Domaine De Chevalier Rouge, 2025
Domaine De Chevalier Rouge, 2025
- 75cl
- 12.5%
- Red Still
- Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
Please note, en primeur wines are not available for delivery until they arrive in the UK
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Est. delivery in 2028
Domaine de Chevalier sits among the grands crus of Pessac-Léognan, where gravelly soils and a particularly cool microclimate produce reds of remarkable elegance and longevity - this is Bordeaux that whispers rather than shouts.
The 45-hectare vineyard sits on the highest plateau of Léognan, with deep Günz gravel beds over clay and limestone subsoil. This well-draining terroir forces the vines to root deeply, creating natural concentration and the mineral tension that defines Chevalier's wines. The elevation provides excellent drainage and exposure, whilst the clay subsoil retains just enough moisture to prevent stress during dry summers. This combination of gravel warmth and clay freshness produces wines with both power and finesse.
Pessac-Léognan was carved out of the northern Graves in 1987, recognising the superior terroir of ten communes closest to Bordeaux city. The appellation produces both red and white wines, with the reds typically showing more restraint and mineral character than their Left Bank cousins in the Médoc. Domaine de Chevalier is one of only six estates classified for both colours, a testament to the quality of its gravelly plateau. The wines here tend to age more gracefully than the powerful Pauillacs, developing secondary complexity whilst retaining freshness.
The 2025 Bordeaux vintage emerged from one of the most demanding growing seasons in recent memory — the earliest budbreak since 1989, June temperatures second only to 2003 since records began, and an unusually early harvest beginning in August for the whites. Conditions that should have produced heavy, overripe wines. They didn't. Decanter's Georgie Hindle, who tasted close to 200 wines ahead of the formal campaign, describes "exceptional concentration, aromatic purity and a freshness that contradicts the record-breaking heat.
The early critical consensus places 2025 stylistically between the precision of 2020 and the structure of 2016, with the brightness of 2023 — a combination that suggests a very serious vintage indeed. Yields are dramatically low, the smallest crop since 1991, with production across the Gironde running around 15% below the five-year average. The quality is here. There simply isn't very much of it.
What the critics say:
"The depth of fruit comes through clearly, with a medium body and plenty of berry, chocolate, walnut and bark aromas. Creamy and polished, with a lovely texture and a long and rather endless finish. Soft and precise. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot and 5% petit verdot."
"The 2025 Domaine de Chevalier is a total stunner. The oak imprint is a bit strong, but the 2025 possesses notable richness and textural depth to handle it all. Signature red-toned fruit and floral overtones soar through the layered, expansive close."
"Aromas of plum, raspberry, loam and wet stone minerality suggest the pedigree beneath. The palate is decidedly structured, almost reminiscent of grape skins tasted at harvest, with a firm, tightly wound tannic frame. A more muscular style of Domaine de Chevalier. At 12.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.71, the wine walks a fine line: the freshening acidity (particularly on the finish) both lifts and accentuates the abundant tannins. For now, it remains firm, but the underlying material is strong and should harmonise with élevage, making full barrel ageing key to unlocking a full expression. Tasted three times with two more positive impressions, the score reflects the wine’s anticipated evolution rather than its current state."
OUR GROWERS
Domaine De Chevalier
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