Domaine de Chevalier Blanc Pessac-Léognan 2020
Domaine de Chevalier
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc is one of the most quietly brilliant white Bordeaux produced today. The 2020 vintage shows the house's mastery of barrel fermentation and lees aging — the oak is there, but it serves the wine rather than defining it. This will evolve beautifully for 15-plus years, but it is already compelling now.
Nose
White flowers and citrus zest greet you first — lemon, grapefruit — followed by a subtle toasted hazelnut note from barrel fermentation. Honey and a faint green apple acidity hover in the background. There is a waxy, almost lanolin quality that signals serious aging potential.
Palate
Concentrated and precise. Citrus and green apple form the acid backbone, while the oak-driven texture — creamy, buttery, but never heavy — gives it volume and length. A marzipan character develops through the mid-palate, and a woody spice emerges on the back end.
Finish
Long and mineral-driven, with toasted almond and citrus persisting. The oak influence is seamless, adding structure without weight.
- Varietal
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Blend
- 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Sémillon
- Vineyards
- Domaine de Chevalier estate, Léognan, gravelly clay-sand soils
- Alcohol
- 14%
- Organic / Biodynamic
- No
- Skin Contact
- No
Food Pairing
Roasted Dover sole with brown butter and capers
Olivier Bernard has stewarded Domaine de Chevalier in the gravelly soils of Léognan since 1983, and his white — from a tiny 5-hectare parcel — is barrel-fermented and aged 18 months on lees in French oak, producing one of Bordeaux's most age-worthy whites.
Be the first to comment.
Leave a comment
Dry Creek Chenin Blanc
Dry Creek Vineyard
Dry Creek Vineyard has championed Chenin Blanc in California for decades, and this bottling is a quiet testament to why the grape deserves more attention. It delivers warmth and generosity without excess—an approachable, food-friendly white that offers far more complexity than its modest price suggests. A wine that communicates comfort before you even find the words.
Chablis, Louis Michel
Louis Michel & Fils
Louis Michel & Fils is one of Chablis' great purists, eschewing oak entirely in favor of stainless steel to let the limestone terroir shine with absolute transparency. This is clarity through constraint made liquid—proof that restraint in winemaking yields the most eloquent expression of place. A benchmark village Chablis that punches well above its price.
Famille Hugel Gewürztraminer Alsace 2022
Famille Hugel
Hugel's estate-level Gewürztraminer is an ideal entry into the grape — aromatic and expressive without tipping into heaviness. The 2022 vintage shows purity of fruit and the benefit of Alsace's continental climate, where warm days and cool nights preserve acidity in a variety that can lose it. This is the bottle to pair with spiced cuisine or to enjoy on its own as an education in aromatics.
Domaine Bott-Geyl Riesling Grand Cru Mandelberg 2022
Domaine Bott-Geyl
Bott-Geyl's biodynamic approach to the Mandelberg vineyard yields a Riesling of remarkable purity. This is a wine that tastes like its origin — limestone, sun, and the careful hand of a grower who trusts the vine to speak for itself. Grand Cru Alsace at a price that remains approachable.