2000 Domaine de Chevalier (rouge)

[Blanquito]

Enchanting bouquet, delicate, expressive, a little sweet and cedary with a whiff of Gravesy char, floral with minty notes and a touch of fresh herbs. 94-95 pt bouquet. Lighter bodied, tangy and bright on the palate, but with plenty of grip and persistence. Savory-sappy and a little sour, so refreshing with beef broth and lemon zest. Suave texture. I so love the nose here, it’s almost like a great Margaux. In sum, a compelling, delicious, interesting wine in a great spot. Why they changed things up at this address is such a mystery (probably the pernicious pull of Parkerization)

[Comte Flaneur]

I bet it will age beautifully too over the next five to seven Blanquitos

A big discovery for me last year was the 2002 - which I scooped up for £500/12 ex add-ons…such a beautifully ‘a point’ wine, and the last vintage before they went over to the <<dark side>> …

… I had the 1985 in February which was superb but it was slightly bettered by a more fleet-footed Larrivet Haut Brion 1985…I just popped a 1981 Larrivet, part of a batch I picked up at auction recently …

[Winona Chief]

Not sure which wines we will be drinking but I have a dinner with Hugo Bernard (Olivier’s son) coming up in two weeks. Have to see if he wants to say anything about stylistic changes at Domaine de Chevalier.

Correction, just checked and reds will be 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010, whites will be 1983, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2010 and 2017.

Chris Bublitz

[Nicklasss]

Not sure which wines we will be drinking but I have a dinner with Hugo Bernard (Olivier’s son) coming up in two weeks. Have to see if he wants to say anything about stylistic changes at Domaine de Chevalier.

Correction, just checked and reds will be 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010, whites will be 1983, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2010 and 2017.

Chris Bublitz

Nice! Great line up.

[JimHow]

Have to see if he wants to say anything about stylistic changes at Domaine de Chevalier.

We are counting on you to be our intrepid reporter, Mr Bublitz, and not let him get away with some lame response.

[Blanquito]

I predict Hugo will claim nothing has changed… except that they’re fully biodynamic now (it’s all the mystic powers of a bull’s horn I guess).

[Blanquito]

Along side the Canon, PLL, and Magdelaine, DDC is probably my favorite red Bordeaux from 1970-1989.

So, it’s really nice to see how good it still was in 2000. I will look to backfill this from the 95-02 vintages.

[Comte Flaneur]

The 1996 and 1998 are also splendid, but different - 1996 leaner, the 1998 fuller

[robert goulet]

I do not drink enough of this estate...that will have to change

[Musigny 151]

William Kelley wrote about incorporating new vineyards into DDC when the quality of the wines took a dive. The 2005 was really poor, and I have not tasted anything that made me think of the great older vintages. However, encouraged by some positive notes from friend that the estate is returning to its heights, I have a half bottle of 2019 ready to taste in the nextweek or so.

[Blanquito]

Curious of your impressions on the '19, Mark. I was thoroughly impressed with the '20 at the UGC, enough that I bought some of the '19 and tried a bottle after it arrived in March.

Here are my thoughts on the '19:
Popped and poured into a decanter, given an hour to breathe… Very floral bouquet with accompanying scents of raspberry coulis. The palate is spicy, sweet and a touch boozy, pure… intense attack of sweet-tarts, quite cranberry, red zinger tea, some good midpalate chew without heaviness, some clenched tannins on the finish, which truly are a little powdery. After a short while, this clamps down tight, so I pour wine back into the bottle, cork it up and try again day 2… the next day this is showing much more on the palate. It is dense and deep, with strong notes of char and iodine, very mineral. I really approve of the style here, there’s no new oak or polished textures evident and the alcohol is very restrained, it really has a wonderful equilibrium. That said, this is not your old school claret, with all the rusticity finessed away. Layered and long, I am quite impressed by this and reload on some more to cellar. Hard to say when this will be ready for prime time, but I’ll wait at least 10 years before the next bottle.

[Ognik]

Can't copy ostensible poor quality of 2005 DDC.
Just way to young until now. In my book a great classic claret. Give it 5 up to 10 more years.
Not a big supporter of 2000 DDC after half of my case.
SHL and Pape Clement in the same boat did a far better job in 2000.

[Blanquito]

Ognik, if you have any 00 DDC rouge left you want to unload, PM me!

[Comte Flaneur]

On the U.K. winepages board one of my friends - Nobby Clarke from Yorkshire - was really singing the praises of the 2005 DDC - he is a big fan of the vintage in general, much more so than me - when I tried the same wine a couple of years ago it was a discombobulated gloopy glossy mess, blind I would have guessed some souped up creation from Chile..

[JimHow]

it was a discombobulated gloopy glossy mess, blind I would have guessed some souped up creation from Chile..

Seriously, I was stunned when I uncorked some 2005s last year from my cellar. I was expecting an epic vintage, big bold, rich, structured wines, a cross of 1986, 1990, 2000.

I got a gloopy, syrupy, yucky, flabby mess, like the worst that Australia has to offer. Gloopy. I was stunned, really.

2005.... Yuck.

[Blanquito]

Yeah, put me in the 05-DCC-sucks camp too. It sucked (for me) irrespective of DDC's glorious past. The 09 was pretty awful too.

And I put my money where my mouth (palate) is, selling off all of my post-02 DDC rouge a few years ago (a bunch of 05, a few 06s, and a brace of 09s).

[JCNorthway]

I did not buy much from Bordeaux in the 2005 vintage, but I hope I don't find "a gloopy, syrupy, yucky, flabby mess." Any other recent experiences with this vintage?

[JimHow]

Oh I'm not the only one who has said that, JC.
I was shocked. But... for some this vintage is a beauty.

[Blanquito]

I’m still mostly waiting on my 05s (big surprise there), but from what I’ve tried I think, more than most vintages, the 05 vintage served as a Rorschach test of a chateau’s style — big, extracted, designer consultant-designed, Parkerized wines (of which there were many in that period) made notably big, extracted, Parkerized wines (like the 05 DDC). While traditional, restrained, rustic chateau made old school-styled wines, but with an extra gear and depth provided by the unusual growing season (dry but cool). Given my predilections, I think the best 05s were made by traditionalists and I think many of these have the potential to be profound. VCC, Magdelaine, Conseillante, Ausone, probably l’Evangile, Canon, Pichon Baron, Leoville Baron, d’Issan, etc should be epic at age 30+.

[JimHow]

I was not impressed by the 2005 d'Issan. In fact, it was the 2005 d'Issan that pushed me over the edge on 2005. I figured that if d'Issan couldn't make a profound 2005, there's an issue here. Especially when 2005 ended up being the abrupt culmination of a seven year 1998-2004 run of greatness for d'Issan, perhaps its greatest run ever.

But I'm not the only one, of course, who has raised concerns about the 2005 flabbiness, lack of acidity, overdone character, including, as recently as tonight, Comte's observations on the DDC. Comte used the word "soupy," I think that about defines the 2005 vintage.

2005: The emperor has no clothes.

[Nicklasss]

Wines of the 2005 vintage, you should try quickly Duhart Milon or Haut Bailly, in a glorious classic style.

Cantemerle is a success too.

Latour-Martillac is well made.

Malescot Saint-Exupéry should be controversial.

[Blanquito]

Don’t take a bunch of amateurs’ opinions, here’s Gilman on the 05 vintage… “Of the recent, highly-praised vintages in Bordeaux- 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010, only the 2005 vintage stands out for me as a truly great vintage on the Gironde, with the others masquerading power and overripe fruit as if it were true greatness in the making. However, 2005 is a completely different animal and this is really and truly a great year, but one that is built for the very long haul. It is very rare for a Bordeaux vintage to offer outstanding acidity and excellent ripeness in the same vintage (unless it is a pruney drought year like 2010, which is okay if one wants Amarone, rather than claret)…”

[Blanquito]

P.S. I think Gilman’s perspective is particularly germane, given his well documented aversion to globby Bordeaux. And of course, he’s tasted the 05s in far more depth and breadth than most of us have.