Domaine de Chevalier

 102 chemin de Mignoy

33850 Léognan

Tél. + 33 (0)5 56 64 16 16

olivierbernard@domainedechevalier.com

www.domainedechevalier.com

Domaine de Chevalier, Classified Growth of Graves.

Find out all about Domaine de Chevalier, a Graves Cru Classé in the Pessac-Léognan appellation.

Domaine de Chevalier, located in the commune of Léognan, in the Pessac-Léognan appellation, is a very old winegrowing estate, which in the 18th century bore the name “Chibaley”. Unlike other estates, which are châteaux, Chevalier has retained its estate status, probably to preserve the spirit of the domaine. In the 1960s, the Ricard family owned the estate. But in 1983, another family, the Bernard family, bought the Graves Cru Classé estate. This family is well known in the wine and spirits sector, as French market leader for eaux-de-vie (and Brandy) and also active in the Bordeaux wine trade (Vins des Grands Vignobles, which later became Millésima and Sobovi). It was one of the cousins, Olivier Bernard, who at the age of 23 found himself at the helm of this renowned cru. Olivier Bernard and his teams perpetuate the spirit of balance and the pursuit of perfection on some sixty hectares.

Domaine de Chevalier: a unique estate in the world of Bordeaux châteaux.

Already on the map in 1783 under the name “Chibaley”, this estate gradually rose to become one of Bordeaux's great wines, reaching the Crus Classés de Graves classification in 1959. Purchased from the Ricard family - who previously owned Châteaux Malartic-Lagravière and De Fieuzal until the late 70s - Domaine de Chevalier changed hands in 1983 with the arrival of the Bernard family. This family - French market leaders in brandies and eaux de vie with Alcools Bernard, the Valdronne company and its Pyla vodka - is also well known in the world of Bordeaux wine trading with the Millésima and Sobovi trading companies. It is the cousin branch, les Bernard de la Rive Droite, through Olivier Bernard, only 23 years old at the time of the acquisition, who is smoothly taking over Domaine de Chevalier. In the hands of Olivier Bernard, the opportunity of this purchase will only confirm the intrinsic qualities of this cru. These merits are perfectly revealed today, thanks to the unwavering passion and constant efforts of this family, who observe, listen and read an exceptional terroir covering more than 67 hectares. Now enjoying undisputed international renown, and carefully built up - well under way under its previous owner - Olivier Bernard's policy of striving for excellence has, for forty years, given Domaine de Chevalier the coveted status of one of the world's great wines. On November 30, 2023, the Bernard family celebrated 40 years at the helm of Chevalier with an exceptional auction at Christie's in London, featuring 75 large-format lots (nabuchodonosors, impériales...) 40 double magnums of red Domaine de Chevalier. Through these prestigious bottles, Olivier Bernard wanted to tell the story of his 40 years at the helm of the Domaine. The funds raised (from these 40 double magnums) were then donated to the Red Cross. Olivier Bernard is also a philanthropist of great generosity. In addition to Chevalier, since 2010 Olivier has also owned Clos des Lunes (30 hectares in Sauternes), where he produces sumptuous dry whites, and Château Lespault-Martillac, another Pessac-Léognan acquired in 2009.  

An acquisition in a very favorable period for building great wines.

“There was a time before 1982 and a time after 1982 in the history of Bordeaux wines”, says Olivier Bernard. Just remember! 1982: an exceptional year in the vineyards and the “vintage of the century”, to use the traditional expression, whose virtues are still being discovered today, without the bottles - born on the best terroirs - running out of steam. In 1983, Bordeaux wines were “coming out of the doldrums”. It was a propitious time for investment, as the land values of large wine estates were not subject to the speculation that has unfortunately been the case since the late 90s. Domaine de Chevalier, although already very well known, was no exception to the rule, confirming the Bernard family's choice of a very good business, strongly motivated by a passion for wine. Here, the notion of passion is no joke.

Taking the helm of such an estate at the time was like letting yourself be carried along by the swell and sailing downwind (in sailing jargon) like a sailboat, a passion also practiced by Olivier Bernard, a lover of old sailing ships. But more than that, it meant riding the wave of a sophisticated cultural craze that wine was beginning to enjoy. A phenomenon accentuated by the information relay provided by the major French and foreign newspapers infatuated with the subject. Unprecedented! The automatic consumer of wine, becoming a wine lover, will never again be passive in his consumption and will become demanding. A passion for wine, an infatuation with the planet Bacchus, will encourage all communication and marketing for great wines and grands crus, starting with Chevalier. But not at any price or under any conditions. The search for and guarantee of excellence at the bottom of the glass are essential ethical preambles to the total adhesion of wine lovers. So much for that! Skipper Olivier Bernard and his crew are well aware of this, and will be setting themselves precise deadlines, always respecting the vineyard parcels, so as not to miss their rendezvous with Domaine de Chevalier and the history of great Bordeaux wines. 

Effort and consistency to transcend the signature of a terroir.

The reputation of an estate and its wines is only legitimate insofar as it reflects a real investment on the part of the people behind the label, a relentless determination to always do better. At Domaine de Chevalier, Olivier and his family (his wife Anne and his two sons, Hugo and Adrien, respectively in charge of the Bernard vineyards and international sales) remain totally committed. To say that Chevalier is carried at arm's length is the truth, without the impression of exercising a technical profession with its automatisms. The 39.5 hectares of vines on this property, protected by a surrounding forest of pine and holm oak, are tended like a botanical garden, a vineyard bearing red and white grape varieties bursting with hope; grapes that Olivier Bernard likes to embrace, in a way, each time he returns from his peregrinations abroad as the business leader that he also is. Here, working in the vineyard - to the slow rhythm of the seasons - is neither suffered nor experienced as a priesthood. On the contrary, you have the intimate conviction of having the privilege of serving a great terroir, of humbly helping it to tell its best story, provided you know how to interpret it. The ultimate goal in this relationship between man and vine is to share a glass in hand. When the bottles reveal their great secret - after intelligent, thoughtful, appropriate ageing and a few wrinkles in the bottle - it's the emotion born of this philosophical complicity with the terroir that will emerge from the glass. And what a terroir it is! The kind of terroir capable of naturally compensating for certain deficiencies or of overcoming, like a great man, the hazards imposed on it by nature; sometimes even with the necessary participation of man.

Although Chevalier's “basin” setting (a surrounding forest and soils considered hydromorphic) is usually considered a constraint, considerable work on every parameter (soil, vines, choice of ripening dates, sorting in the vineyard, vinification, ageing) has now, over the last forty years, produced results that live up to expectations. Precise drainage on both sides, for example, has put paid to the most malicious tongues that were bandied about at one time. Extensive tillage of the soils - which are poor and therefore of high quality - encourages the vines to draw down the minerality of the gravels, while the planting density (10,000 vines per hectare) favors competition between vines and early ripening, thus selecting the best grapes capable of ripening perfectly with color, aromatic intensity and ripe tannins. And to illustrate this concern for perfection to the extreme, Chevalier is also the only estate to carry out selective picking of the Sauvignon and Semillon grapes from its 4.5 hectares in several passages, as is the case in the sweet appellation, to produce one of the greatest dry wines on the planet. The aim here is to sew the grapes by hand, picking and carefully managing the differences in ripeness of the Sauvignon grapes, whose aromatic expression is compromised if picked too early or too late.

It's hardly surprising that since the 90s, Domaine de Chevalier has acquired a solid reputation for its red and white wines, dry whites reputed to be among the best in the world, which it produces like the great white Burgundies, with absolute rigor in the management of the harvest. In fact, 5 hectares of white vines - no mean feat for a property in Pessac-Léognan - are dedicated exclusively to producing the great white wines that have always built Domaine de Chevalier's international reputation.

It's a task worthy of a balancing act, but indicative of a great vintage. And in the end, Chevalier's grapes prove the adage “wine is earth” right. They borrow from the soils - black sands and fine white gravels on a clay and Alios subsoil - a taste whose memory is, in many ways, indelible.

To be demanding of ourselves and to know how to read our terroir to create wines that are profoundly human.

Observation, respect, understanding, humility, effort...these are the essential attitudes required to carefully extract meaningful wines from the vine. The bottles reveal a full-bodied, silky, elegant style, refined but never precious. If Domaine de Chevalier red and Domaine de Chevalier white seem so human in their character, in the sense that the mark of the man and the convivial aspect emerge from the glasses, it's because Olivier Bernard is in the vineyard and on the estate as he is in each of the escapes that allow him to recharge his batteries: a contemplative yet vigilant man. As the perfect conductor of an orchestra at the helm of this estate, which he manages like a good tactician - assisted by Rémy Edange (the assistant manager in place before the arrival of the Bernards), Vincent Bernard and Thomas Meilhan in technical management (a position long held by the charismatic Thomas Stonestreet - the young manager he was in 1983 has become, in a way, the author of a wine bestseller, insofar as he has written some of its fundamental pages and chapters. Chevalier's quality has been consistent for forty years - as can be seen in the wines - and can only be achieved with a relevant and appropriate management strategy.

A recognizable signature that is highly acclaimed internationally.

To understand the wines of Domaine de Chevalier, in both colors, both the grand vin, Domaine de Chevalier, and the second wine, Esprit de Chevalier, you need only turn to Olivier Bernard. In his own words, “Wines are best tasted on the nose. Of course, the mouth is important, but great wines are tasted on the nose... The finesse of a wine can be seen on the nose.” He continues, “On the nose, you can see if the winemaker has gone for extraction, if he has used too much wood, if he has not picked ripe, if he has picked too ripe, if he has used too much Merlot compared to Cabernet Sauvignon... If the Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sémillon, Sauvignon blanc in a given year are not ripe enough..., you can smell it on the nose. So the nose is very important! The mouth can be masked. The mouth isn't as fine as the nose. The nose can seek out the finer details that the mouth is incapable of finding.

Domaine de Chevalier 2021 red

80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot go into this Domaine de Chevalier 2021. From the outset, the nose appears very pure and fresh, with scents of Morello cherry, blackcurrant, blueberry and crushed blackberry, complemented by aromatic freshness of cedar and peppermint. The palate is equally fresh and unctuous, with a dense tannic structure and a delicate, silky touch of great craftsmanship and nobility. Full-bodied, balanced, deep and very fresh, with the sensation of a well-built wine. The finish is savory and long, with notes of licorice and minerality (graphite). A very fine Chevalier built for ageing, with its great majority of great Cabernet Sauvignon.

Domaine de Chevalier 2019 white

This wine, made from the 5 hectares devoted to dry whites, is blended from 70% Sauvignon and 30% Semillon. The grapes are harvested by hand, in “successive selections” as in the Sauternes region. This has long been a particularity at Chevalier, making the dry white the most Burgundian of the white Bordeaux wines. Slow pressing took 3 hours. Settling and alcoholic fermentation in barrels and egg-shaped casks, followed by 18 months in barrels for ageing, with regular stirring of the lees, give a real signature to this wine. The 2019 vintage is exceptional. Conditions were very favorable throughout the vine cycle, and even more so in September. These conditions rebalanced the sweetness and acidity of the grapes to seal in an absolute ripeness of fruit. The harvest took place from September 3 to 19, with a total of 5 selections. Domaine de Chevalier blanc 2019 has a lovely crystalline color with golden yellow highlights. The fruit is both subtle and rich, exuberant on notes of white-fleshed fruit and citrus, followed by more “vegetal” expressions of hawthorn. The palate is complex and full-bodied, with a very well-balanced fatness and fruit, all sheathed in a beautiful acidity and nervousness conferring great tension. A great white Domaine de Chevalier built for longevity.

L’Esprit de Chevalier 2022 red

This is Chevalier's second wine, available in red as well as white, generally made from younger vines or fine batches vinified but judged unsuitable for production on the scale of the first label, the Grand Vin. But over time, this second wine, like other second wines, has shown itself to be more accomplished, denser, more precise and greedier, even if its principle is always to drink it before the Grand Vin, which by definition must be waited for. Esprit de Chevalier rouge 2022 is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Attractive dark-red color. The nose expresses ripe red fruit, spices and a hint of cocoa. Seductive. Surprisingly dense and powerful on the palate. The tannic structure is quite supple, with a delicate touch and a sensation of suavity. The whole is well-balanced and brings a great deal of freshness, both aromatic and gustatory. A lovely second wine, well made, well born. 

Greatest vintage years from Domaine de Chevalier :

Red:1928-1929-1945-1947-1949-1953-1955-1959-1961-1970-1975-1978-1981-1982-1983-1985-1986-1988-1989-1990-1996-2000-2003-2005-2009-2010-2015-2016-2018-2019-2020-2022-2023

Dry white: 1961-1962-1967-1970-1973-1975-1978-1981-1982-1983-1985-1987-1988-1989-1993-1994-1996-1997-1999-2001-2002-2004-2005-2006-2007-2008-2010-2011-2012-2013-2014-2015-2017-2019-2021-2022-2023