strawberry, tobacco and earth. Palate shows cranberry, strawberry, tar, pencil and some fantastically integrated oak, this is really crisp, long and fresh. It will be a total mind bender I am sure in 10 years if you can wait. This wine is alive, awesome.
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12/22/2015 - il_diavolo wrote: 94 Points
This needs time if opened now. pop-n-pour and you may feel it is a soft and lush fruity wine with some oak. But with a few hours' air this develops beautifully with lush plum and blackberry fruit mixed with graves' tones of tar and smoke. Nice and long finish and the tannins are not intrusive. Still I have no doubt this is the tip of the iceberg and anyone waiting (say) 5 to 10 years will have a much improved wine. 94+
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11/19/2015 - harrylime Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Very dark purple. Plummy fruit wood vanilla chocolate. Thick and unresolved. Just a bit too sweet right now.
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10/21/2015 - Yagil wrote: 94 Points
dark opaque red-purple, intense rip dark fruits aroma, full bodied, firm round tannins, powerful, mouth filling, excelent complexity and structure, elegant long finish
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10/16/2015 - blanquito wrote:
Young and primary, tasting of grapes, licorice and tar. Distant whiffs of coconut indicate subtle, high-end oak. The palate is dark and tangy, and seems well balanced despite the opulence of the vintage overall. The fruit is almost cool and the alcohol level is appropriate. Good fleshy midpalate and a nice finish, showing a lot of merlot. The texture and tannins (which are very soft and subtle for a young claret) have a spit polished feel, which gives this a semi-slick, modern vibe. Gets deeper, better with air. This is a good wine, still too young but approachable now. Very well-made and sleek, you can tell how competent the wine makers are, what it lacks is a sense of place or terroir. There is little Graves character right now and blind I'm not sure I would think Bordeaux either. Still, this strikes me as modern Bordeaux done right and I'd love it if you told me it was a Cali blend. Give this 10 years and hope that more character develops in the cellar. Very Good.
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9/2/2015 - "Rhône Rider" Likes this wine: 91 Points
Intens, modne plommer, sedertre, kirsebør. Helt finkornet nydelig balansert med friskhet mot den søte frukten. Drikker meget bra nå.
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5/29/2015 - harrylime Likes this wine: 92 Points
Second bottle of the night. See previous note. Not decanted long enough so very heavy cigar. And wood. The next day it was true to form.
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5/29/2015 - harrylime Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for 3 hours or so and left in wine fridge. Beautifully rich cigar box rose vanilla bracken with big plummy fruit wrapping it all. A crowd pleaser. Tannins smooth out to a long long finish.
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5/21/2015 - rougeamore Likes this wine: 93 Points
Elegant, refined, classic Bordeaux blend. Black plum, violets, and gunflint on the nose with a clear old world character. Balanced flavors of black plum, licorice, and forest floor on the palette. Smooth, fine tannins round it all out... and it goes on and on with a long finish. Domaine de Chevalier is one of our favorite winemakers. 93 points.
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5/16/2015 - Phenol73 Likes this wine: 93 Points
(Decanter's Bordeaux '05, '09, '10 tasting) :: Much more open than the 2010. Lifted red fruit, tobacco leaf, touch of pepper and a mineral undercurrent. Like the '10, still quite compact; but feels like tertiary characters / earth tones will start to unfurl in coming years. Very good.
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5/9/2015 - rossi.wine wrote: 94 Points
Even more impressive on the nose than the 2010. Opulent fruit notes, tobacco, spices, smoke.Less tight than the 2010, this is very expressive and rich on the palate without being heavy. Fresh and well balanced. Good tannic structure, fine length. Excellent. 93-94+
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5/9/2015 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 95 Points
Pulled the cork on half a full bottle left after "taking nibbles" over the past weeks via Coravin - decanted for 3 hours. Similar to my previous notes - after decant I got a wider palate and lovely chocolate notes. Beautiful wine. I really think this can be drunk now if you like young Bdx. I like how the wood is so very much in the background here seamlessly integrated, fruit forward and alcohol is not overdone at 13.5% compared to some other 09s, this just is effortless and not forced. I can't wait to follow this wine over the next decades. I have one case stashed away and I am thinking of either buying another of the 09 or a case of the 10. Any thoughts on 09 vs 10 on this one very welcome (have not tasted the 10 yet)...
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5/7/2015 - Paul S wrote: 94 Points
KR's Farewell (Imperial Treasure, Great World City): Very good indeed – this is about as solid a young Domaine de Chevalier as I have ever had. It had such a lovely nose, ripe and warm and inviting, with dusty earth and warm herbs wafting out of the glass alongside sappy cassis and dried flower aromas, then some sweet roasted capsicums and just a kiss of fragrant spice and toasty oak. This was complex, perfumed and alluring. The palate was first class too. It shared the same warm depth as the nose, but was at once clean, clear, juicy and just really delicious, with pure, sappy tones of cassis and blueberry that brought to mind fruit pastilles in their gentle sweetness, and then gentle notes of warm wood spice and lovely wafts of tobacco filling the back-palate. In spite of its youth, the velvety finesse of the wine’s tannins and the lovely integration it had made it really easy to drink after short decant. Beautiful stuff. The wine was still clearly structured under all its sappy fruit, with wonderfully bright and juicy acidity and a slight grip of drying tannins showing up right at the finish. While it is delicious now, I would leave it aside for another 8-10 years at least. It probably will age for just about forever though.
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4/18/2015 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 95 Points
Really beautiful wine. Accessed from Coravin at 12 degrees and left in the glass for around an hour. It already drank fabulously well at this point - such lovely red fruit coming through, very suave, no hard edges whatsoever. I am glad I have a case in storage, almost thinking of buying one more case. Must be one of the true great "value" buys from the 2009 vintage in today's market.
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4/4/2015 - jrh82 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great wine. Red berries, nice oak, leather and maybe some vanilla. Smooth taste. Believe I can taste that famous mineral note too. Fine tannins. Looking forward to drinking this wine again.
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12/26/2014 - Sevencircles Likes this wine: 91 Points
A lot of earth and oak. Nice transformation to dark chocolate on the midpalete. Very long finish.
91+ right now maybe 93 over time.
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12/19/2014 - anders_bjorn Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted 2h prior to consumption. Drank it way too early. However, I very much wanted to ascertain where, in its development, the wine was. Not very approachable, closed with a lovely concentration on the nose (m+), more red fruits that I expected. The classic notes of cassis and other dark, blue and red forest fruits were present, as well as a hefty dose of oak spice. Not fully integrated oak, which I'm guessing can be attributed to its modest age. A powerful yet elegant wine (behind all the baby fat). Medium+ length, about m+ body, fruit-to-tannin (m to m+) seemed at the time to be pretty on point. Absolutely lovely.
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12/15/2014 - mpdonnel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Earth on the nose to begin. Decanted for 3 hours and then started to come together. Nice notes of cherry and hints of oak. Drank even better on night two. Will like to try again in a few years.
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11/23/2014 - pablopilot Likes this wine: 92 Points
This is really nice and evolved for a 5-year old bordeaux. Plenty of fruit on the black side with some nice acidity and balance. Not huge, more elegant. We had a feeling that as good as this was with restaurant dinner, at an entirely reasonable price, its not getting any better. Not a lot of headroom in the mouthfeel or structure. Not too complex. Reminded me a bit of a Brunello. Built on a fairly subtle foundation of eucalyptus, add some cherry and concentrated raspberry and top it off with a very nice, simple nose. Thoroughly decanted, with no residual sediment, also an indication that its built for the here and now. Great color, too.
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11/22/2014 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 95 Points
A matter of taste - Singapore (Singapore): Forest floor on the nose, fine texture and tightly knit on the palate, medium to long finish. This is a great 2009 and perhaps the best Bordeaux at the tasting. 94-95
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10/20/2014 - Dusan Santa wrote: 95 Points
This is a great wine! We drank this wine on my son celebration and it was very good decisions. Everybody liked it. In a hort time was the time gone. It is pitty that we couldnt wait to open it more (how would wait if this wine is already great). After that we tasted a wine from Toscana and it was not coparable to this great Chevalier. Medium and balanced tannins with taste of cedar wood. Sweet cherry, red fruits with long finish. I will open the next bottle after 2-3 years. I am glad I have more bottles from this vintage.
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10/6/2014 - junglejuice wrote: 95 Points
Tasted out of a .375 along side a 2009 Force Majeure Collaboration I. Both wines were fantastic and were very clearly drinking on the young side.
The Chevalier was opened the night before and allowed to slow ox. From the small taste from the pop and pour, the vanilla influence from the oak dominated the nose and the richness was echoed into the palate with very intriguing savory notes of sun dried tomatoes, herbs and dried currant. After sitting overnight, the strong oak influence was less apparent and the fruit and herbal complexity was showing through strongly. Notes of tobacco, dark cherry, tar, graphite, and exotic savory notes of beef jerky and cherry tomatoes drove the very structured finish. The interplay between the red fruit and savory herbal tones here was really interesting while the richness from the vintage kept the tannins from becoming too imposing. While the wine showed splendidly after a night if given 10 years to let the structure round out a bit this wine has the potential to be a show stopper - 95+.
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5/29/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 93 Points
Dark fruit, smoke and some cedar the nose. More on the palate. Beautiful texture and great balance. Dark and silky long finish. Already good.
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5/15/2014 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tasted @ big Bordeaux tasting in Zurich. Amazing aromatics of red fruits, but also cassis/black currant, lead pencil, forest floor and some smoky oak-notes and sweet spices as well as some cigar. Medium-full bodied with medium-high acidity and medium-high tannin that is super silky. It's dense, but leaves an impression of being weightless despite its body. Great length. A very beautiful and complete Domaine de Chevalier that is very fresh and elegant (as always). I love it!
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5/2/2014 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux 2009 vs. 2010 - Check in on 50 well known Chateaux: Discrete nose of cedar wood, toast, red fruit and spices. Opening up more after 1h. Delicate palate with good balance of tannins, fruit and acidity, quite some oak though that needs to integrate. Difficult to assess now, elements are here but they need to fall into place. Wait till 2018.
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4/11/2014 - Derek Darth Taster wrote: 91 Points
A Long Wine Night (Various locations): Tasted blind.
Appearance is clear, deep intensity, garnet colour.
Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of licorice, creme de cassis, and ripe black fruits.
On the palate, medium+ acidity, big but somewhat silky approachable tannins, full body, long finish. Flavours of ripe dark fruit, plums, blueberries, coffee. From the rich fruit and flavour profile, I actually guessed that this could be an aged Aussie Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet-Shiraz blend.
Surprised to find out that this was a Left Bank Bordeaux! How 'fail' of me.
As Jancis said about the 2009 'Vintage of the decade/century': "This growing season seemed to have it all. A long, fine, warm summer but, crucially, with refreshing nights to help retain acidity. Dramatically ripe, voluptuous wines, especially on the left bank."
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2/18/2014 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 91 Points
drank over three nights, improved each night, color was consistently dark purple, looks like an over-extracted Cali cab only six months in bottle, nose was fine but nothing to write home about, palate started off with great fruit / acid balance, by night three there were grainy tannins for awesome texture and some cedar and spice elements that made this spectacular… wonder what this puppy will taste like in 15 years?!?!?!?
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2/10/2014 - lwt Likes this wine: 90 Points
Domaine de Chevalier Tasting with Adrien Bernard (Crystal Wines Valley Point): This had a similarly perfumed nose like the 2007, I had trouble deciding which one I liked better in that aspect. Felt it was a bit thin on the palate although rather pleasant and much more drinkable compared to the 2004 and 2007. Lacks the opulence of the vintage which is reflective of Adrien's comments that the wine produced is true to the domaine's style and certainly not Mr Parker's.
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2/10/2014 - dchoo077 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Domaine de Chevalier tasting with Adrien Bernard (Crystal Wines): The sweetness of the vintage really stands out after tasting the '04 and '07 DdC side by side. Sweet, ripe black fruits and high level of concentration. Big mouth coating tannins but the huge fruit somehow keeps the wine relatively approachable. Can definitely taste the oak here but am guessing it will all integrate nicely given some time. Long and dry finish. This wine definitely has a long runway ahead of it; should be very good in 8-10 years. This wine was not decanted prior to drinking.
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1/19/2014 - OmiyaDrinker Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep Purple appearance. Lovely nose of cream, liqorice, cassis, copper.
Quite herbaceous profile and very silky mouthfeel. Very long finish and super acidity. Another 8 years will be fantatsic, balanced wine with lots of secondary characteristics.
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12/8/2013 - Wine Fool Likes this wine: 94 Points
(Decanted for four hours.) The color is an almost impenetrable, opaque purple that fades slightly to a comely black cherry at the edge. The nose is beautifully multi-faceted: ripe cassis and plum, vanilla bean, orange rind, Syrian tobacco, candied violet and just a suggestion of toasted oak. (This has a classic young Bordeaux olfactory profile, yet with a distinctly exotic, perfume-like element that is hard to pin down at this early stage.) It is ripe, opulent and pleasingly mouth-coating. The flavors of blackcurrant, redcurrant, blueberries, Damson plum, coffee and cocoa are impressively long and nearly seamless. The acidity is vivacious and commensurate with the ripe flavors. The tannins are big and firm but remarkably fine. This wine performs well above its weight class and will be a real marvel one day. While approachable now, I am waiting for it to shed some baby fat and tannins. 94+++ points for now.
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12/4/2013 - Raizes wrote: 89 Points
红色水果、尘土，青椒和一点辣椒粉的刺激味道，很清冷。后期烘烤味很重，增添了些许的复杂度，结构也更加沉稳。
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11/27/2013 - Drankard wrote: 94 Points
Dark raspberry in color. The fleshness of the vintage give this an expressive nose and palate of dark cherry but balanced by redcurrant and minerality that gives the fruit some lift. This is rich, racy, and structured. Can't wait until this sheds its baby fat. An excellent balanced wine in a ripe vintage. I won't think about opening another until after 2020.
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11/4/2013 - h2ofowler55 wrote: 92 Points
Very youthful and in need of more time, but this is a great wine in the making. Fleshy in the mouth, with complex earthy notes alongside very nice fruit. I would wait until 2015 at least before opening another. Could easily merit 94-95 in a few years.
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7/14/2013 - Coffeecup Likes this wine: 93 Points
I adore this wine. Decanted for 1 hour and it would benefit from a longer decant. There is a beautiful, dark violet color, blackberry, red fruit, chocolate, plum, spice, wonderful mid palate, the bouquet is somewhat restrained for now. There is a gentleness about the wine. It is not ready to drink; there is a lot of tannin. I look forward to getting older along with this wonderful, special wine.
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6/24/2013 - Kriz Likes this wine: 93 Points
The '09 sweetness on nose and palate. This is lovely now, in two years time, 10 or 20 years.. What a great wine! Blackberry and blueberry and a hint of mint. Balance will become better but this is good! Full bodied and lovey tannins. Impressive
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5/25/2013 - jmoon Likes this wine: 92 Points
Ripe, spice, voluptuous. Bit tannic needed a few hours. Not as complete and juicy as other 09 I've had eg the superb d'issan and spectacular pape clement.
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4/20/2013 - rossi.wine Likes this wine: 92 Points
What a nose! Dark berries, liquorice, cherries. A hint of tobacco, spices, wood. Nice with dominant fruit characters on the palate, this is a very balanced and quite subtle wine with good acidity. Tannins kicking in late, not unpleasant, they are quite sweet and not too drying. Medium finish. All in all an elegant, already quite approachable wine, but no doubt this will be even better in, say, 10 years time.
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1/23/2013 - clairenclarence wrote: 93 Points
decant 1 hr.a veri classic wine.nice integration.a veri balance wine.nice depth with some complexity.nice smooth tannins.a approchable wine to drnk nw.minus point:it lack some omph factor here.conclusion:it may nt b a wow wine,but for those who like classic stuff,tis is the bttl.i luv classic.tis bttl shud reach its peak in 5 yrs time
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11/25/2012 - Life At Your Leisure 🍷 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Thick and somewhat syrupy, but polished in texture and comes through as smooth and velvety from the meaty mid-palate until the finish. Flavors of maple, cardamom, blueberry jam, mulberry, espresso, vanilla, chocolate and mild graphite are present with, a hint of mint on the finish. Very balanced, expressive and approachable at a very young age (with 20 minutes of decanting). This is by far my favorite from Domaine de Chevalier.
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11/17/2012 - aagrawal wrote: 91 Points
K&L Top Bordeaux Tasting (K&L, San Francisco): Deep purple color; blackberry, black currant, dusty notes, ripeness; balanced but lacking typicite (lacks the minerality that I would expect), tannic, concentrated, good acid; medium finish. Hard to judge at this young age. 90-92
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11/17/2012 - drwine2001 wrote:
A Really Nice Bordeaux Tasting Including 1986 Haut Brion and 1990 Climens (K&L Wines, San Francisco): Dark color. Not much in the way of aroma right now. Smooth, oaky base but overall, medium weight and not too fat. Cedary on the palate, roasted but not overripe fruit, powerful acidity, round tannins. Closes with olive flavors and some welcome austerity that is partially due to the wood but entirely appropriate for this young age. When I tasted the 1990 later in the series, it was amazing to reflect upon how much the style of vinification had changed over the intervening 20 or so years. This was very good but much more marked by the oak than by sense of place.
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11/2/2012 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine:
purple, silky, sumptuous sexy wine, tannic & young
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10/28/2012 - AudunG wrote: 93 Points
Ripe red fruits / cherry and some oak on the nose. Low in acidity. Relatively big and broad for coming from this chateau. Very concentrated.
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9/29/2012 - mmh wrote:
Very nice and big nose. Complex! Cassis, flowers, perfume and some meat. Big on the palate as well, but not heavy. Quite complex, blanced and very fruity.
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9/23/2012 - pclin wrote: 91 Points
375ml bottle. 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot. 13.5% alcohol. Subtle nose. Notes of mint, raspberry, and strawberry with hints of oak. Medium-bodied with sour tannins. Aftertaste is bitter like pomelo skin. Long and dry finish. Elevated level of acidity. Not approachable unlike a lot of young Bordeaux 2009 wines which are delicious now. Will require long term cellaring to soften the tannins and hope acidity will not overwhelm other components. Showing a bit better on 2nd day, gains weight, softer tannins but still very dry aftertaste. 90-92 pts.
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8/4/2012 - rougeamore wrote: 91 Points
This wine wine has closed up substantially since the last tasting earlier this year. Dark, sweet fruits. Dense and thick with smooth tannins. Need to let this sit for a while to let it wake up and show its true potential before drinking again.
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7/7/2012 - FransS wrote: 94 Points
I saw today that I have noted this wine as the Blanc but it is of course the Rouge.
Options7/7/2012 - I WROTE: 94 points (Edit)
In future this wine will defeat the du Tertre, due to its core of concentrated power and elegance.
The bouquet offers the beginning of the cedar and earthy tones of Pessac and a kind of cool impression in the mid- and aftertaste.
Give this wine at least five years and you will have a wonderful bottle.
As beautiful as this wine will become in future, there is still an immense gap between this very good wine and the other world Pontet-Canet.
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6/23/2012 - G-Man555 wrote: 93 Points
Still a baby, but going to be great in a few years.
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6/10/2012 - Matt Scott wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for two hours, utilizing a funnel. The perfect colour: dark-violet, garnet and the rim is a thin beam of maroon. An erotic nose of black cherry, orange peel, currant paste, all spice, tobacco and gravel. Refined, and literally seamless, silky tannins; an endearing mid-palate that is echoing a lot of dark fruit. Very approachable, yet suitable for long, long-term aging - in fact, this will be exquisite fifty years from now. A deep pool of flavor, with a savory and long aftertaste. A modern classic. This might go through a relatively short dumb phase in the next year or two. Drink 2018 -.
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5/30/2012 - DonalOB wrote: 94 Points
Grande Bordeaux Tasting, 2009 (Harbour Grand Kowloon, Hong Kong): Very good. Smooth with lots of tannins. Needs 10 years but good body, mid-palate and length.
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5/29/2012 - Tao wrote: 92 Points
Tasted at Vinexpo Asia 2012
Dark red in color. Rich nose of candy, brambly red fruits, very pure! Dense on the palate, fruits, smooth tannins, but tannins dominate here! Smoky finish, a bit shy at the moment!
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5/5/2012 - PSPatrick wrote: 90 Points
Popped, poured into a decanter and served the first glass immediately; consumed over four days. The wine gained colour with air and ended up bright dark purple in colour. It offered violets, sweet fruits (black currant, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry), cherry cream liqueur, coffee and chocolate on the nose; from day two it also developed an intense vanilla aroma. On the palate the wine was a little closed at first, but opened-up within minutes, showing mixed fruit flavours (blueberry, blackberry, cherry, raspberry, currant), chocolate, roasted coffee, and from day two also an intense and creamy vanilla/crème brûlée flavour. In fact, the oak-flavours became very prominent from day two and will need time to integrate. The medium-bodied wine had a smooth and creamy texture and was ripe but round and somewhat elegant, with an incredibly long finish.
The wine was enjoyable right after popping the cork, but not as "I-take-no-prisoners"-seductive as the Château d’Aiguilhe 2009 I had recently, and drank consistently well over four days. It showed lots of California sunshine and I probably had not guessed Bordeaux in a blind tasting. The tannins were so ripe that they were barely noticeable underneath the ripe fruit and some of the 2009s, including this Domaine de Chevalier, are the most drinkable young Bordeaux I came across so far. The wine is very young, fruit-driven and oak-dominated and although it is drinkable now I would recommend holding your bottles for three to five years. For drinking now I clearly prefer the Domaine de Chevalier 2005 to the 2009. With view to 2009 Bordeaux, at their current stages I prefer the Château d’Aiguilhe 2009 to the Domaine de Chevalier 2009, but I am also sure that the Chevalier will be able to turn the tables in a few years.
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3/24/2012 - chablis28 wrote: 90 Points
No decant but opened 2 - 1/2 hours before drinking. Tonight with steaks. Dark, almost opaque purple color. Mineral & fresh dark fuit nose. Seems like classic Graves with lead pencil, cedar, rare meat and mineral driven flavors combines with dark cherry. Medium bodied. Focused, tight, balanced and fresh but very very youthfully primary and tanic. Didn't move a whole lot over the evening and could be closing down. Paid $80 and would have prefered to be buying this for around $50 -$60. OTOH, could be worth every penny of the $80 spent after 10 -15yrs of btl age. Call it a solid 90pt wine as it drinks, right now.
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1/30/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Cherry pipe tobacco, smoke, licorice and plum notes create the perfume. In the mouth, the wine is rich, plush and round with a chocolate covered, fresh blackberry finish.
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1/28/2012 - mike410 wrote: 93 Points
Union Des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Tasting (MONTREAL). Very dark. Floral and spicy nose. Light on the palette. Medium body. Abundant fruit.
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1/27/2012 - rougeamore wrote: 95 Points
UGC 2009 Bordeaux Tasting. Wow, full nose, full of dark fruit, very rich with smooth tannins with a long lingering finish.Wonderful
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1/27/2012 - lumpyelbow wrote:
Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 2009 (Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, ON): The first red of the evening for me and I wasn't disappointed. Nicely perfumed with copious fine tannins, you can see with some cellar time this will be a great wine. Would purchase but have done so already.
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1/27/2012 - Vino Me wrote: 91 Points
2009 Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Tasting; 1/27/2012-1/31/2012 (Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Chicago, Illinois): Lead pencil and roasted coffee aromas. Chewy texture with typical asphalt/tar notes. Moderate tannins. 89-92 points.
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1/26/2012 - KeithAkers wrote: 92 Points
nose: good dark fruit core to this with tones of earth, spice box tones, dark red berries and dark red fruits. Good depth and fairly open right now.
taste: medium/full bodied with real smooth but firm tannins. The feel is on the plush side with good depth and tones of dark red fruits, spice tones, dark berries and cedar tones as well.
overall: there is a real attractive dark red fruit quality to it. It isn't overdone, but there is a ripeness to the wine. Good structure, but the tannins aren't overpowering at this time. It does need some time, but comes off as fairly open for this age.
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1/26/2012 - Wine Sparty wrote: 94 Points
UGC 2009 Bordeaux Tasting (Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers): Very rich and smooth aroma here. Taste has a lot of dark fruit without much tannin at all. A hint of tobacco. Drinking great now.
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1/25/2012 - amateurwino wrote: 93 Points
Immediately on the nose, you sense this is a step up from either the Haut Bergey or Carbonnieux. In line with recent vintages of this wine, this shows some coffee on the nose, high quality fruit, and a touch of Graves mineral coming through. On the palate, very smooth, more power here than the ’06 or ’08 editions, but retains great balance. Has the right fruit, and power but is not overextracted. Will be a beautiful wine in its maturity. A great cheaper alternative to the Pape Clement, to which this wine bears some similarity. 93-94
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1/25/2012 - Faryan wrote:
UGC 2009 Bordeaux Tasting - NYC - 1.25.12 (New York City): Last tasted a year ago almost to the day via barrel sample. The wine has “grown up” quite a bit. Before it was primordial, backward and embryonic. In this setting it has calmed down and begun to settle into infancy. The wine shows far more class on the nose compared to the prior Graves. More floral lift (almost Margauxesque) and a beautiful red berry element to the fruit. I can’t wait until the telltale smoke begins to develop with more time in bottle. D d Chevalier rouge seems to be nipping at the heel of the 2nd tier graves rouges. Excellent. (92-96)
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1/23/2012 - alanr wrote: 89 Points
UGC 2009 Bordeaux tasting San Francisco: Rich, lush, touch ripe though well balanced, more Cali-like than most 09s
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1/21/2012 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 93 Points
Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux 2009 Tasting K&L, nose of blackberry, plum, cinnamon, and coffee, same on the palate, big body, rich fruit, needs 4 years to peak, delicious, medium/long finish.
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1/21/2012 - Redguy wrote: 93 Points
2009 Bordeaux at UGC San Francisco (Bentley Reserve Building, San Francisco): Beautiful sweet ripe nose. Full, round, forward. Creamy texture, good intensity and balance. Sweet ripe red fruits. Very good length
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1/20/2012 - MattTM wrote:
Union des Grands Grus 2009 Bordeaux Tasting (Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles): Rich and concentrated on the nose, giving off aromas of freshly ground coffee beans, black pepper, tar, and cassis. Some tartness on the palate, showing plum, red cherry, black currants, and black pepper. Quite dense and concentrated on the palate, this is a big wine. Silky tannins, with a medium finish ending with a note of cranberry. Good.
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10/18/2011 - vespasian wrote: 94 Points
Good depth of colour; dark spicy fruit here, rich and concentrated; lovely tannins and extract on the palate. Very well-judged, this has great potential. Very complex on the finish. 93-95+
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1/30/2011 - Faryan wrote:
Domaine de Chevalier Tasting (Blacksalt): Barrel sample. Probably the most atypical of all of the reds. Silky, supple, beautiful hedonistic fruit, but spoke more of 2009 than of Domaine de Chevalier.
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1/29/2011 - tooch wrote: 90 Points
Domaine de Chevalier Wine Lunch (Blacksalt): (from barrel sample) Nose had dense coffee, black cherry and crushed rocks. Concentration of the wine far exceeded the 2008, but the fruit was elegant. Again, this wine had really nice acidity and minerality throughout with worked well with the dense fruit. Should be interesting to see where this one ends up down the line.
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11/17/2010 - kwaky Likes this wine: 92 Points
EP Tasting at Armit. Dark red appearance, depp dark fruit nose, a bit farmyard-y, a hint of sweetness on the palate.
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8/26/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
2009 Domaine de Chevalier opens with smoke, dark berries, earth, and spice aromas. Elegant and round, with textures of silk, the wine ends with a fresh blast of spicy black cherries. 92/94 Pts
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7/6/2010 - Khamen wrote:
BR 2009 Bordeaux En Primeur Tasting (London): Very terroir-driven, good profile of sweet violets and gravel. Long term, very big for a Dom de Chev. Very classy 92-94
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7/5/2010 - iobtoel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Hearty spicy palate. Good fruit, full bodied. Chewy, with lots to think about. Has the weight and balance to carry it far.
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4/1/2010 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
Cool fruit expression, crushed berries, very sweet fruit, crushed rock, mushroom, very fresh, nice silky palate, excellent concentration, complex fruit expression, long finish 95-97 pts
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