Domaine de Chevalier Magnum Dinner

Restaurant Taillevent, Paris
Tasted Monday, September 14, 2009 by JJL with 1,021 views

Introduction

Our amazing host had organized a tasting dinner at Taillevent with Olivier Bernard, the proprietor of Domaine de Chevalier. Olivier brought with him a large assortment of older wines, all from magnums, dating back to 1916.

Flight 1 (1 Note)

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The back row is an entire vertical of the 80's blanc in magnum. The front row is the '16, '29, '47, '53 and '55 rouge in magnum. The whites were served blind in glasses labeled 0 to 9, which we later were told represented the vintage. We were asked to pick our top 3. The '84 and '87 were 2 of the 3 favorites, I forgot what the 3rd was. The '87 was my favorite, but I did not care for the '84. I also liked the '85, '86 and '88.
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Barley risotto dish served with the whites.
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Olivier Bernard - Proprietor of Domaine de Chevalier speaking to the group

  • NV Taillevent Champagne Grande Réserve 91 Points

    France, Champagne

    I was handed a glass of this when I walked into the room, so I did not see the bottle at first, but when I tasted I thought for sure I was drinking Billecart Clos St. Hilaire. And when I did see the bottle it looked like a BS, but it was actually a non-vintage blend made for Taillevent by Deutz. Everyone liked it and although it was a blend, you tasted sweet red fruit. Lighter acidity and not much minerality so it did drop off quickly on the finish, but it was very good on the front palate.

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Flight 2 (5 Notes)

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The veal dish served with the first flight of reds.
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The first flight of reds, the really old reds.

  • 1916 Domaine de Chevalier 97 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    The nose on this was amazing. Smoke, manure, charcoal, tar and cedar. The palate was more refined than the '29, not as sweet, fine tannins, leather, cedar, some cherry, great balance. This and the '53 seemed to be the WOTN for the group.

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  • 1929 Domaine de Chevalier 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    This did not have the big nose of the '16, and instead was more floral with lilies and straw. The palate was quite sweet with ripe red berries and cherries. The tannins were still strong and nice acidity. Beautiful wine.

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  • 1947 Domaine de Chevalier 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    The nose was big and similar to the '16 with smoke, manure, cedar and leather. Slightly less balanced with higher acidity, but great fruit and long, vibrant finish.

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  • 1955 Domaine de Chevalier 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Not flawed, but not showing well in this flight. Muted nose, thin on the palate, although still very drinkable. But as luck would have it, since it was not showing well, Olivier decided to open a magnum of the '53 and that was the best wine of the night for most of us.

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  • 1953 Domaine de Chevalier 97 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Cedar, smoke and asparagus on nose. Big tannins, but enough acidity to avoid being flabby. The palate was all white chocolate, very creamy and silky, like a Cheval. Thanks to Olivier for adding this to the program at the last minute.

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Flight 3 (8 Notes)

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This was the only 'flaw' in the meal service of the evening, but it was a big one. The duck breast was paired with the last flight and it was horrible. It was like eating wonderfully sauced shoe leather. How does that happen at a great French restaurant?

  • 1959 Domaine de Chevalier 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Similar to the '55, muted nose, thin palate.

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  • 1961 Domaine de Chevalier 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    The nose was like butter, literally. Great body, smooth drinker, nice finish. It was a '61 after all.

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  • 1983 Domaine de Chevalier 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Red raspberry on the nose, nice round palate with a bit of chalk on the finish.

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  • 1964 Domaine de Chevalier 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Lots of cedar on nose and palate. More acidity than tannins, decent fruit.

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  • 1985 Domaine de Chevalier 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Eggplant on the nose, slightly out of balance, flat finish.

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  • 1970 Domaine de Chevalier 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Tannins were weak, decent acidity, tomato vine on nose, vegetables on palate.

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  • 1989 Domaine de Chevalier 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    This was the best of the '80s. Grilled meat on the nose, great acidity, big tannins, dark fruit, some chalk, smokey finish.

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  • 1978 Domaine de Chevalier 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    This was the wine of the flight along with the '89. Cedar and leather on nose, big spicy palate with some chocolate on the finish. Nice tannins with strong acidity.

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Closing

This was another great event on this trip and a rare opportunity to enjoy some fantastic wines that had been stored in ideal conditions.

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